WufWuf wrote:Grr I'm totally sick of the dogs on my road ruining my walks with Honey. I was coming home thinking yay Honey had a nice walk no big scaries and she didn't have to be close to any dogs.
Stupid man who owns an elderly red collie mix (and lets her roam on our narrow road) strolls around the corner and my stomach sinks. His dog is never on lead and when she barks or growls at Honey he roars* at her to stop. Honey FREAKS when she sees this dog and I try really hard to not let her see her but of course I fail from time to time. So I'm across the road and duck down behind a car with a wad of liver cake, what does Mr. Clever do? Of course he laughs and crosses over as he thinks it's funny when Honey freaks out. Damit I should have known he'd do this and just picked her up and legged it around the corner but I chose the wrong course of action.
I've always just tried to say something benign to this guy as he's the head of the residence association
but today when he laughed and said "is he still giving out?" I snapped "she's very afraid of dogs bigger than her, particularly collie types - female collies types... he turned and walked off as I was speaking and I had my snarling dog in my arms that I'm stupidly trying to feed liver cake to
. His dog, to her credit, actually stayed aross the road until she was well past us. Sigh, I did not do well with the situation. I wish I could've said something that made more sense and with a calmer tone, though I did manage not to growl it at him which is what I wanted to do
.
*I've seen people use scary shouting plenty to stop dogs doing whatever but there's a venom in this roar that is not usual, it's a very stark contrast to his jokey smilely interactions with people.
Don't feel bad about how you reacted. I am the same way. You thought of Honey first just like I think of Sandy. I also will pick Sandy up and try to hide other dogs from him, trying to be a tree or like you getting behind a car.
Yelling and shouting at a dog that is charging you is not the same as an idiot, even if he is your residence association (which is a job that a lot of people who like to feel important accept, nothing I would ever want). It doesn't make him any better or smarter than you. Actually, he was acting more like a bully.
I, too, never have a good come back to anyone at the time. As OH says, I do not think fast on my feet. Later, I always think of something I wish I had said.
Just plan for it for the next time you see him. Prepare in advance what you will say. That way you will know what to say.
At the last hotel we stayed in on te road, OH thought they might have me committed to psych facility. At 5pm, the worst possible time, Sandy was acting as if he had to bathroom. We started out our room to see four dogs in front of the side door. So, I grsb him snd strat running to the lobby exit to where I thought we could avoid the dogs. As I pass the computer room, z lady is looking at me with concern and asking if I was allright. All I could get out was that there were other dogs at the other exit and my dog doesn't like other dogs. Then, we go out of the lobby door to be confronted with two women and their four dogs (the ones we had run throught the hallways to avoid taking their dogs to where I thought I had found a secret place for Sandy. So, all I could do was go Oh No! And scooped up Sandy and ran outsid around the building.
Turned out that Sandy was just one of about 9-10 dogs all on the same wing and floor. OH, I, and Sandy got no sleep as Sandy reacted to every noise. We felt like we were in the kennel wing. When we checked in there were just three of us.
So, I kniw how it happens and that as much as we try to avoid other dogs, they often come out of no where. And discourteous owners like the one you ran into are all over the place.
Be prepared for the next time you see him. Know what you are going to say. And, don't be like me where my OH thought they were going to have me committed.
DO NOT beat yourself up over this. Be kind to yourself. Honey got treats. You deserve one too. Get yourself something really yummy and relax and laugh. It is over for now. Be prepared for next time.
Diane
Sandy, Chihuahua mix b. 12/20/09