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Taking Your Dog Places This Summer

Taking Your Dog Places This Summer

May 21, 2012 by Conor Davis

Well summertime is coming up, the weather is getting warmer, and our favorite restaurants and bars are knocking the dust off their patio chairs and tables. (actually here in the south, its been patio weather for a month or so, but I figured I would take a little poetic license…)

That being the case, I wanted to post something about taking dogs to public places.

So let me start with a story. Yesterday I went to brunch with some friends. And having nothing better to do, brunch turned into stopping by a local brewery (Avondale Brewery, which is awesome BTW) for a couple beers before getting back to the house and knocking out a few more lines of code for the new website. The brewery has a beautiful patio with lots of tables and chairs, it’s fenced in, and it even has a few grass lined areas around the edges. Essentially the perfect place to bring a four legged bro. Since I came from brunch, I didn't have my kids, they were here at work hanging out. But there were a few others, most notably a lab mix, and a dachshund with the same owner and both dog were on retractable leashes. (and if you don't know how we feel about retractable leashes, please check out Margarets Post here)

Being around dogs all day, I notice dogs, and generally enjoy watching them interact with the world. It amuses me. Well a few minutes after they got there, the owner decided that the retractable leash was too much bother, so she took it off. (mistake #1) Which of course gave the lab mix the freedom to wander about the patio unsupervised. (mistake #2) Because even though I am a dog lover and my friends are dog lovers, not everyone loves dogs.

But all of that was nothing in comparison to what the dog’s owner didn't notice. And that was the very large bull breed dog playing ball with his owner at the place next door.

But all of that was nothing in comparison to what the dog’s owner didn't notice. And that was the very large bull breed dog playing ball with his owner at the place next door.

So I go back to my conversation with my friends, more amused by the two rabble rousing pugs next to us anyway. But I would say not more than half a beer later, a ruckus breaks out in the general direction of the lab mix. Being quite adept at knowing the sounds of a dog ruckus as compared to people ruckus, I made a quick guess what had happened as it was happening.

The bull breed, happily playing ball with is owner spotted the lab mix, probably about the same time the lab mix spotted him. And both dogs converged to investigate who this other person was in his area. So both dogs, being outside of the reach of both owners decided to have a loud “discussion” about whose place this was.

Luckily, both dogs were fine. Just loud. No real injuries to speak of. But the lab’s owner was incensed by the situation. Obviously shocked that any such thing could happen. And being out of earshot of the conversation (which is probably good because I would have told them it was both their faults) I couldn't hear the particulars of the human interaction. But I did see the shocked bull breed’s owner give the lab mix’s owner his number.

So the moral of the story?

Your dog is your responsibility.

So let me give a few guidelines on having a safe time taking your dog places.

  1. Make sure your dog knows the command Leave It perfectly. So that when he tries to dive on a half finished beer, you can easily stop him
  2. Settle Down is a key command when going to a restaurant or bar patio. Space is usually at a premium, so having a dog pacing between chairs, standing in the walkways, and trying to help your neighbor table with their guacamole is a nuisance.
  3. NEVER take your dog off leash in public places! (unless it is a dog park) My dogs have been on stage, television commercials, competitions and more. But when I am in public places, they are on leash. Because I cannot control what may happen around me. (and it should go without saying, but use proper training equipment)
  4. Not everyone likes dogs. Although there is a part of me that doesn't trust those people, they usually have a reason. Respect it. Don't let your dog just “go visit” everyone.
  5. And most important. You are responsible for your dog. And YOUR actions create a judgment on every one else with dogs. If you want more places to take your dog. Be a good steward and make a good impression. If you want fewer places to visit, let your dog run amok.

Sorry for getting preachy on a Monday morning, but I really felt the need to share that story!

Talk again soon,
Conor

P.S. if anyone wanted to know why I generically said “bull breed” instead of the specific breed, (boxer, pit bull, am staff, bull mastiff, etc) it is because the actual breed didn't matter. This wasn't because it was a bull breed. It was the situation. The same thing would have happened if it was another lab, so I really didn't want to let a breed stereotype color the story.

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