As a dog owner, here are 5 situations that freak me out [View all]

[KurtNYC]

1. Family walking down sidewalk and the kids approach my dog(s) with food in their hands. Why? Because if my dog goes for the food it may nip that little hand. Toddlers tend to carry food in the same position as someone offering it to the dog -- cookie up, fingers underneath. I teach my dogs to sit whenever they want any food that is present but food is a tough one to get consistent restraint around.

2. Parking meter readers that feed (or want to) your dog "treats." We have one meter reader that loves it when dogs see him and go crazy. He trains them to go crazy by feeding them treats out of his tech pants pocket when they do. It is a thankless job dealing with people who didn't put a quarter in the meter all day long and I'm sure they need some love but training my dog to get hyper and want to run up to people are dressed like and smell like cops is dangerous for my dogs. Cops shoot dogs who run at them.

3. (New) dog owners who demand that their fearful dog meet yours. Their dog has its tail all the way up between it's legs and they are dragging it forward toward your dog. It can't "flight" due to the leash (and the clueless owner) so it nips your dog in the face. And the owner is completely mystified.

A variation: people who bring newly adopted rescues to the dog run. They have had the dog a week or less and thanks to TV shows, they want to socialize the animal. Fine. But I didn't come to the dog run to help you figure out if your adoptee has fear aggression, or plain old aggression.

4. Non-dog owners who quote Cesar Milan. "Be the pack leader!" "Just go 'Shhh!'" etc. They mean well but it is a TV show damn it. Watching a TV show is only the start of understanding the body language and behaviors of dogs. Spend 24/7/365 with one before you declare yourself an expert please.

5. People who say weird stuff to your dog and/or let it stick its tongue on their mouths. My one neighbor likes to call one of my dogs a 'big dumb mutt' and then calls the other one "my little girl." And you might be surprised how many people stick their face down next to my dogs faces and then close their eyes as it licks every open orifice on their head. I kid you not. People didn't do that when I had a non-AKC Boxer and sometimes I miss the healthy apprehension and the occasional panicked question: "What BREED is that ?!" Answer: Not the one you're thinking of.