question for people with dogs (made me angry)

I saw a woman walking her dog who would not let it stop to eliminate. She pulled hard on its leash to try to get it to come along as she walked.

I got so angry that I fear it's ruined my day, but I don't know anything about dogs, so maybe -- maybe she DIDN'T mistreat the poor animal.

Can you help me understand why a dog owner would do this? Is it okay? Does it hurt the dog? I mean, excuse me for not understanding but CHRIST, when you've gotta go, you've gotta go! The dog doesn't understand why the c- excuse me, why the woman kept pulling and wouldn't let her piss!

Help? Please? Before I blow up?

Thanks.

Maybe she's was trying to be a good neighbor?

How long did you watch the woman ?
Some dogs like to stop and do their business every place they catch a scent ... so it may have already done it's serious business elsewhere and was just wanting to leave its mark over another dog's.

Or it could be that she's trying to train it to only go in a certain time, at a certain place (some people are groased out seeing dogshit laying alongside a trail - I actually had a jogger scold me once when Hank was pooping, even though I had a baggie to pick it up when he was finished) and that wasn't the place.

Or it could truly be that she was just a bitch who didn't want to stop and let her dog do it's thing.


:shrug:

Back when I had a dog, he'd relieve immediate hydraulic pressure at the first tree he saw, then he'd follow his route to other spots he wanted to scent mark.

It seems I indulged him and his whims considerably more than other dog walkers do. I kind of enjoyed watching him and trying to puzzle out what he was responding to (and usually failing completely, not having a nose of his sensitivity and his proximity to the ground). Most people seem to think of the walk as a chore, to be executed as quickly and hygienically as possible, and then get on with important human matters. But I wanted to make Andy feel like I respected his instincts. (We didn't really have a lot of quality time otherwise; he wasn't a playful dog.)

But I certainly understand your feelings: when I see people dragging dogs around corners, I want to slap them silly.

My little chihuahua girl loves to pee in about a million different spots. It's their calling card for other dogs to smell. I really don't get the rationale of the owner you saw, though.

I saw her walking north on 25th St. in NW Washington, DC. There is a park about a block away, just north of M St. I'd hope that's where she was going.

The first few times I saw the dog stop, it actually looked like her rear legs went out from under her. That's when I got REALLY mad because it looked like the dog was hurt.

But then the dog hopped up into a tiny garden-type area in front of a row-house and that is when it started to try to go.

No matter why the dog stopped, the woman pulled hard on the leash every time. When it looked like she'd "fallen" in pain, dog obediently got up and started to walk again, but then she'd "fall" again. When she had to go, she'd get up to walk again but she really, really had to go so she kept trying despite the pressure on her neck.

The woman had her on one of those extend-a-leashes that give you 15 feet or so, but she never extended it. The dog had about 3 feet of leash.

So?

Thanks to all.

before it went in someone's yard. People don't take kindly to owners allowing their dogs to poop in yards. I guess the woman had no choice but to keep the dog moving. Was it a small dog. If so, the woman should have carried it.

I want to say golden retriever? It was very light blonde. I wanted to take her away from that woman. :grr:

YOu don't know if the woman just got the dog or was training it. If it was a larger dog, then often they try to assert their alpha (dominance) by taking the leash where THEY want it to go. Today it might be for a pee on a lawn, tomorrow it might be after a cat in the middle of the street.

When a dog is being trained to heel...then any time they deviate, they need to be pulled back.

In my view it isn't cruel at all and in fact, it is how one is trained to teach a dog to heel.

An obedient dog is its own best friend.

Edit: After seeing post 6..I have a retriever...they are NOTORIOUSLY stubborn...even though they are trained as guide dogs, you have to get them young to do that...otherwise, they are stubborn.

IF someone saw me walking my boy, they might think I was the meanest mommy in the world..but my boy is spoiled rotten.

...better and are more tuned in to what the dog wants and feels. Others are not, and the dog suffers for it. Still others want to "master" and control their dog. And the bottom of the barrel lot make their dogs suffer for their own psycho shit they won't go to a therapist to work out.

Sigh...sorry you had to see that. It'd have pissed me off, too.

and there are times where I will pull her along because she has already pissed about 10 times and now she is just pulling to sniff every little thing. She'll even take the "i'm gonna piss" stance, but nothing comes out cuz there ain't nothing left. I'll also pull her along if I don't think it is a proper place to eliminate.
Sounds like your lady may have been a bit rough on the tugging, but if she's got a really resistant dog, she may have to pull harder on the leash. Of course, that's a fine line. I find that I never, ever respond to my pup the same way every day. Most days she is a very good little girl - no tugging on the leash, no criss-crossing in front of me and others on the sidewalk. BUT SOME DAYS - woah, she drives me nuts. I tug harder on those days, and am generally less patient with her antics... usually because she nearly tripped me or another pedestrian.