Welcome to this week’s edition of Follow-Up Friday, the post where I highlight reader’s comments, answer questions, and generally just wrap up my week.

You Make Me Laugh – March 20, 2016

Taryn said, “When the deer run behind my house or the squirrel runs along the powerline strung back there, nothing will call the boys off of those!”

Those ARE tough ones. Hopefully I see them first, LOL because if I don’t, all hell can break loose!

Meagan & Merlin said, “Merlin usually focuses on inanimate objects lol. The last standoff he had was with a bucket of all things.”

BA HA HA, I hear that. Christmas time is awesome, when all the peeps put out their lawn ornaments. 🙂

Monika and Sam said, “There have been a couple of occasions when I couldn’t get Sam to not uber focus on a passing dog. He even walked into a pole because he was so focused on one particular dog he just couldn’t take his eyes off of no matter what I tried to distract him. No wonder that dog is so dimwitted. And yes, I did laugh my butt off at his crash cuz that’s the way I roll. :-)”

OH. MY. DOG. I would have laughed too. In fact, I’m laughing now. Yes. I am.

Misty Shores Chesapeakes said, “Cheyenne’s focus is on me always. 🙂 ”

THAT is so sweet!

Rat-a-tat-tat-tat

Genevieve said, “It’s all about patience. I stand there watching and wait out the digging and tossing of dirt clods. Breathe. Check the sky. Plan the day. Twiddle my thumbs. When Miss-all-of-a-sudden-I’m-the-neatest-tidiest-dog-in-the-world is finished, then and only then will I bend down and pick it up.”

Yes, do all of those things. But try, just once to take a picture and see what happens. 😉

Emma said, “Our only problem according to the mom is when she is focused on picking up and we take off after something like a critter rather than holding our stay.”

Been there, done that. If only we spoke each other’s language. 🙂

Julie said, “Sometimes after Cocoa poops she gets all crazy and wants to run. So I will be picking up poop and making sure it gets in the bag and she is running around me and I am spinning in circles while closing the poop bag and hoping people do not think we are totally nuts, haha.”

Ha ha, it sounds like when Delilah thinks she will be getting a treat. Sometimes it looks like I’m competing in the Olympics and doing a triple.

Jan said, “Years ago I moved to a place where it never snows, so to answer your question, no…”

BUT you have those pesky times when the earth shakes. That sort of scares me.

Lauranne said, “Mity used to do that, once I think it was my sister who ended up with a mouthful of leaves as she had bent down before he had finished doing his “feet wiping” routine.”

Perhaps Mity had a premonition of what she might be doing right about now. Karma for future events? 😉

Callie, Shadow and Ducky’s Mom said, “Your poop stories always give me a severe case of the giggles! And the expression on Delilah’s face is priceless!”

Good, I don’t want to be the only one giggling. Delilah IS priceless.

WHY – Barks and Bytes

Sometimes I feel like I should change my tag line to “Encounters with clueless dog owners.” Honestly, it happens so frequently I can barely believe it myself.

Taryn Tipton said, “I guess some people are just clueless. They have a dog that doesn’t react (or a tiny dog that does but they think it’s cute) so it never occurs to them all dogs aren’t that way. It is esp. bad at the vets office where 99% of the dogs are already stressed out more than usual.”

I agree and I guess I’m most shocked that the people that work at the Vet’s office don’t know this and aren’t advising people to use their heads!

Lauren Miller said, “It happens in dog training class, too! I’ve had to step between so many dogs because their owners let them go nose to nose with dogs they don’t know. People don’t realize that these things can go so badly.”

I know, it happens just about everywhere. Honestly, you’d think people would think about things, wouldn’t you?

Sheena said, “I always say “he’s NOT friendly! And I am even less friendly!” Most people catch the clue and get out of the way and not try to let their dog near us! “He’ll bite you” (or your dog) works well too!”

I don’t like to “label” her with that, because I don’t want someone in the neighborhood reporting me for having a dog that ‘bites.’ If I’m given the opportunity, I’ll typically say, she can be snarky sometimes on leash.

Emma said, “I find those incidents all unacceptable, especially at the vet! Even the friendliest dog can be stressed at the vet causing bad reactions.”

I agree. I expect when I take my dog to the Vet or to the training center that the people in charge understand dogs and work to keep my dogs safe. Honestly,  I don’t think it’s a lot to ask.

Sue said, “Whatever happened to common sense? I mean, isn’t common sense to keep your dog on leash at the vet’s? Ditto restraining your dog from approaching others until the other dog owner gives an okay of some kind? This is one thing my vet has right. They keep a bunch of slip leads on a leash hook by the door with a big sign saying all dogs must be on leash (and furthermore, cats must be crated.)” …”In our case Rudy is absolutely terrified being in the vet’s office. It literally scares the shit out of him. Would he attack another dog? I really don’t want to find out.”

I don’t know, it boggles my mind sometimes. I like the idea of having the slip leads readily available. Maybe I’ll ask my vet if they would use them if I donated some. And you shouldn’t have to wonder if he would attack another dog because the Vet’s office should be using their heads!

Jan K said, “I haven’t seen an off leash dog at our vet, thank goodness. I have seen dogs acting out, lunging and pulling towards us, and then MY dog gets criticized for growling at theirs!
It’s not all that surprising that everyday people are clueless, but the vet techs and vets? That’s unbelievable, because as others said, even your best dog can be stressed out if they are sick or injured. The people there are in the position where they need to strictly enforce their rules.”

That would make me mad if someone said something about my dog, when (s)he was provoked. And yes, you could have the most wonderful dog in the world, but if they are sick or injured they might react differently than when they are well.

Callie, Shadow and Ducky’s Mom said, “Except for a few very young puppies held in their owners’ arms, I don’t think I’ve ever seen any dog off its leash at our vet’s office. ”

Even then, I would still want them on leash. What if they squirmed and ended up being dropped? What if that dog that the lady was holding freaked out and bit me? My face would have been just about perfect height for that.

Jan said, “I haven’t seen off leash dogs at my vet, but they have big signs and extra leashes and people monitoring the dogs for compliance.”

Well that makes sense and if people won’t comply then they should be told to wait in their car. That’s all I’m saying, don’t put my dog at risk because of someone else’s stupidity.

Lauranne said, “I never get people who let animals interact at the vets… my dog could be here cause he is ill and I don’t know what’s wrong with him, sure lets have him pass the germs to yours as well!”

EXACTLY! Typically if the Vet’s office suspects something contagious they would usher the ill dog in right away, but what if they don’t? That person could be exposing their dog to something that has the chance to be deadly.

Julie said, “Someone once yelled to me as their dog was running up to us that they are friendly. Well, good for them but Cocoa may not be!!”

THANK YOU. I want to scream at them, “Pull your head out of your ass!”

Misty Shores Chesapeakes said, “My vet example happened with Riva with an older woman in the waiting area of the office. She could see Riva was anxious and I was holding her close to me on leash but when the lady walked by us (and there was plenty of room for her to avoid us) she reached out and touched her, so Riva reached out and touched her. No one was hurt but she proceeded to tell my vet that Riva jumped at her but I guess she forgot to tell her that she as the human did not abide by the warning signs and body language of my dog, do not touch me or encroach on my space.”

That just made me do a head whip. For real? I think I might have been tempted at the moment myself, to reach out and touch that woman. WTF is wrong with people?

DZ Dogs said, “Vets know the body not the brain or behavioral stuff, as i’ve come to find out the hard way…There is one nurse at our office who has been there forever but Dante hates her, which I can’t blame him. First time I ever brought him in she man handled him, freaked him out, and then had the nerve to tell me he was dangerous and needed to be muzzled!!

I just think if you work in that field, you should have some general knowledge. And that would piss me off if someone man handled my dog too!

Beth said, “We’ve gotten several new vet techs recently (we miss our old ones desperately!), but they’ve been very good about dealing with Barley when I’ve said, “She doesn’t do well with other dogs.” I think it might also help that I refuse to budge from the entryway if there is another dog in the waiting room–on or off leash–and I stand there next to the door in case we need an escape and there’s a divider blocking Barley’s view of the other dogs.”

I am always vigilant and if I see someone coming in the door with a dog, I will move to the cat area or ask to be put in a room. If need be, like you, I’ll leave. 

Well that’s it for me folks, have a wonderful weekend and Happy Easter!