Funny thing with our neighbor's girl

[clh2]

We are not close to our neighbors, we are definitley cordial with them. We'll stop and chat if we are all out walking.

They have a 6 year old girl, probably would weigh 40 pounds soaking wet. "J." will flag me down if she is out and I am walking our dog. She will talk to me and just pet our dog. Our dog, who has never met a person he doesn't like, just soaks up the love. This happens about 1 or 2 times a week.

My DH was walking the dog last night, and "J" was out walking with her dad. "J" of course pets our dog. J's dad just can't figure this out. Apparently "J" truly dislikes many, many dogs.

Our dog is a 75 pound lab/white shepard mix, easily 2 times her size. When they were out talking last night, "J" hid behind her dad when a different neighbor stopped by to join the conversation, and they have a 4# teacup chihuahua.

Our dog is wonderfully mellow, we got him when he was 8 years old. He doesn't jump, rarely barks. (I can't take credit for that - previous owners did that work with him.) Whenever "J" is nearby, I put our dog in a "sit", because I think it frightens kids when dogs approach them that are big and at eye-level with the kids. I also don't want kids to think it is OK to have a dog's face right up into their face. Another reason I put him in a sit - is that way he won't give 40# "J" a 75 pound labby lean.

Anyway, I am just floored that "J" doesn't like dogs. I had no clue.

 

[Princess_Dot]

awww I think its great that your dog is so kind! And you cant give the old owners all the credit for a loving dog, it takes a loving family to keep the manners going strong.

My dog, on the other hand, is more scared of children then they are of him.

 

[Evil Genius]

The child understands that you have control of the situation and the dog isn't loud (barking)

I gotta tell ya' I love dogs, but my sister's neighbor has a chihuahua that I wouldn't go near for a million dollars. The thing scares the heck outta me.

 

[golfgal]

Our youngest is like that with dogs, it isn't so much the size of the dog but they hyper level of the dog. He HATES dogs that jump up on him, big or small. If your dog is calm and doesn't jump, he could be 10 pounds or 200 lbs and DS is fine with them.

 

[Mkrop]

This exactly how DS5 is. Just like J he likes dogs that are quiet. His favortie dog is a huge German Shepard that belongs to my DS10's friends who occassionally bring him to the baseball games. I could not believe it when DS5 went over and asked if he could pet him.

 

[clh2]

The child understands that you have control of the situation and the dog isn't loud (barking)

I gotta tell ya' I love dogs, but my sister's neighbor has a chihuahua that I wouldn't go near for a million dollars. The thing scares the heck outta me.

I truly think that some owners of small dogs think that training is unnecessary. i also cringe that an owner of an untrained small dog needs to preface a converstaion with "Our "Precious Dog" wouldn't hurt a flea". I also cringe when people try to coerce a child to pet their dog if the child is afraid of dogs. It just makes no sense to me.

 

[Teresa Pitman]

Your dog is a treasure!!

We had a black lab named Jack who was wonderful at winning over people were afraid of dogs. One of my friends had a 5-year-old girl who had been attacked by a dog when she was younger, and she was terrified of dogs. When she met Jack, she was scared at first but soon fell completely in love with him. A few weeks later my friend brought home a picture the little girl had drawn at school - showing a big black dog and labelled "Jack the nice dog." I still have that picture, even though Jack has since passed away.

Jack also won over a friend of mine who had been afraid of dogs her whole life. Once she went to a bed and breakfast and had to leave because the owners had a dog (I think it was a cocker spaniel or something - not even a big dog). But Jack also won her over - he was so gentle and affectionate. Now she owns two dogs herself (both Lab crosses, of course!) and I love hearing how much she loves and enjoys them.

My new Lab, Toby, is rather bouncey and energetic, so not as good for people who are nervous. But he is just amazing around children (although he's inclined to lick them, especially if they have food on their faces) and kids tend to love him.

Teresa

 

[ilovefishsticks4]

Our youngest is like that with dogs, it isn't so much the size of the dog but they hyper level of the dog. He HATES dogs that jump up on him, big or small. If your dog is calm and doesn't jump, he could be 10 pounds or 200 lbs and DS is fine with them.

hahaha so is mine

 

[MichelleVW]

I truly think that some owners of small dogs think that training is unnecessary. i also cringe that an owner of an untrained small dog needs to preface a converstaion with "Our "Precious Dog" wouldn't hurt a flea". I also cringe when people try to coerce a child to pet their dog if the child is afraid of dogs. It just makes no sense to me.

I totally agree. People think that since they are so small they can just pick them up when they misbehave and these small dogs are seldom taugh manners. I had a friend when my girls were small who had a mini pin that would jump all over everyone and everything. My DD who was about 6 at the time was terrified of that dog and she grew up with dogs.

 

[MM27]

My dog, on the other hand, is more scared of children then they are of him.

My dog is like that too. She is overly aggressive with other dogs, fine with adults, but when kids are around she wants to be nowhere near them. When I walk her there are always kids that come up and ask if they can pet her. She will speed up her walk so that she can get away from them.

 

[Princess_Dot]

My dog is like that too. She is overly aggressive with other dogs, fine with adults, but when kids are around she wants to be nowhere near them. When I walk her there are always kids that come up and ask if they can pet her. She will speed up her walk so that she can get away from them.

My Dog will turn around and walk in the opposite direction as the children. Hes fine with other dogs and adults....its just children.