I’d consider being your friend, but your dog is such a JERK!

I know, right from the get go, this sounds negative. I just wanted to get your attention and I believe it worked! I’m a dog lover, really. I’m the very proud parent of a 15 year-old Golden Doodle named Jazz.

I love animals-especially dogs; it’s the owners that need some serious training. We see this played out time and time again. The (most breeds) dog with poor social skills. Mean stance, tail up, jumping on you, showing teeth and basically out of control. A guy from down the street has two little terriers with crazy, Cujo-like personalities. He shows little control as they walk him down the sidewalk. Then, he stands across the street staring at my wife and me as we calmly walk Jazz through our tree-lined neighborhood. It’s almost peaceful until a couple, with their Lab mix, comes our way. Mom has little control over the 80# pup, dad is on his phone and we see this train wreck approaching before they do.

Dog pulls hard. Mom lunges, loses her grip and big dog gets loose. Focused on us and our calm dog, I stand sideways in front of my wife and dog attempting to show less body while protecting my peeps. Parents yell at their “BAD DOG” who decides not to listen. I loudly and in a deep voice tell their dog to SIT! To my astonishment, big dog listens. Disaster avoided.

You don’t have to watch Cesar the Dog Whisperer to understand almost always the owner’s lack of training, skills coupled with little desire to care about others.

Your dog’s great behavior is mostly due to you caring enough to teach it how to behave well. Your dog’s crappy behavior is a direct reflection on your poor owner skills. No excuses. No “Bad dog. I’m sooooo sorry.”

I’ll consider being your friend, talking to you and chatting away. But, not until you train yourself on the basics of dog walking. These include: my dog is out in public and should behave calmly, no jumping or showing of teeth and for heaven sakes please hold on to that leash!

Walk anyone?