Annoying Things People Do To/With Your Pet(s)

[mars]

every year, I petsit for two lovely families when they go on vacation. one family owns the sweetest black lab while the other owns a lovely and highly energetic pitbull! the treatment I receive while walking either dog is so shockingly different, it actually disgusts me.

while walking the black lab named niki, children would often run up to me to pet her. she's a very friendly dog so thankfully I never have to worry about her biting them no matter how rough the kids get, but if they did this around any other dog it would really concern me with how violently they run at the poor animal and how roughly they pet it! niki does have a small fear of adult men after being thrown in the street by one as a puppy so I do have to advise dads to keep a little distance, but thankfully she would never bite them even if they did get close, only shy away.

the kids' behavior is what really gets me in this case. when I was a kid, I was taught to respect pets and pet owners. I don't know how parents these days don't understand that they need to teach their kids proper 'pet etiquette' when around animals! my parents always made sure I hung back and asked a pet owner if it was safe to pet their animal, and they never tolerated me tapping on glass or rough-housing with my furry friends. I was taught to be polite, quiet, and gentle, and I grew up remaining so.

now on the other end of the spectrum, people shy away from me while I walk the pitbull, named kimber. I have to be very careful while walking her; we can't go in certain areas due to the city's pitbull restrictions - if we did, law enforcement could seize her and put her down which is just so wrong. she's a very in-your-face type of dog, but in an extremely affectionate way and not an aggressive one; in the end, she just wants to playplayplayplayplay and may rough house a little when she's got her mind set on catching that toy.

while walking her, I've had people give me the worst looks simply because of her breed. she does bark sometimes, but usually just to announce her presence more than anything, and that can sometimes scare other people. but barking =/= aggression !!! I can't even begin to count the number of times I've tried to explain that to people. my friends' scotties always bark at me when they want attention from me or they want to play with me. in this case, kimber just wants to meet new people and dogs, make new friends, and play with them. she doesn't want to attack them or hurt them! yet people still shy away, crossing the street or turning to get away from the poor thing before she even gets close.

both of these treatments are horrible, and they're totally opposite reactions to an animal. one is trusting and loving an animal too much - overwhelming them with sudden, ferocious attention that can scare them - while the other is fearing them and hating them for no real reason. there has to be a good in-between somewhere, right ???

[I LOVE IBUKI]

I have 4 pet rats. My friend always came over and all she did was annoy them. Whenever they were trying to sleep, she'd stuff a piece of pear in their face or pick them up without my permission. I told her how to hold them, but she keeps holding them like they're some sort of toy. >:(

[yves]

i noticed a few people have said this too, but i wanted to voice my opinion nonetheless.

these aren't my animals ( because—as much as i would love to—i do not/can not own any pets due to circumstances at home ) but it really does irk me quite a bit when people just assume a dog's attitude/potential fierceness purely based on stereotypes or their negative reputation—when, in reality, they're the friendliest little furry friends around. or whenever people simply assume that a dog is barking due to aggression. most likely it's either unfamiliar of you ( and i learnt this from the kennels i work at, where a worker's dog is particularly wary of me and barks whenever i enter the staff room—purely because it isn't used to my presence ) or is attempting to gain your attention.

i also really don't like how some kids coo/yell/scream at animals, or disturb them in another manner, in wildlife parks/sanctuaries ( since i dislike the use of the word “zoos” ). or if parents are encouraging/joining in on their behaviour, rather than telling their child(ren) off because, in theory, they should know better.

[pup909]

Okay so I have a big boxer pupper named Donovan and he is clumsy but so so sweet! When ever my friend comes over, he gets excited because he loves her! he does little circles and rubs against her and she shoves him away! he picks her hand and she says 'ew gross!' but my little dog buttercup, when she licked her, when she rubs against her, She goes awwwwwwww! and picks her up. Donovan is the sweetest little boy and no one ever wants to pet him. they say things like 'he looks dangerous' or 'get him off!' or even 'you should lock him outside' I'm sick of it!

[Kunzite]

My newest dog Benji (He's a Yorkie, silky mix) used to go with my dad to work, but every now and then this teenage girl would be there, and feed him random junk food without asking, And when she is told not to she just sorta stares, and not really care about what my dad says -.-

[FoldOutChair]

Okay so I have a big boxer pupper named Donovan and he is clumsy but so so sweet! When ever my friend comes over, he gets excited because he loves her! he does little circles and rubs against her and she shoves him away! he picks her hand and she says 'ew gross!' but my little dog buttercup, when she licked her, when she rubs against her, She goes awwwwwwww! and picks her up. Donovan is the sweetest little boy and no one ever wants to pet him. they say things like 'he looks dangerous' or 'get him off!' or even 'you should lock him outside' I'm sick of it!

I think Boxers are the cutest dogs ever! Can't think of any other dog breed better than a Boxer! It annoys me how so many people think they are mean, ugly, or gross. If that was my friend I would kick her out of my house!

[W0LF]

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[Crossflare]

Everytime I tell people I have three cats I get told cats are the devil. or cats mean or cats attack people. Or with my dog aren't cats and dogs mortal enemies uhh no they can live together just fine not sure where this whole don't your pets hate eachother mindset came from due to species. I mean they all sleep on same bed.

Someone asked me if my standard poodle was aggressive cause I mentioned him licking peoplr. o-O umm licking people is not a sign of aggresion. my dog is like floofy sheep who wants to sit on peoples laps lol.

[AtlasHyperion]

What really bothers me is when people assume that entire species act the same way because they met one of that species and didn't like it. My cat is a total jerk sometimes, but she's a lovebug at heart, and it really ticks me off when people assume that she's trying to attack their feet when she's just stretching, or that she wants to murder everyone because she likes to lie at the top of the stairs. Or when they say she's fat. No. She is not. I know how to feed my cat. She's bigger than other kittens because surprise surprise she's 11 years old.

Another thing - people who are scared of horses that have never met a horse. Or, they met one grouchy horse and they assume that every horse in existence is big and mean and scary and super dangerous. You know, more deaths involving domestic horses are because the rider was doing something they shouldn't have been doing. Like walking right behind a horse that doesn't know they're there. Tame, trained horses only kick and bite when they're startled. Well, they also bite (accidentally) when someone doesn't know how to feed them. Horses are great, and a lot of people who've never seen a horse up close think that they know everything about them.

Oh, and don't even get me started on the whole "you have a dog and it's big/black/dark-colored/German Shepherd/Rottweiler/Pittie/any breed that people are scared of/etc so OBVIOUSLY it's mean and evil and you should keep it outside or in a cage". No, thanks. My black lab that's half my height can stay curled up next to me in bed while I read a book. Very vicious.

[loulouie]

call my mouse a rat or hamster .-.