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So yesterday I take Toby for his evening walk. We take our usual 3 mile route and this lady comes out of her house and starts walking towards me. I check Tobes and he's alert but chillin. I can tell she's walking towards us and she has got something to say, and it's directed at me or my dog. So instinctively I do a mental rewind from leaving my house to where I am standing. Nope no issues, so I prepare for the dog fighting and stereo typical rhetoric that ensues with that conversation.
I stopped when she was just beyond the length of my leash. Soon as I stopped Toby snapped into a sit and sat perfect and calm waiting for my instruction. I was really proud of that.
The lady looks at me, smiles, and just gets all ga ga goo goo goooood puppy whuppy with my dog and showers him with accolades and tells me how beautiful and well behaved he is. Toby keeps looking at me like " yo, pops this chics crazy". She goes on to say she comes out in the evening to admire Toby and his manners.
So then she asks me where Coco has been and that she hasn't seen her in a couple weeks, and how did I get them so polite and well mannered.
I didn't want to lie to her but I didn't want to change her opinion of my dog and the breed as a whole by telling her about what I went through in the last month and the events that lead to crate n rotate and eventually rehoming Coco. So I deflected by saying there were some personality issues and I felt it was better for both dogs to not be in the same house.
Then I finally figured it out. She is an animal planet, discovery channel channel commando because everything she said beyond that point was cliche' or Tia says or dog whisperer this n that. All in all what I thought was goin to be a brief encounter it turned into almost an hour long training session for this lady. Toby even laid down and went to sleep in the grass. Love my dog lol!
Not once though did she ever try to touch Toby nor did she ask to.
So, what I realized later when I thought about it.
1. People watch me and my dog more than I realize. I have above average situational awareness and never noticed her before.
2. When I thought about changing my route I realized I know every house in 5 mile radius of my house that has potential for problems. Loose dogs big, med, and snack size. Where all the DA dogs that are loose behind low fences etc. I even know what time of day the 3 tea cup terrors are goin to escape and tear
through the block.
3. I love my big wrecking ball. He never ceases to amaze me.
4. I've come to stereo typing people and expect the worse from people in the presence of my dog.
I was happy with the praise Toby received, he has worked very hard to be a polite boy.
I stopped when she was just beyond the length of my leash. Soon as I stopped Toby snapped into a sit and sat perfect and calm waiting for my instruction. I was really proud of that.
The lady looks at me, smiles, and just gets all ga ga goo goo goooood puppy whuppy with my dog and showers him with accolades and tells me how beautiful and well behaved he is. Toby keeps looking at me like " yo, pops this chics crazy". She goes on to say she comes out in the evening to admire Toby and his manners.
So then she asks me where Coco has been and that she hasn't seen her in a couple weeks, and how did I get them so polite and well mannered.
I didn't want to lie to her but I didn't want to change her opinion of my dog and the breed as a whole by telling her about what I went through in the last month and the events that lead to crate n rotate and eventually rehoming Coco. So I deflected by saying there were some personality issues and I felt it was better for both dogs to not be in the same house.
Then I finally figured it out. She is an animal planet, discovery channel channel commando because everything she said beyond that point was cliche' or Tia says or dog whisperer this n that. All in all what I thought was goin to be a brief encounter it turned into almost an hour long training session for this lady. Toby even laid down and went to sleep in the grass. Love my dog lol!
Not once though did she ever try to touch Toby nor did she ask to.
So, what I realized later when I thought about it.
1. People watch me and my dog more than I realize. I have above average situational awareness and never noticed her before.
2. When I thought about changing my route I realized I know every house in 5 mile radius of my house that has potential for problems. Loose dogs big, med, and snack size. Where all the DA dogs that are loose behind low fences etc. I even know what time of day the 3 tea cup terrors are goin to escape and tear
through the block.
3. I love my big wrecking ball. He never ceases to amaze me.
4. I've come to stereo typing people and expect the worse from people in the presence of my dog.
I was happy with the praise Toby received, he has worked very hard to be a polite boy.