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  #61  
Old July 29th, 2009, 12:32 PM
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Macomom Macomom is offline
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Yes BenMax, and once the big dog has moved, be polite and don't let your little dog follow.
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  #62  
Old July 29th, 2009, 12:38 PM
BenMax BenMax is offline
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Originally Posted by Macomom View Post
Yes BenMax, and once the big dog has moved, be polite and don't let your little dog follow.
What Bendyfoot is saying however (in a nutshell..and she is right) do not always make these concessions. She is saying that you need to understand animal behaviour and how they communicate and what they are 'conveying' to each other. It is very important to know what your dog's body language is 'saying' and what the other one is 'responding'. This will help you understand when you need to move your dog away if there is potential danger (if the other owner does not do so or does not understand their dog's behaviour). It does you and your dog to always take the 'flee' approach more harm than good.

BUT - in this instance, I stand by what you did since the other owner was being pig headed. I would have done the same.
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  #63  
Old July 29th, 2009, 01:06 PM
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Originally Posted by Macomom View Post
Yes BenMax, and once the big dog has moved, be polite and don't let your little dog follow.
Absolutley, I agree.
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  #64  
Old July 29th, 2009, 01:15 PM
BenMax BenMax is offline
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Absolutley, I agree.
Ok so then we all agree? I will say yes on behalf of Bendyfoot

(only because she is not on-line right now I will take this sneaky and inappropriate approach...)
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  #65  
Old July 29th, 2009, 01:19 PM
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Agreed
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  #66  
Old July 29th, 2009, 01:20 PM
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Originally Posted by BenMax View Post
Oh gawd, maybe I am not coming across clear (bad 'P' day I guess ). I am trying to say this.

BUT - I am also saying the following as well:

Small dogs are fragile physically. They break. If the DDB was playful, maybe too playful and the little guy was being whatever....you remove the big dog. By removing I mean just walk somewhere else. It is obvious that the little dog owner did not 'get it'. By her not understanding the potential disaster - you move.

I have to tell you, having my biggies I kinda got that from the beginning when it came to small breed owner's ignorance. I did not think I was backing down, I was creating a SAFE enviroment. I mean why be so darn stubborn - it's not worth it.

I agree BenMax that smaller dogs are more fragile, obviously, than the larger breeds.

When we are at DP with our dogs and we notice that one owner doesn't understand dog behavior and feels uncomfortable with the kind of playing or interaction that is happening, it's a simple solution. Move on, and away from that dog.

But this is another point that irks me as well, both regarding big breed owners and small breed owners.

Dogs know how to play with eachother. Period.

And even during play, they are constantly telling one another what is okay and what is not. Even when one dog starts to play more roughly with the smaller dog, they show one another through body language and sounds what they will tolerate, what scares them, what does not scare them. If at that point the dog (be it the small one or the big one) does not respect what the other dog is telling them, THAT is at the point they should be removed.

As owners who adore and love our pets, we feel the need to constantly monitor this process. And I'm not trying to say we SHOULDN'T. Absolutley. I just mean to say that even in the interaction between a large breed dog playing with a smaller breed dog, even if it *looks* rough, is not neccessarly cause for removal.
I guess all I'm trying to say is that it's my personal opinion that dog interaction and socialization has such a very fine line as to where we need to step in and at what point we need to step in.

Many owners don't see it this way, and I really believe its unfortunate. Obviously I'm not saying that if someone is uncomfortable with a situation they should stay - but I really think more education needs to happen in regards to dog socialization to realize that dogs teach one another more than we could ever hope too. Innterupting that process with any kind of dog, big -small - can lead to more problems.
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  #67  
Old July 29th, 2009, 01:21 PM
BenMax BenMax is offline
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Originally Posted by Macomom View Post
Agreed
It's not over Macomom - there will be more comments I am sure.
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  #68  
Old July 29th, 2009, 01:21 PM
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It's not over Macomom - there will be more comments I am sure.
HAHA, You spoke too soon.
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  #69  
Old July 29th, 2009, 01:26 PM
BenMax BenMax is offline
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HAHA, You spoke too soon.
See - do I know people here or what?? Baily you little bugger...
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  #70  
Old July 29th, 2009, 02:09 PM
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See - do I know people here or what?? Baily you little bugger...


Muuaa ha haaaaa...
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  #71  
Old July 29th, 2009, 03:11 PM
BenMax BenMax is offline
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[QUOTE=Bailey_;807852]I agree BenMax that smaller dogs are more fragile, obviously, than the larger breeds.
As owners who adore and love our pets, we feel the need to constantly monitor this process. And I'm not trying to say we SHOULDN'T. Absolutley. I just mean to say that even in the interaction between a large breed dog playing with a smaller breed dog, even if it *looks* rough, is not neccessarly cause for removal.
QUOTE]

You could have just stopped at 'I agree BenMax...'.

Here is where I disagree: even if it looks rough (when there is interaction between large breed and small breed) - someone interject! The small dog does not have a chance. Quite crudely put, they will 'break'. Listen - my dog weighs 5 lbs. Her legs are the size of my pinky. If I were to let the rough interaction take place - I would be going to the vet and forking out the coin - not the big dog owner.

BTW - why cannot I friggen quote properly here...totally off topic!
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  #72  
Old July 29th, 2009, 03:53 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BenMax View Post

You could have just stopped at 'I agree BenMax...'.

Here is where I disagree: even if it looks rough (when there is interaction between large breed and small breed) - someone interject! The small dog does not have a chance. Quite crudely put, they will 'break'. Listen - my dog weighs 5 lbs. Her legs are the size of my pinky. If I were to let the rough interaction take place - I would be going to the vet and forking out the coin - not the big dog owner.

BTW - why cannot I friggen quote properly here...totally off topic!
Honestly, I think we agree on the majority of this discussion we just have different ways of saying it.

I agree wholeheartedly with part of what you're saying. Some dogs ARE just simply 'rough players', and you can usually see them coming. (Forcefully running towards other dogs without stopping for the intial greeting, etc.) I absolutley think it is important to remove your dog whenever you feel uncomfortable, which is what the OP did and no one can scold her for that.

The truth of the matter is that there are a million dog owners out there who let their animals get away with murder, thus - causing badly socialized dogs who don't know how to properly interact. A lot of these owners don't even realize their dog is badly socialized because they 'take them to the dog park' and that in their minds inheritantly means they have a 'well socialized dog'.

But the point I was trying to make is that even our little 'breakable breeds' can easily stand up for themselves and play with large breed dogs without being hurt.

I had a six pound toy poodle rescue that I adopted when he was six years old before I had my labs. At the dog parks I never had to worry about him. Not only did he particularly adore playing with the large breed dogs (he had a thing about Great Pyreneese) I never worried about him. Occasionally if a dog ever started playing with Bandit to the point that he didn't like, he'd always warn them with a yelp and a scurry with his tail tucked between his legs. If they approached him again, he'd simply lie down and refuse to play. The other dog would leave him alone, or approach him in a different way.

Bandit is the sole reason I have my views of small breed vs large breed play. He taught me SO much, not only to trust that HE knew what he was doing when it came to the other dogs, but also that he needed to learn some manners along the way too. Often if a dog reacted poorly towards Bandit it was because he needed to be corrected by them.

With my two labs now, I am on the other side of the fence - if you will. They tend to be the ones that scare owners with smaller breed dogs, and more than once my dogs have been the reason small breed owners have picked up their dogs at the DP (for no other reason other than my dogs are approaching calmly and politely).

I totally understand that smaller breed dogs are naturally more fragile than our labs and our GSDs and our boxers. But I also recognize fully that regardless of size, dogs are always communicating. ALWAYS. And we as owners have the responsibility to allow that natural communication and interaction to happen. Our dogs may surprise us. I know mine have.
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  #73  
Old July 30th, 2009, 08:29 AM
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Originally Posted by BenMax View Post
Ok so then we all agree? I will say yes on behalf of Bendyfoot

(only because she is not on-line right now I will take this sneaky and inappropriate approach...)

HEY!!!




oh, um, but akshully....yeah. I agree.
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  #74  
Old July 30th, 2009, 10:30 AM
BenMax BenMax is offline
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LOL - too funny..
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