Ask Before You Pet!

There's two ways I like to vent: via group text with all my girl friends, and via my blog. Tonight, I've already vented to my friends, and now I feel the urge to get it out on my dog blog.

The subject: Asking an owner to pet their dog before petting (no matter how cute).

A 10 year old (or so) decided to run up from behind the dogs and me and pet Luna. Luna is a sweet heart, and has never snapped at a person. And the only time she snapped at a dog was to stand up for herself. She is not aggressive whatsoever, HOWEVER, strangers don't know this AND at the end of the day she is an animal and can bite or attack at any moment.

This kid, I figured was never told that he needs to ask before petting an animal. So I told him, "Hey, you know you need to ask before you pet a dog." And immediately he says he's sorry and corrects himself, asks me if its okay and I tell him he can proceed. All good in the hood.

I went on my merry way, and went to dinner at Selland's with Drew and the dogs, since there's outdoor seating. We are eating our food and minding our own business when a group of grown ass ladies literally "WEEE" of excitement and say "AWWW PUPPPPYYYYY!!" Then they put their hands through the fence of the outdoor patio to pet Luna and Skylar.

Not only did they not ask to pet these stranger's dogs, they were sticking their hands through a fence like it was a petting zoo. Hmmm...doesn't sound like a smart idea to me...Didn't some 8-year-old in Australian just get her hand bit off by a Malamute for sticking her hand in a fence to PET THE DOG? Yea that just happened...I wrote an opinion post on it (Read it here).

So I say something.

"Could you please not do that?" Kind of timid, because I don't especially like confrontations.

They stop for a brief second, then continue to wee and say things like "soft puppy fur" "soooo cute" "puppy breath" "wee". (They literally were weeing).

Then Luna barks. This tells me she's uncomfortable, protective, or something that she doesn't like.

I say, "Hey, you wanna stop?!"

They stop. Then go inside the restaurant and order food.

I'm annoyed that this even happened. They are GROWN women, shouldn't they know that they need to ask before petting a stranger's dog?? I guess not. I'm so frustrated that I start texting in my group text with my fellow dog lovers... One plays devil's advocate and says that most people just don't know that they shouldn't pet a random dog, that I should educate them. The others say I'm in the right to bark at her for being stupid.

Devil's Advocate is right, though. Some people just don't know. They were never taught that getting approval to pet a dog is very important and can be the difference of having a right hand and not having a right hand. So, I calm myself down and just think to myself that if someone happens to do it again, I will educate instead of getting upset.

Well, who would of thought that the next person to do it WAS THE SAME DAMN LADY! Yep, she came back and decided to put her hands through that gate again and pet Skylar. I took the moment to do something I usually just let go (for some reason I'm in a sassy mood...probably PMS).

"You know... you should ask before petting a dog that you don't know. Especially if it's through a gate like this."

She says: "Oh I knew walking up that they were sweet dogs."

NOOOOO YOU IDIOT, I think to myself... and say, "No, you never really know a nice dog from a mean dog..."

Then some other lady shooed her away, which made me think that I was arguing with a drunk lady who couldn't keep up with her other drunk cats.

So basically my PSA for today is: Never assume that a dog is friendly. ALWAYS get permission from the owner before petting a dog. Why? Because you never know if that dog will bite because they are protective, or unsure, or stressed, or afraid! Even if the dog doesn't bite, maybe the owner is trying to train them to act a certain way, and you petting them is conflicting with their training.

When in doubt, ask. It might cost you a limb....

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IS MY PUPPY DYING!?

I nearly had a heart attack today when I got home from work. I walked through my door and greeted both pups hello and took them out to go potty. When we are back in the house and the dogs start wrestling I notice that Skylar has some bumps on her lower belly. They almost look like little red pimples.

WHAT COULD THIS BE?!? I immediately think the worst: Mange, Syphilis, Psoriasis, Herpes...

My heart is pounding and I'm freaking out that she's going to die from this skin disease... MAYBR it's from her surgery she had when she got spayed! She still has a little bump that I this is scar tissue that will never fully heal. Maybe this is an infection she's having from the surgery site and it's finally coming out to the skin!

I tell Drew, worried and tears in my eyes. I text my friend, Casey (the crazy dog lady I've talked about before---I always talk to her about dog related stuff) a picture of Sky's "rash". I hesitantly do a google search of "red bumps on puppy belly"... Scared of what the results could be (since I know the only 3 things WebMD diagnoses you with is: AIDS, pregnancy, or dying, and I don't want any of that to happen to Skylar).

The following are the responses/findings of the 3 sources mentioned above:

Drew:

"I'm sure she's fine... Call the vet and see what they think... Or since they are probably closed, text Casey! Have her ask her best friend who is a professional dog trainer"

Casey:

"Is she bothered?"

Hmm... Now that she says that, Sky hasn't seemed any different at all.. Just normal puppy hyperness.

"Then, leave her alone and keep an eye on it. It's probably grass bites from the park"

She's right, I took Skylar for the first time yesterday, and she was laying in the grass a lot. Maybe it's a grass irritation.

Internet search:

Could be any of the following: puppy pyoderma, food allergy, bacterial skin infection, or mosquito bites. But since she is not itching it, licking it or bothered by it, it's probably just puppy pyoderma.

After reading more about this puppy pyoderma thing, it sounds pretty normal and nothing to be too worried about if you keep an eye on it. According to PetMD it is something only puppies get because their skin isn't fully developed or super strong yet. It happens where there is little or no hair (bellies and armpits). It is not contagious at all. Puppy pyoderma is a very mild and not scary thing.

So I can breathe again.

I'm not a bad dog mom for letting her play in the grass, it's just a natural skin infection that happens to puppies. Wow. I went from 0 to 100 and back down to 30ish pretty fast in the last hour. Phew!

If you want to read more about Puppy Pyoderma CLICK HERE!

***PUPDATE: her rash/pimples/pyoderma went away less than a week later :)

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MY OPINION on: 8 Year Old Loses Hand in Malamute Dog Bite

Maybe you've heard the story now about the 8 year old girl who stuck her hand in a back yard fence to pet an Alaskan Malamute, and then the dog bit her hand so badly that it had to be amputated later at the hospital.

Being a dog parent and animal lover, I have an opinion, just as a parent of a young child has one.

First, I would like to say that I'm saddened to hear that this young 8 year old lost her hand, AND had to go through such a traumatic situation where she will probably never trust or love another dog in her life. I can't imagine losing a hand myself, let alone watching my child live her life without a right hand. I am sorry that this situation has happened.

However, she should not have been putting her hands, arms, legs or any other part of her body through a fence to pet a dog. You NEVER pet a dog with out asking the owner first. I have been very annoyed lately with people who just walk up to my dogs, especially now with the puppy, and pet them with out asking first. (There have been some happy moments where people have asked and I've repeatedly said "thank you for asking").

I think this story would be a little different if the dog was not behind a fence in its own backyard on his own territory. And maybe he was on a leash out in public, or even roaming free off leash. But this dog was in his den! Protecting his other pack mates and himself from intruders. It doesn't make the injury less sad, it is still unfortunate.

Another thing that I foresee happening in this case, is that the reason the girl was able to get her hand through the fence was because part of the fence was broken. I can imagine the owners of the dogs (and the property) getting in trouble for not keeping their fence intact. But I still don't think that a dog should be put down for biting a child's hand.

There's been a couple variations to the story that I've read while looking at different articles including: her hand was ripped off by the dog/her hand was amputated at the hospital, there was parent supervision/there wasn't adult supervision, there were other children with her who witnessed it/she went off on her own to see the dog, etc. This happens a lot. Varying details for the same story. But really, it doesn't matter if there was parent supervision or not. The girl should've been taught to NOT pet dogs with out ask... Just like they instill "Don't get into cars with strangers with candy." I mean come on!

Yes, I'm sure there are kids that don't listen to every single thing their parents tell them, and they will get tempted and get into the car with the stranger. And they will pet the cute fluffy dog behind the broken gate. Does it mean that she deserves her injury? Of course not!!! Just like you don't blame a child for being kidnapped! But I definitely don't blame the dog for his behavior. This is the child's fault. And I don't think they should put the dog down because of it.

There you go. That's my opinion. What do you think about this??

Comment below!

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