Question for dog owners...

gr8heart

gr8heart

-for YSL!
May 23, 2006
3,881
1
#1
Help!
I have two good friends who adopted a labrapoodle :confused1: over a year ago. The 80+ lbs.dog is a year and a half old and is the most badly behaved dog I have ever met...

Guests are greeted by her barks and are immediately attacked. 'Puppy' scratches or chews on our shoes, places her huge paws on our chest, constantly sniffs our private parts :cursing:, eats out of our plate if we are not careful and jumps on our lap if we are sitting in the living room. Puppy loves chewing on furniture: dining room table, couch, end tables, chairs, walls, etc.

How can my other friend and I tell the owners that there is a problem? We both love to hang out with our friends, but we are so uncomfortable when we visit because of their dog and they just love to entertain and are otherwise, great hosts.

The owners do not see a problem with their dog and we do. This evening when my friend showed the owners her bruises from this past weekend, they said, 'they look like a paw! Sorry!' Another friend loaned them the Cesar Milan tapes and they said he was fake. :confused1: They also took Puppy to a pet store school a while back, but dropped out for some reason.

We just can't take this anymore and we sincerely do not know how to tell them. They treat Puppy as their child and are very protective and giving: they had a one year birthday party for her and we all wore party hats and saw how Puppy enjoyed her doggy cake. :Push:

Are we being too sensitive? Will they be offended if I buy them a gift certificate to classes given by a dog trainer?
 
#2
No, you are not being too sensitive! Doggy behavior like that is unacceptable. And yes, they would probably be offended if you got them a gift cert. for obedience classes. Unfortunately these people do not see their dog's behavior as a problem. But you do, so you should just be honest, difficult as it is. They need to be told, politely and with great regret, that you feel intimidated and uncomfortable when you visit them and that you'd be happy to meet them at a restaurant or whatever but that being in their home with that dog is simply not on anymore. It may cost you their friendship but maybe, after they wake up one day and realize that no one wants to come to their house anymore, it will force them to confront their out-of-control dog and at least confine it to another room or something when they entertain, if not actually follow through with some obedience training. Good luck!
 
#3
I think you should tell them as well... They'll soon notice how right you were when no one wants to come by anymore.

Wow, and I thought my dogs misbehaved.. Perhaps you can even recommend for them to take their dog to the park to get some exercise. The exercise will calm the dog down nicely. The dog could just be misbehaving because it has all this energy stored, with no way to unleash it.
 
#5
madamefifi said:
No, you are not being too sensitive! Doggy behavior like that is unacceptable. And yes, they would probably be offended if you got them a gift cert. for obedience classes. Unfortunately these people do not see their dog's behavior as a problem. But you do, so you should just be honest, difficult as it is. They need to be told, politely and with great regret, that you feel intimidated and uncomfortable when you visit them and that you'd be happy to meet them at a restaurant or whatever but that being in their home with that dog is simply not on anymore. It may cost you their friendship but maybe, after they wake up one day and realize that no one wants to come to their house anymore, it will force them to confront their out-of-control dog and at least confine it to another room or something when they entertain, if not actually follow through with some obedience training. Good luck!
Click to expand...

Thanks for your thoughts, mmfifi! I think you are right...they will be offended. I suppose no one likes it when someone else disciplines their child, and Puppy is no different.
I often hear 'Go say HI to Auntie Liz.' :Push:

They do confine Puppy to another room sometimes, but she starts barking very loudly nonstop until we just cannot take it anymore and then she is let out and we get harrassed. :sad:

You're right...I will try my best to avoid their place and meet somewhere else.
 
#6
apple_28 said:
I think you should tell them as well... They'll soon notice how right you were when no one wants to come by anymore.

Wow, and I thought my dogs misbehaved.. Perhaps you can even recommend for them to take their dog to the park to get some exercise. The exercise will calm the dog down nicely. The dog could just be misbehaving because it has all this energy stored, with no way to unleash it.
Click to expand...

:yes: Yes, Puppy needs lots of exercise, but they walk her for a short distance on weekdays and long distances on weekends. We often go to the dog park on weekdays and she plays with other dogs and get super dirty, etc. and she does seem to calm down a bit.

I just don't know how to tell them...that's why I thought about purchasing classes for them...and then bringing it up, but that doesn't sound like a good idea anymore.
 
#8
Oh it makes me so angry when people refuse to train their dogs! They aren't born knowing how to behave any more than people are! I feel a tirade coming on so, I'll try to get back on topic!
It seems to me your friends are sending out a message ... and it goes like this " if you don't like my dog, don't visit".
The thing is they may not realize that is their message, until people quit visiting. (and they will INEVITABLY blame the dog).
Encourage get-togethers at your own place and avoid theirs. They will get it eventually.
.....I just feel sorry for the dog...
 
#10
100% agree with sellmysoul.

We have a 9 lb toy poodle who loves to jump up and give kisses. After about 20 minutes, he settles and finds a spot to lay down and leaves our guests alone. I warn all visitors ahead of time of our dog and leave it up to them if they still want to come over or meet elsewhere. I don't get offended or upset. This is what I have done recently to 'distract" our dog until he settles down and it has worked very well: I have a rubber ball that has openings in it, we stuff dog treats in it so that it doesn't fall out. He spends all his time trying to get the treats out and leaves us alone. By the time, he does get the treats out, he's already settled and use to the guests. Maybe your friend can try this?
 
#11
I am glad I dropped by to read this!! I have a new puppy (just under 17 weeks) and man O man.. I don't want my pup to act like that! I think this has renewed my drive to really social and train her well so she's lovable and not a pest! Thanks for posting on this topic.
 
#12
Sounds like they need a reality check. Tell them in as nice a way as possible that you DON'T ENJOY being mauled by their dog. Maybe they think you enjoy that behavior? I can't imagine anyone would want their dog to act that way and encourage it. Tell them that you love the dog and like to visit with her but you don't want to leave with bruises. Puppy needs a crate and some behavior training.
 
#13
This is not the dogs fault. He is young and hasn't been trained how to act around people. He should have obediance and crate training as well. If guests in our home are uncomfortable with my dog (he is very well behaved but some people are intimidated by pit bulls) I put him in his crate. He loves it and it's his own space. I crate trianed him when he was about 8 months old and it was hard at times and he did bark for a night or too but you just need to stick with it. Dogs are animals not people and shouldn't be treated like people.
 
#14
OMG I would be MORTIFIED if my dog acted like that. I love most dogs, but I really dislike being around dogs that misbehave. I would let them know your concerns and ask if there's anything you can do to not encourage their pet's behavior towards you. If that doesn't work, it might be worth recommending meeting outside their home or maybe recommending taking puppy to the dog park or for a long walk first to calm her down. Labs are very high energy dogs. She needs some help releasing it. Good luck!
 
#15
cdnshopper said:
100% agree with sellmysoul.

We have a 9 lb toy poodle who loves to jump up and give kisses. After about 20 minutes, he settles and finds a spot to lay down and leaves our guests alone. I warn all visitors ahead of time of our dog and leave it up to them if they still want to come over or meet elsewhere. I don't get offended or upset. This is what I have done recently to 'distract" our dog until he settles down and it has worked very well: I have a rubber ball that has openings in it, we stuff dog treats in it so that it doesn't fall out. He spends all his time trying to get the treats out and leaves us alone. By the time, he does get the treats out, he's already settled and use to the guests. Maybe your friend can try this?
Click to expand...

:tup:Sounds like a great suggestion! Puppy usually is chewing on something...
Puppy usually grabs a shoe (their shoes are horrible from all the chewing) so I hide mine if I take them off.
I will try to find this toy and give it to Puppy as a present.:yes:
 
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