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heres the basic...its a dog park not a petting zoo...
if she wanted to socialize her dog with people shed take him to a people park, or a petstore, or another people rientated place...
instead she takes her dog to the dog park...im assuming to socialize with other dogs...
why is it such a big problem that shed prefer people not to pet her dog?
mabe next time ask her...politely...why she prefers people not to pet the dog...you might be surprised at her answer...
mabe she is just a nut who doesn't like strngers petting her dog...if so, why is that a problem, theres plenty of other dogs to pet at a dog ark if your so inclined...
the long and short of it is...doesn't matter what her reason...even if its a stupid reason...its her dog, her rules, and respect is a pretty simple basic thing...it doesn't hurt you or the dogs to respect her request...even if it seems odd to you.
Like previous post mentioned, it's not a petting zoo. I don't have an issue with people petting my dogs, I do when they do it at an inappropriate time, I.e. the dogs are rumbling amd tumbling and someone decides to hug or pet my dog while she is still busy. I had even seen a kid pulled her tail at the park. She is a good dog so she tolerates a lot, but a different dog would not like it so much. Some people even leave young children in there unattended, again, thinking it's like a public petting zoo and these dogs won't act like... dogs.
My dog is very shy. Rescue, bad situation, etc. He is very good with other dogs and once he gets to know a person, is quite sociable. However, he is shy with strangers. He displays all the classic "don't pet me" behaviors and when people persist (we live in an urban area) he will release one short bark. Usually I've intervened well before this point.
At the dog park, he loves to run and play. Gets far from me and quickly. Most of the humans at the park are pretty dog savvy, but there are some who can't resist trying to pat him on the head.
I've often thought he needs to wear a vest, with a badge that reads "Training Humans: Please Do Not Pet". If you observe a dog's body language, it will tell you everything. You just have to pay attention.
I like dogs, but will only pet them if the owner indicates that it's acceptable to do so.
I would not randomly go & pet someone's dog without asking the owner. Not only would I consider this somewhat disrespectful, but I would also be worried about getting bitten/scratched.
Which reminds me of that old joke:
This guy was walking in a park & sees and an old man in a chair with an old dog laying next to him.
"Does your dog bite?" he asks.
"Nope."
The guy leans to pet the dog; lo and behold the dog bites him. The guy then yells at the old man:
"I thought you said your dog didn't bite!"
Old man replies matter-of-factly, "That's not my dog."
So there's this lady at the dog park who has a young dog who is always telling people not to touch her dog. Apparently, she wants the dog to interact only with other dogs while there. None of us touch her dog as a result, but my feeling (and the feeling of my fellow parkgoers) is that this is kind of crazy.
I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with the above but it may help explain why the woman (or anyone) does not want you petting their dog.
Now dog parks, and whther they are a good idea, in general are another story.
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