8 State Hurricane Kate

There has been an ongoing discussion about people who let their dogs jump on or otherwise molest a strange dog without asking permission.

Click here for a fantastic article by Suzanne Clothier about dog behavior, explaining perfectly why my dog Bandit tries to correct misbehaving dogs, and how their owners usually just don’t get how rude their dog is. Walk into any room and Bandit will immediately pick out which dogs are in control of the ‘owners’ and are most likely to misbehave, even if it isn’t evident to anyone else yet. Fortunately, Bandit and I have an understanding about this and I try to intervene (if needed) so that he doesn’t have to. I’m still astounded though by people who seem to have no clue that their dog is being rude and don’t see the signals that their dog is sending out (like staring constantly at another dog). Bandit has even been jumped on by another dog in the hallway at an obedience trial. Of course, if he tries to correct the offending dog, he will most likely get in trouble! Go to the link and read what Suzanne has to say. It’s good stuff.

IMO, people who greet a dog by roughing it up around the ears and patting it on top of the head are just as clueless and may be asking for trouble!