A Change From DINOS

[Nettle]

Most of us here are familiar (would that most of the public were as familiar) with the yellow ribbon/bandana for Dogs In Need Of Space. Many of us have also seen doggie waistcoats in yellow with a short message written on to the same effect.

Well, yesterday I saw new evidence that some folks still don't get it


A dog in a harness with "I'm Friendly" written on it.

I don't care how friendly it is - keep it away from me and my dogs!

[delladooo]

Do you mean of the design on this site http://www.friendlydogcollars.com/ ? Whilst I think all of the others are excellent, I do wonder about the friendly one. Maybe if all dogs wore labelled equipment I could see a market for it but without everyone wearing them I don't really see the need

[Suzette]

Grrr. I had a "friendly" dog try to take Piper's head off one time. Owner sheepishly walked away saying that had never happened before. Right.

Along this same thought process, I just came back from a walk on the beach with Piper and at one point a woman with a lovely collie mix headed towards me asking if my dog was friendly. Clearly she wanted them to meet, but a better question would have been, do you mind if our dogs meet? Because yes, Piper is friendly, but no, I don't always want her to meet and greet.

[jacksdad]

the more I think about this, the more I think in the long run we probably shouldn't have bothered. I am thinking the better solution is people just speaking up for their dogs. don't try and have a color, collar, vest etc relieve you of your responsibility.

[Ari_RR]

hmmmm...

I take my monster boy with me on hiking trails, where we come across joggers and runners and all kinds of humans.
When there is no-one in sight ahead or behind, he runs free on his 50 ft long leash, left and right, and stop and go, and sniff every bush and every tree etc.
When I see an approaching human, i call him, roll up the leash, and keep him within a foot on the outside, real close, and that's how we pass the human....
Even though at this age (4.5) he is all serious and adult-like and ignores them.

Very often we get a big "Thank You!" from the humans... Almost never "May I say hello?".
Which means to me that there are plenty of folks out there who are uncomfortable in close proximity to dogs... at least to large size, scary looking ones.
I have a feeling that if Ari-The-Monster was wearing an "I Am Friendly!" vest, perhaps some humans would feel a bit more at ease encountering him?

Not that I would get him such a vest. He is not that friendly, and I wouldn't want this to be mistaken for an invitation to come over and pet him. He would certainly not welcome that.

But many judge based on appearance. And some of nice dogs have a rather scary appearance. What's the harm in them wearing an "I Am Actually Friendly!" sign?

Nothing to do with unwanted intrusion in someone's private space, that just shouldn't be.

The shortcoming of the yellow ribbons to me is that those who know what it means - also know not to intrude, humans or dogs. And those who allow their dogs to run up to other dogs - probably wouldn't know the meaning of yellow anyway...

[Ari_RR]

"I am friendly, BUT PLEASE STAY AWAY!"

[Erica]

I think jacksdad has a good point. Those who would understand and respect a yellow ribbon won't allow their dog to charge up to another unasked anyways. Then there's the whole liability issue, though I haven't heard of it actually being used in a court case.

[Nettle]

Yes, agree with both. I do find I see colour long before I can read words, though, and that is the value of the yellow warning in my view - though I never EVER let my dogs run up to other dogs, and as you say, people who know what it means aren't the sort to do that anyway.



Also I find people just don't 'get' that to a dog, a human is way different from another dog in 'friendly' terms. I can't count the number of times I meet a people-friendly dog that is dodgy with other dogs. The owners think that because a dog likes people, it likes all dogs too.

[Dee_Marie]

I believe the I'm Friendly are for dogs who people are afraid of, such as APBT, American Bulldogs and so on. It's trying to let other people know there is no reason to cross the street when you see them, or grab your kids hand and run for your life.