Dumb questions about your dog from the general public

[Malamum]

I must admit I haven't had any really stupid questions.

I of course get the...

"do you have a saddle for him"
"who's taking who for a walk" etc..... it does annoy me as I get it a fair bit but I just smile and try not to let it get to me too much because I know the people are only saying it in fun and don't mean anything by it. They just don't think that the last four people that have walked past have said exactly the same thing.

I also always get asked "is that a husky" but that's an understandable mistake. I just explain that he is an Alaskan Malamute, which is very similar just bigger.

[MajiesMom]

I don't get a lot of stupid questions except for "does s/he bite?" as the person reaches their hand out and begins petting Magic.
I get a lot of stupid and mean remarks like a mom telling her kids "that dog would eat you" and "get that thing away from me I don't trust the bastards."

[drjeffrock]

[quote name='StarFox']
Off the topic of dogs, we have had a vet tech think our rabbit was a cat! Never went back to that vet ever again! :o[/quote]
LOL, I will steer clear of that vet too.

[Lucky Chaos]

I get asked the breeding question A LOT. "oh the puppies would be so cute! you could sell them to petshops! :evil: Why is it as soon as people find you have a male and female dog you HAVE to breed them?!

Lucky's been mistaken for a golden and a lab. Hes long haired and black and white. :roll:

People always assume that Chaos is a lab puppy cause she's a small black dog. No matter how much I argue that she's over a year and probably has no lab in her whatsoever they don't believe me. Or they think she's a rare "mini- lab" So I should breed her and make money.

I got asked ast week if Riley was a Bernese Mountain Dog. He is tricolored, but he's 45 lbs and one of his ears sticks straight up. He's definately built like a border collie but this person kept insisting that she had seen bernese before and he was definatly one.

So apparently without knowing it my dogs have change into a black golden retriever and/or a long haired lab, a mini-lab and a bernese mountain dog! :roll:

[Guest Anonymous]

Oh god, the vet tech thing cracked me up! :lol: :lol:

I HATE how people seem to "know everything"... like, you don't know anything about your own frickin dog and what breed they are :roll:

And the breeding question :( It's a no wonder there's so many dogs in the shelters :(

[courtnek]

[quote]This doens't have anything to do with the topic, but are there black golden retrievers like there are yellow flatties?
[/quote]

no, there are no black Goldens....they are all "gold", which means anything from yellow-almost-white to the deep golden mine was....

A drunk acussed my Foxhound of being a Pitbull.....and she stands
almost 3 feet at the shoulder....

*shrug*

[atghylin]

Let's see... stupid questions I've gotten about Felix... mind you all of these come from people in or around the Moses Lake area (people in Spokane seem to know a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel when they see one).

"Wow! What a beautiful Cocker/ Terrier mix."
I'm sorry, he's a purebreed.

"He's too small to be a purebred Spaniel."
He won't get any bigger I can assure you.

"What a cute little spaniel pup."
He's actually an adult... he's over a year old.

My personal favorites...

"Have you trained him to hunt yet?"
No, the Cavailer is a COMPANION breed only!

"All Spaniels make wonderful hunters, you know."
I repeat... he is a CAMPANION only... his hunting instincts are to chase anything that looks like a cool toy from butterflies to tweety birds... he simply is not suited for hunting.

Amanda

[Guest Anonymous]

I've had people ask about [i]studding[/i] Goo to their females... you'd think that since they know that much about the process, and have apparently eyed the dog up already, that they'd also notice Goo is a [b]she[/b] :o

Another favorite is the people who let their dogs run up to us while I have one of ours out, and when told to keep them back because my dog doesn't like other dogs, they reply with, "he's friendly!" or something along those lines :roll:

Then there are people who like to lecture on how cruel it is to [b]make[/b] poor little Annie chase after a ball or toy when I take her out to exercise (as Annie stands tail wagging into a blur waiting for the game to continue)

I also liked it when an older woman who's always telling us what she thinks about pit bulls (Goo especially, since she was the only one around this area for a while) stopped to pet Haley not long after she came to live with us (still all bony and looked more alien than dog, nevermind pit bull) and started telling me again about how she wished we'd never gotten "that dog" (goo), because she wont even walk by a house with a pit bull... you can imagine her face when she found out Haley is one of "those dogs" as well :lol:

To continue the breed ID mistakes... Goo has been mistaken for a chocolate lab (???), "racing dog" (greyhound?, this one a few times); and some kid standing around at the local school tried to tell me that Annie had to be part pit bull because of the way she hangs on when she plays tug (that one left me about speechless, can you imagine an pit bull x dachshund?)

[dogsgalore]

I've never had any really stupid questions asked to me about my dogs. One person I know said to me:

"I don't know how you handle your dog, she's part Rottweiler!" :roll:

Some people seen my sheep walking around the yard, she's really tame because I bottle fed her, and they're like:

"What is that?!"
"It's a sheep."
"How do you teach a sheep to be like a dog!?" :roll:

[Lokipups]

[quote]I'm actually amazed at how many people here have been approached about breeding their dogs. Who goes up to a complete stranger and asks something like that??? People are nuts! [/quote]

Constantly. I cannot tell you how many people have come up to me telling me Loki and Layla should have puppies :roll: , nevermind that they're littermates. And do you really want to know how many people think that's perfectly acceptable :o ? My stock reply is to mutter under my breath that I don't need pups that wear helmets and go to obedience school on the short yellow bus :lol: .

[StarFox]

[quote name='MajiesMom']I don't get a lot of stupid questions except for "does s/he bite?" as the person reaches their hand out and begins petting Magic.
[/quote]

Oh my dog I get this ALL the time too! I've even had a dad push his little boy towards Zebra and command his son to pet him even though it was very obvious that the boy was afraid of dogs. Because apparently forcing your child to pet a strange dog will make him less afraid! :-? :x

[imported_Cassie]

I used to have people tell me when I owned my Doberman Pinscher that the brain will out grow the narrow head and they will turn on the owner by the age of 2 years :o many friends of mine with Collies have had people tell them the same thing...the head is too narrow to allow the brain to grow... :roll:
With my Rottweiler I had one gentleman tell me Rottweilers always turn on their owner at the age of 2 years...actually I don't mind this question as it gives me a chance to explain to people that perhaps some of the more dominant breeds have "turned" on their owner...but the cause is not due to the dog just getting up one day and just turning aggressive, it is some thing that is brought on slowly from people with little knowledge...or those who get these breeds and thinking they have to "dominant" the dog every chance they get, scruffing, rolling them...our dogs really don't understand what their owner is doing...some times when our dogs have been attacked by their owners too often they will suddenly attack them when they feel the owner is going to put them through some harsh punishment for doing some thing they may not consider to be wrong....dogs have alot of patience with us humans...but, some times even they reach the end of the rope. :wink:
I have had people ask me if I had to take out a second mortgage to feed my Newfoudland dogs....my Newf's do not eat as much as my newest member Beau my dobie mix...Beau is full of energy and can consume much more food than my Newf's...when I tell people this they roll their eyes as if I am lying.

I don't really care if people don't know what breeds of dogs I have...heck, I barely know the different models of cars on the road...cars are not foremost on my mind, as with some people; dogs are not foremost on their mind...I have ticked alot of mechanics off by referring to my sport utility vehicle as a Jeep...they have looked at me in shock and explained that Jeep is a patented name...I shouldn't go around calling my ford explorer a Jeep :lol: but, alot of people in my area consider any vehicle with a short wheel base to be a jeep...so, I cannot get upset when some one mistakes my Rottie for a Lab, or my Newf's for black St. Bernards etc. If I can't get the models of vehicles right...I don't expect non doggy people to get my dog breeds right. :wink:

[izzy]

(lady) -Oh what's her name?
(me) -Tabatha
(lady) - and him?
(me) - Guilligan
(lady) oh and she's their mother! (Lola)
:roll:

[tammy123]

no one's ever really asked stupid questions of me except with my old collie X who HATED other dogs they would ask oh is he freindly? (my dog straining on his lead growling me legs braced trying to stop him) er no!!

I was told today though that whippets are cross's when I said no their not I was told well they've not got a breed standard :-? I gave up at that point

[Archetype]

*sigh*
My personal favourites are:

"What track did you rescue her from"
About my BIS Sloughi bitch.. who is NOT a greyhound....

and
"Was she abused??"

No.. they are naturally skinny..
It gets on my nerves the # of people that tell me to feed my dogs more...
Jenn
[img]http://pic5.picturetrail.com/VOL81/1991410/3851280/47439801.jpg[/img]

[Guest Anonymous]

Why have i been missing this one!
I get so many dumb questions... I am about to lose faith in public schools, common sense, and human descency.
about my APBTs:
1. do you want to breed them?
2. are you selling puppies?
3. do you want to sell them?
4. do you want to fight them?
5. have you ever fought them?
6. you know you have to fight them so they will turn on?
7. they will eat your daughter up.
8. they will get your daughter sick.
9. all pit bulls are killers, they will have to be put to sleep when they get
older.

Yeah because I would totally go out and get a dog that would be a danger to me and my family. I would fall in love with and get attached to an animal that i woul just HAVE to kill later on. The mentality of some people is staggering.

[Guest Anonymous]

i admit i've been pretty much left alone, but i have had some stupid questions/comments.

1. she's a pit mix right? she's too small to be purebred!
meanwhile, she's a nice 50-ish lbs.

2. is that one of those blue pits?
what gave it away? the fawn and white markings or the rednose?

3. do you know where i can get a male? i want to breed it to my girlfriend's female?
no, i don't.

4. do you feed her gun powder?
yes as a matter of fact i do. i couldn't even believe this question!

most often i get:
5. is she friendly to dogs?
as she lunges and growls at the end of the leash and i pull her away!

[__crazy_canine__]

At Petsmart I deal with different dogs all the time so I have to learn their personality quickly. One time I had Amigo or maybe Henry (brindle pit mixes) and someone asked:

[b]"Is that a tiger/dog mix?"[/b] :o Thats impossible. And yes they were serious when they said it...

Another time I had two small ACD puppies and someone asked:

[b]"Are those dalmation puppies?"[/b] They have blue coats with black and tan markings with spots, :roll: not hardly anything like any dalmation Ive seen.

Once when I had Colby (a HUGE rottie mix somewhat aggressive towards children and adult men) a man came up to him while he was growling at him and said:

[b]"Wow, hes sure friendly! Can I pet him?"[/b] While he pets him and nearly gets his hand taken off! :evil:

People never cease to amaze me! Stupidity seems to be sprouting rapidly among our species!!!

[Crested]

The funniest question I've got of Ben (Bella was still at her breeder at this time) was "what does he eat?" and "does he eat normal dog food?". I was a weekend at a camping place and I had to anwser those questions several times. Like beeing hairless means that you have to eat a strange diet. ;-)
Hmm... I wonder how they would have reacted if I'd anwserd "cats and human flesh." :lol: I think I'll do that the next time someone asks that! ;-)

Oh, and I allso get "what sex is he/she" all the time. As if it wouldn't be obvious. ;-) Ben's been mistaken for a girl once too. :lol:
Hmm... I wonder if I could teach Ben and Bella to lift their hind leg when asked just to show their private parts. That would make it easier to me. :lol:

[Rowie-the-Pooh]

Luckily, Rowie and I are left alone. But one time a guy actually came up to me and asked me if I'd like to trade Rowie with his dog (while placing his hands on his cheeks and pulling downwards immitating a "bully breed") so that he could take Rowie back home to Pakistan ( :o ) to fight her with other dogs. I'd also get 10% of whatever money she makes. Errmm...no.

Another thing that pissed me off was when my friend and her mom were dropping me off home. As usual, Rowie was waiting at the gate. My friend's mom looks at her and goes "Hmmm, Lab Mix I suspect." I replied :"Actually she's a purebred Golden Retriever". Thank God this woman wasn't an ignorant idiot and apologized for her mistake.

Ooooh, the breeding questions! :x People are ALWAYS telling me that I'll regret fixing Rowie! As if I'd do anything to my dog to hurt her or that will make me regret it in the future! I've actually had a person tell me "They like it when they're allowed to have babies! :roll: " And when we met Rowie's ex-owner (whom, by the way we lost total contact with. He never calls to check up on Rowie... :-? ) and told him that Rowie had an appointment at the vet's for a spaying operation soon he told me :"Are you sure about this? She has papers and everything..." Yes, I'm sure you idiot! YOU were the one who gave her up, don't tell ME how to take care of MY dog! Urgghhh...

And what about when people tell you how to take CARE of your dog?

"Pull that leash, dearie. A bit harder, don't let her take control of you!" Told to me by an old man while Rowie was walking in perfect heel right next to me.

When I told a man I was feeding Rowie kibble, he told me I was deprieving my dog of her "natural foods" which is meat. Ummm...ok? Do YOU spends hours on the internet researching dog foods and only wanting the BEST for your dog? Thought so.

My cousin! Urggghh, I can't stand her sometimes. Her dog is a "rare" Pom mix who is an outside dog. Long haired, dirty, never brushed dog who's also NOT neutured and has agressive problems. Unyet she tells ME how to take care of MY dog?
"OUR vet said that giving dogs dry feed is dangerous for it."
"My mother said keeping in its natural habitat [outside :roll: ] is the best for it."
"I read somewhere the getting my dog fixed is cruel and painful for it. Besides, I'd be mean if I took away his 'man parts.'"
*Say all this in high pitched, know-it-all, naggy vioce.*

Okay, I lied. :roll: Me and Rowie aren't left alone. :lol: So I needed to vent a bit? So what? :lol:

[science_doc]

Hailey has got one blue and and one "cracked" brown eye. People are always noticing her eyes and asking if she is blind in one eye and going blind in the other? I don't know why people equate light blue eyes with blindness?

[Marble]

i can't say i've had too many stupid questions about dresden, she's so crazy looking that most people won't come near her :) partly probably since she looks very dobermanish and mixing in the cattle dog gives her a very unusual look, which i think is gorgeous...usually if someone is brave enough to meet her they ask me what she is and if i say dobie/acd mix they get really nervous.....since they are non-dog people that's fine with me.

i was walking her one day on the sidewalk and this guy was coming so i moved like four feet over onto the grass...well when he got close he moved four feet the opposite direction into the street and (it was someone i am aquainted with) i asked him what the funny look was for and he said he "did not want my dog to tear him to pieces" :) it was funny, i think he' had some bad experience and is afraid of dogs...........

people have asked me if she's a greyhound but it's not such a stupid question since she is very tall and thin with funky colors and because she has not filled out yet.

[Guest Mutts4Me]

I don't get many stupid questions about Sasha... People have asked if she's a chow before, and that's a reasonable question for someone who isn't "on top" of their dog breeds.

I do have a small problem with people not getting when she doesn't want to be approached. She is not aggressive, but sometimes something about a person touches her wrong, and she'll bark at them (backing away, not attempting to bite), but they'll continue to approach. It drives me crazy.

Especially the guy who came up to us in the Petsmart parking lot while I was trying to get Sasha's Halloween costume on her. He kept trying to pet her, even though she was backing up and barking/roo-wooing at him. It was COLD outside, and I wanted to get in, but I couldn't get her dressed because she wouldn't stay still.

I was really impressed by a couple of elderly women she did it to, though. We were in the cat toy aisle, so I wasn't even sure the women would even like dogs, let alone accept a dog barking/wooing at them like that. But not only did they not get upset, they smiled when I slackened her leash and let her go sniff them (which promptly shut her up). Whew.

Most annoying doesn't involve my own dog... it involves soo many people asking me stupid questions about their own dogs. A coworker of mine is always asking me questions about her Pom-Poo that she got from a BYB... is she ever going to calm down? She has seizures, why is that? Why is she itching after coming back from the groomer? She's 5, why hasn't she calmed down yet?