# People and their horrible, I mean wonderful, dogs **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 7, 2003, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-and-their-horrible-i-mean-wonderful-dogs/186760 "2003-07-07T13:27:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![lachesis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@lachesis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lachesis)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2003, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-and-their-horrible-i-mean-wonderful-dogs/186760/21 "2003-07-08T14:31:02Z")
well, if the dog has supposedly been to obedience classes, i’d throw diplomacy to the winds. obviously it took for the dog … but not the people. when Rambunctious Dog comes charging on up, look it in the eye and say in your most commanding tone possible **SIT!** and repeat until dog responds. do NOT stop until dog obeys. obviously it’s the people that need more training at this point. ---
**Author:** ![Miabella](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ccd318/32.png) [@Miabella](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miabella)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2003, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-and-their-horrible-i-mean-wonderful-dogs/186760/22 "2003-07-08T14:51:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by lachesis \* > \*\* obviously it’s the people that need more training at this point. \*\* Ain’t that the truth! Dog obedience is my hobby, I compete with my dog in AKC obedience trials and belong to a training club that offers obedience classes to the public. Dogs are easy to train, it’s the owners that are a pain in the ass. Everyone thinks they know better than the trainer, even if the trainer has owned and titled dogs for 30 years. Mr. & Mrs. Newbie Lab Owner have to argue every single point despite the fact that what they are currently doing isn’t working, as evidenced by their out-of-control dog. I know that if this is going to become a rant, it belongs in the Pit, but let me just say that I am so sick of people thinking that they don’t need to train Retrievers because they are “friendly” dogs. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2003, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-and-their-horrible-i-mean-wonderful-dogs/186760/23 "2003-07-08T15:32:49Z")
Caricci, I agree with lachesis … tell that dog to sit!! Your poor son. And I think you should be blunt with them: your dog is terrifing my son. I just can’t understand this sort of behavior. I’m always paranoid my dog is bothering people. She’s very very friendly and sweet, but if ever I try to take her away, people always protest and ask me to bring her back. ---
**Author:** ![Caricci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Caricci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caricci)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2003, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-and-their-horrible-i-mean-wonderful-dogs/186760/24 "2003-07-08T18:09:44Z")
Ellen Cherry, I too am paranoid that my Bobby Ranger is annoying people. He’s not even a crotch sniffer but I still worry. Some people will tell you their dog is just being friendly when it’s ripping out your throat. This lab in question was way too excited at first to respond to any commands. ---
**Author:** ![jlzania](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/67e7ee/32.png) [@jlzania](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jlzania)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2003, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-and-their-horrible-i-mean-wonderful-dogs/186760/25 "2003-07-08T18:51:48Z")
I agree that a dog should not be allowed to frighten a child or rudely snatch food off of a visitors plate. That’s just plain rude. That said, I make it very clear that if you don’t like dogs, you probably shouldn’t be visiting us. My beasts are fairly well-behaved (they don’t jump on people or harrass them) but they are dogs and they will come up and check out any strangers. After a few minutes, they generally get bored and wander off. If you can’t tolerate being sniffed for a few minutes or you dislike animals in general-well, they live here and you don’t. (This of course, does not apply to visitors with allergies.) ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2003, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-and-their-horrible-i-mean-wonderful-dogs/186760/26 "2003-07-09T02:50:25Z")
Whenever this subject comes up, someone always trots out “they live here and you don’t.” Yes, I know I don’t live there, but our friends _invite_ us over - we don’t just show up and expect them to put the dogs away. It puts me in the bad position of wanting to see our friends when invited, but not wanting to deal with their three large dogs in my face for the whole visit. ---
**Author:** ![jlzania](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/67e7ee/32.png) [@jlzania](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jlzania)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2003, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-and-their-horrible-i-mean-wonderful-dogs/186760/27 "2003-07-09T14:12:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* featherlou\*\* Whenever this subject comes up, someone always trots out “they live here and you don’t.” Well, it’s always nice to fufill expectations. Yes, as I said, it’s rude to allow your dogs to upset your guests. However, my dogs are normally less in your face than the average child in the homes that I visit. Whenever I read statements like > [@](#): > > what about the dog behaviours that people who don’t have dogs aren’t used to? Like getting dog slobber all over your hands, face, and good clothes… I suspect that the person really doesn’t like dogs which is perfectly acceptable. One of my dearest friend’s husbands just doesn’t much care for animals in general and dogs in particular. Too big, too stinky, too drooly. He prefers a more sanitized world and that’s fine too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-and-their-horrible-i-mean-wonderful-dogs/186760.md?page=1)