Standoff!

The man and woman were walking their three shitzus. Jay, the pit bull, noticed them from far off and ran up to meet them.  Jay is only ten months old. Still a bouncy puppy. Still eager to meet new people and dogs. But because of his breed, he will likely always have to deal with the prejudices of dog owners of little shitzus. The woman admonished her husband to pick up the smallest of the dogs, and they carried on, watchful and nervous.

Which only heightened Jay's interest. He bounced harder.

Jay's owner (call him Bob) told everyone that his dog was just being playful, that he was safe - if rambunctious.

The shitzu owner - apparently not believing that a larger-than-a-soccer-ball sized dog could be playful, and feeling that walking away was just not enough - turned, crouched, waved his arms like a goalie refusing to let the opposition in...and growled.

(One or two things about little dog owners:


Their dogs are moppily cute. They charge, they bark.  They stalk, pounce and threaten just like other dogs.  But because they're so small, they get away with it. Mommy and Daddy scoop them up and coo in their fuzzy ears after they've shown aggression because it's just so darn adorable when a small dog tries to be menacing. These owners (and I'm not suggesting all of them are this way) are irresponsible, if not downright terrifying in their ignorance of dog behaviour. Small dogs are still dogs. Bad behaviour is still bad behaviour.


Conversely, big dogs are not always exhibiting aggressive behaviour when they bow, box, or grin.)

If you know anything about dogs - which shitzu owner obviously did not - you know what happened next. Jay, the pit bull, lowered his head, looked up through slitted eyes and began to bark. Jay had been threatened and he was protecting himself and his owner.

Bob, always in control, grabbed Jay's collar and settled the dog.

The shitzus and their silly parents carried on, the man blissfully unaware that, if not for the pit bull's training, he'd narrowly escaped attack because of his ridiculous actions.

If you're going to spend time at the dog park, it's not just your dog that needs to be under control. Make sure you, as a responsible dog owner, know how to behave as well.

Do not:

- stare a dog down.
- reach over to pet his head (scratch his chin instead).
- speak in a squeaky voice to get him excited and then jump back, astonished, when he leaps.
- tug to get him away from a potential fight (this will only make him struggle harder to get what he wants)
- stand off with a dog you don't know

I hope Mr. Shitzu Owner doesn't have to learn these rules the hard way.