If I have learned anything from having Sampson and then Delilah it’s this…no two dogs are alike.
Sampson is Mr. Friendly, when he sees another dog regardless of whether he is leashed or not, he wants to greet the dog. Once he ran out in the street to greet a pit bull; he was rewarded for his efforts by a nip on his ear.
Delilah on the other hand has become very unfriendly to other dogs when she is on leash. On Saturday our friends joined us on our walk; as we entered the park all the dogs were on leash. Amelia who Delilah knows from Thursday night obedience class came a little too close for Delilah’s comfort and Delilah growled at her.
Yesterday as we were leaving the park Delilah was on leash and I saw some dogs tentatively approaching us, I tried to maneuver Delilah so we would not be involved in a greeting, but quickly realized that the dogs were coming faster than I anticipated and a meeting was inevitable; I unleashed her.
I made the decision (as the person who knows my dog best) as to what was best for her; the dogs all met, and then we went on our way with no altercations of any kind.
Today when we got to the park, the lady with the little pit bull was leaving; she had her dog on the gentle leader and was trying her best to keep her dog from approaching mine. I had Delilah leashed and tried to distract her with meat, but she would have none of it; in the end I had to grab her collar and pull her away. She resisted. To an observer, it would have looked like I was DRAGGING a dog, who was trying desperately to get away from me, as she twisted, growling and snarling trying to get to the other dog.
I knew Delilah was not going to sit while the lady with the dog passed, so once again I made a decision about what I thought was right for my dog.
My point is this; there are many passionate, well-meaning dog lovers who will gladly share with you their thoughts on what is appropriate or inappropriate in training your dog (me being one of them.) I listen, I love to hear what other people think, I will consider anything (short of physically man-handling my dog) but in the end, I do what I think is right and what I feel comfortable with and you should too.
No one knows your dog better than you do and no one knows what is best for your dog, except for you.
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