Lately I have been taking my weird dog Pippen on long walks. I'm trying to get him back into shape. In other words, making him exercise instead of sleeping all day. Luckily going on walks is one of his favorite things to do in life (well, other than nap and worship the ground I walk on).
I'm sure that I have mentioned in the past that Pippen is a rescue dog. We have no idea what happened to him before he joined our family. I'm sure RT would answer that with, "A lot!" And that is what makes him weird special.
Pippen can get a little aggressive while on a walk. What makes him aggressive? Other dogs, especially those small ones. I call it his snapping turtle mode, that's where his jaw starts snapping, like he is trying to eat the other dog (which is probably what he is trying to do). It isn't pretty to watch or be the owner of an aggressive dog. People look at me like it's my fault he acts like a psycho snapping turtle crazy dog. They say that owners and their dogs are a lot alike, but this is not one of the traits that I share with my dog. I don't always aggressively try to attack everyone I encounter. This issue is something that we have been working on for awhile. I think we might be making progress. OK, it's been ten years and after every walk I feel like Pippen might be turning the corner. Unfortunately, on the next walk, everything that he learned is easily forgotten and I am left apologizing to other dog owners.
When we are out on our walks, I notice a lot of people walking their dogs and staring at their phones. I'm not sure if they are checking Instagram, updating their status on Facebook or looking up fun stuff to do on Pinterest. I mean, it's great to multi-task, but, not while you are walking your dog. You should be on the look out for "things" that you will need to clean up and other dogs/owners that are approaching. Especially those owners that are off to the side of the path, trying to keep their dog from killing attacking your dog.
What would you do in this situation?
Do you have any suggestions on what to say to these ignorant dog walkers?
I would have lots of yummy treats with me like chicken, hot dogs, cheese... that I would get Pippen interested in when another dog approaches. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteHe's actually a lot better. He knows that if he goes too crazy that I won't walk him anymore. It's fun to watch the little gears in his head while he thinks about this, I want to attack...but then she won't walk me.
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