Don't worry I didn't think for a minute you were criticising me I have a very thick skin and I love a good discussion.

Slightly off topic again...Sorry!

When I was at Crufts this year, we had a look around Discover Dogs.

I was admiring the Irish Wolfhound that on display and the guy handling him asked me would I like to hold his lead, as I asked for a picture.

I asked did he pull...the guy said don't worry and that i'd know about it if he pulled!

I walked along with him for a few feet...he was a gentle giant and walked ever so gracefully. I was impressed. He was a lovely dog.

There is a very true saying in the breed...
There are Irish Wolfhounds and then there are dogs..the two are not the same...

While I can see the point being made about the OP's attitude about the inicident at her dog club, I fail to see how calling this girl a "bad dog owner", questioning the breeding of her puppy, and telling her she probably shouldn't own dogs, is helpful at all. I think some of you are being unduly harsh towards suze, as perhaps she was unduly harsh towards this lab owner.

Suze, I can see that this incident was very upsetting for you. Obviously your dog felt threatened in this situation, however, in normal doggy terms, what the lab did was acceptable. None of this means that millie is vicious or badly bred or should be put down, nor does it mean that you are a bad dog owner. Quite to the contrary, you are training your dog, you are posting on forums, you are trying to learn and grow and be a great dog owner, which I have no doubt you are and will be.

Millie, for whatever reason, is insecure around other dogs. She does need to be socialized more. The more she is around other dogs, and had positive interactions with other dogs, the more secure she will feel when approached by another dog.

Here is my take on the situation, without my having been there, take it with a grain of salt.

You said that Millie was upset by the Lab earlier when the lab got in your face. Likely, this first incident caught you off guard. Also likely, when the lab came near you later in the evening, you tensed up or became nervous. Dogs are very perceptive. IF she was already insecure, or unnerved by lab because of the earlier incident, sensing this nervousness in you likely made it worse. She felt "Mums worried too, This dog must really be bad!" Something that really helps fearful insecure dogs is having a calm confident owner. Really work on your mindset before you go to dog class, or any situation where millie will be meeting other dogs. Put yourself into a calm state of mind. Try to exude boldness and confidence. Show no fear of anything, even of Millie having an incident. If she trusts you, which she does, she will take cues from you. Don't baby talk her, don't drag her the other direction when you see dogs coming your way. Keep your path, walk confidently, head up breathing deep don't let Millie balk. Alot of the time, fearful dogs insecurites are fueled by the owners insecurities about the dogs insecurities. Its circular.

Good luck to you and Millie.

Hi all,

I'm with Suze on this, I understand all the comments that have been made, and they have been taken on board, but my boy is a rescue dog, when we took him on we knew he'd been beaten up, thrown across the room, had lighters faired up in his face etc, what we didn't know was that he had a problem when a lot of dogs were around him, like when you gather waiting for your class to start, this is when he becomes very like Millie, whether this is something from his past, or it's just him, we will never know, but it is SO annoying, when he's having a go, and like Suze I mean having a go, and a dog, who's owner just stand a few feet away not trying to alleviate the situation in any way, OK, I appreciate the fact that they do not have the dog with the problem, or the problem dog, whichever way you chose to see it, but I wouldn't mind betting that they would complain like mad if their dog actually got bitten, those at my obediance group who do this seem to look down their noses at us, and I've heard them say, you don't need dogs like that hear, well where else can I go to try to sort out the problem, but Jack's problems are being delt with, but it is a slow progress, but it does anoy me when these people who seem to have never had a problem dog, pass judgement on those of us who do, when Jack is in class he's fine, not even a grumble, he can be left in a down stay for a few minutes with us out of site, near a dog he's previously had a go at, and he doesn't flinch, maybe at the end of the day it is the owners, and not just the owners of a dog with a problem, some (not all) owners attitudes STINK

Hi all,

I'm with Suze on this, I understand all the comments that have been made, and they have been taken on board, but my boy is a rescue dog, when we took him on we knew he'd been beaten up, thrown across the room, had lighters faired up in his face etc, what we didn't know was that he had a problem when a lot of dogs were around him, like when you gather waiting for your class to start, this is when he becomes very like Millie, whether this is something from his past, or it's just him, we will never know, but it is SO annoying, when he's having a go, and like Suze I mean having a go, and a dog, who's owner just stand a few feet away not trying to alleviate the situation in any way, OK, I appreciate the fact that they do not have the dog with the problem, or the problem dog, whichever way you chose to see it, but I wouldn't mind betting that they would complain like mad if their dog actually got bitten, those at my obediance group who do this seem to look down their noses at us, and I've heard them say, you don't need dogs like that hear, well where else can I go to try to sort out the problem, but Jack's problems are being delt with, but it is a slow progress, but it does anoy me when these people who seem to have never had a problem dog, pass judgement on those of us who do, when Jack is in class he's fine, not even a grumble, he can be left in a down stay for a few minutes with us out of site, near a dog he's previously had a go at, and he doesn't flinch, maybe at the end of the day it is the owners, and not just the owners of a dog with a problem, some (not all) owners attitudes STINK[/QUOTE]


You see you don't get the point either, if a dog is aggresive and people pull there dogs away it is making the situation worse. I know my dog will not fight back so I don't have to move away....he can handle himself if needs be but he wouldn't fight...if he felt he needed to move then he could so why should I drag him away from something he is not afraid off? Dogs are pack animals they have far more sense than we give them credit for. Yes I hear what you are saying about ignorant people who look down their noses at you, but I think anyone who takes on a rescue is a hero and should be given the time to sort out any problems their dog has, we welcome them to our classes with open arms. However the attitude of this girl was why everyone was annoyed, and she continued to blame the lab owner who is totally innocent.
We all need to work together for the sake of our dogs...one day the anti-dog brigade might win and none of us will be able to be dog owners!

You see you don't get the point either, if a dog is aggresive and people pull there dogs away it is making the situation worse. I know my dog will not fight back so I don't have to move away....he can handle himself if needs be but he wouldn't fight...if he felt he needed to move then he could so why should I drag him away from something he is not afraid off? Dogs are pack animals they have far more sense than we give them credit for. Yes I hear what you are saying about ignorant people who look down their noses at you, but I think anyone who takes on a rescue is a hero and should be given the time to sort out any problems their dog has, we welcome them to our classes with open arms. However the attitude of this girl was why everyone was annoyed, and she continued to blame the lab owner who is totally innocent.
We all need to work together for the sake of our dogs...one day the anti-dog brigade might win and none of us will be able to be dog owners!

The diff is you know your dog has a problem, your doing something about it, the OP has a very diff attitude, in her view its not her dog and not her problem, that and the attitude that she posts in, very childish