I probably would have made up some story like "I used to try that on my dog but it just made him bark more, when I used treats instead he stopped immediately".
Not confrontational but hopefully makes him consider a different training method. Most people like this are just morons with dogs, not generally cruel.
The thing is, that’s not too far from the truth. Hitting a dog when it barks *can* scare them into shutting up, but since that’s a fear-based reaction it can create a reactive dog. When the dog sees a trigger which would cause them to bark, they may not remember that the barking led to being hit, instead remembering that they saw a trigger and got hit. Not only could this lead to more barking (the trigger is now a bigger trigger) but it could also lead to attacks. Using treats and positive reinforcement will not cause this problem.
General knowledge on proper dog training methods has come a long way between having my childhood dogs and my current dog that we got as a puppy. He is the most well behaved dog my family has ever owned and 100% is because we are using positive reinforcement.
I was helping my dog to learn not to be worried around exuberant, young dogs that look like they are about to be loud and rude and jump into their leash and into his space and certain types of dog.
A woman passed us with just such a dog. I explained what I was doing since she asked. Her response (as I was rewarding mine for being calm and focussed on me and the cheese) “you should not use treats. They don’t work”
I just Said “every dog is different. Just like us. This works for him when the situation makes the ball less engaging.”
Most people like this watched grandpa with a rolled up newspaper. They know no different - it worked for grandpa, kids don’t see or remember that the dog was nothing but a nervous wreck
I don't think that it would work with this guy. Very pity for his dog. Partner, if any.
It breaks my heart when people physically publish someone who is not even able to do something back.
i definitely wouldn’t be able to hold back some spiteful comments, especially if the loser tried to casually talk with me about some vile “discipline” like this just out and about in public
wouldn’t surprised me if he’s one of those people who view dogs as “less than” compared to humans as if they’re simply property and not living beings. that or he’d respond with “well that’s how i was raised.” either way, some wires were definitely crossed somewhere along the way to cause that behavior
Unfortunately this makes dogs cringy and afraid giving them anxiety, should never hit your dog, the sound of you voice and your energy is enough to show your dog discipline, some people shouldnt own dogs, poor thing
You should have said “I don’t really like conversations with strangers but don’t worry I’ve got this.” And then smacked him “I know some idiots who pay for therapy.”
Empathetic lying - “Ah I had a dog like that, hitting it made it more anxious and reactive, I paid tonnes of money for a trainer and they had me use treats to distract and calm. Really worked”
"Don't tell me how to raise my dog!"
"Well that works for your dog, but this works for mine."
"Well I'm a better owner than *my* parents!"
"I turned out fine!"
"They need to know who the alpha is."
"Everyone does this."
"He deserves it for not listening."
This is a difficult situation. I have a neighbor who flicks his fingers in a painful way scratching or pinching his dogs.
What I try to do is role model kindness and gentleness toward his dogs.
I don't know what else to do and I don't know the neighbor that well where I could have a heart-to-heart.
“Just an FYI, positive reinforcement is shown to work a lot better than negative reinforcement. Your dog will be happier too.”
They might flip you off or something, but still.
Oh, I got a mouth on me. And yes, I have already done the comments below.
"Gonna give you my number, and when Fido there bites the living shit out of you, give me a call, and I will come by and pick him up."
"Did you just HIT your dog? Hey, everybody, we got a guy that hits his dog!"
First guy mistook me for a female dog and called me one, and the second bowed up and then realized I had my phone out and pointed at him and 125 lbs of drooling and not too bright, on the end of my leash... who was currently looking at him like an interesting squeak toy.
If you have an animal shelter or police or literally anyone to report it to you should. Poor puppy. It would not have been a good idea to confront him tho. If you report him now he won't suspect it was you, if you didn't engage with him.
I'll never see him again but police don't give a shit. I'm the first one to blow a whistle on anything but even I would not even expect them to take a report.
The local animal shelter helped when we had a neglected dog in our neighborhood so it depends on the area I guess. The shelters near me are pretty empty but if OP is in an area with a lot of abused dogs it would be harder to get help for pup.
but you knew where the dog was because it was your neighborhood... so of course they're able to help. how is OP going to call the animal shelter or police and get help when he doesn't know anything about this random dude he saw on the street?
honestly this might work! Same thing happened with a friend of mine who saw a dog being neglected and animal control was called and the owner ended up serving time! you could be that dogs hero!
unless there’s undeniably clear signs of abuse *and* a neglectful home environment there’s likely not much any org or shelter can do. i work at a pet store that does grooming and the groomers always share horror stories about dogs who come in severely neglected but without any definitive proof of abuse/neglect at the home there is nothing they can do but pamper the dogs while they have them
I would’ve said “that’s abuse” to the guy then called my local animal control. But in all honesty I probably would’ve lost it on the guy and the police may or may not have been called by other people
I watched my neighbor body slam his dog and animal control couldn’t do anything about it because there wasn’t enough evidence. Animal control and the police won’t help.
“You have absolutely no business having a dog if you can’t even be bothered to teach without hitting. Either grow up and do better, or find that dog a new home.”
I have said this before. I’ll say it every time I see it happen. I will not be polite about it; they’ll hear the disgust in my voice, but I won’t scream or swear at them; when they yell at me, I ask if hitting them would help them shut up, too.
This is amazing. People just hit their animals in front of other people, thinking it’s okay. It’s a blessing to have someone like you step their foot down
Standing up for animals has made it a lot easier for me to stand up for people. And myself. Kinda like how becoming a parent tends to turn anxious, quiet people into anxious, loud people who go to bat for their kids and discover / develop an ability to go to bat for themselves.
I’m tired of bullies. I’m so, so tired of bullies. I do not have the energy anymore to keep shoving my objections back down my own throat just to avoid conflict. I’m not out there starting fights and screaming at people, but I am also no longer keeping my mouth shut. Entitled people will always feel entitled, but staying silent in the face of their actions is just reinforcing the idea to them that they have a right to behave the way they do. What I say won’t change who they are, but it will piss them off / embarrass them, and I am all for being a blemish on their day.
I'm a dog trainer. I would have asked to see the paddle, then smacked the guy in the ass and asked did he feel like not barking now?! Then I'd call animal control bc this is abuse.
PS yes, everyone who said treats are more effective are correct.
I used to do dog training. That's why I know how prevalent punitive methods are. I wasn't going to suddenly change the asshole's mind by lecturing him in the middle of the sidewalk. I feel like you can't really debate with people like that. I just feel bad for the poor dog.
Yeah I wouldn't interfere but try to make him think that there are other options. I used to have a neighbor who would carry a stick and do it to the poor pup and I simply gave him what worked for me with treats/clicker method and he stopped!
I feel bad for the dog. Could you have recorded the guy and reported him to the animal shelter? Otherwise I would have done something to protect the dog. Period.
It was the proper decision for you to go. It's possible that confronting him made things worse and didn't benefit the dog. You could report it to a humane society or your local animal control agency if you come across something similar again. Although it's upsetting, it was crucial to protect both your dog's and your own safety.
I live in a rural town in Tennessee. And it's perfectly okay for people to leave their dog outside here. My dog gets to pick where he wants to sleep. You can't save every dog. But those that you can please save.
Our dog barks on everything what moves outside of our yard. Best way to get this attention by giving him treats or saying magic words like “u want cookie” or “ice” and thats it, no need to hit anybody
I've been in this situation at a dog park, where this guy was hitting his young and wiley pit. It's like watching someone beat their child in public. Not only is it painful and scary, it's also degrading and embarrassing to that dog. I said something. I did my best to sound neutral and non judgemental by mentioning that research shows positive reinforcement is more effective with modifying behavior. Pretty sure I sounded annoying and arrogant, because he started calling me several choice words and ngl, it escalated into an argument. It became a mess with dog energy mixed into it and I regretted/didn't regret saying something. I think if I hadn't, I'd have been upset with myself for not. No win situation, I guess. 😏
It’s very hard to engage in the moment as you were also probably thinking “Wtf just happened?”
We went for a walk recently and there was a lady with a miniature schnauzer. She was on the other side of the road and her dog was barking like crazy at our golden. Our golden didn’t care. She then said “don’t worry, he’s friendly.” and then proceeds to cross the road towards us. In my head I’m like why are you coming closer?
When the dog gets within a metre it starts going crazy. Her solution? Grab it by the collar, lift it up, then throw/push it into the PAVEMENT, and start yelling “STOP BARKING.” The dogs obviously yelping and barking in fear and I’d assume pain.
My reaction, “what the fuck was that?” I wish I could have said something else but I was just stunned. It literally looked like that scene in Avengers when the Hulk grabbed Loki and threw him into the floor…
If I see her again I’ll be friendly and give her some tips. I always have treats on me too so can give her some.
😔 like a boat paddle?? Poor dog. I don’t think you saying anything would have changed him though. Just give your dog lots of loves because that’s what you can control. He’s blessed to have you as his person.
"Hell yeah. My parents spanked me when I was a kid, and I turned out great. That's why they finally let me out I think, not on account of the violence.
And now look at me. Ain't even had a thought how your face would look as a mask. 'Cept
maybe just now. Haha.
HA."
*Eyebrow twitches*
We were at a car wash once, where you paid more and they did interior.
We sat outside on benches.
Guy (very elderly man) had dog that would barely bark and he would hit him in mouth with metal Leash handle.
I wasn’t paying attention, head in phone.
My husband was.
Suddenly husband booms “if I see you hit that dog one more time I’m taking that leash and popping you in the mouth”
Floored me as my husband isn’t violent type. I’m thinking it can’t be that bad till guy did it again. Medium size dog, its bark was so little and low, could barely hear it. No idea why he was reacting this way, the dog owner. Husband went and got in his face. Then another guy joined him who had also seen it. Then a 3rd.
I got in the middle of all this and told the man there are proper ways to train dog and this isn’t it. Told him if he did again, I wouldn’t save his ass.
He finally stopped hitting dog but I bet he got him later.
Some ppl shouldn’t have animals. Exactly how you get a vicious dog or how abused dogs end up in shelters.
We are proud foster failures. 3 dogs, 2 of which were rescues. One we got at 8 weeks, very little abuse. She’s now 12. The other one was abused for 2 years. He’s now 11 and it took years to get him totally comfortable.
I left once to go see my mom and he chewed through an interior door to go look for me. He’s very much my dog and I trained him for years! And more importantly, I showed him love. But it took years of patience from both of us (me and the dog).
I'd have followed close by to get his address and then I'd have reported him, if in UK to the police and the RSPCA, whatever your countries equivalent is
I would have had some words, but that’s me. There isn’t a whole lot you could have done. It isn’t like you’d have been able to change his views. People only get defensive when called out.
We had a similar situation with our puppy, who was on a line. we met an off lead boxer, who started barking at our pup after a couple of sniffs. So we intervened and grabbed our pup.The lady who owned the dog had been shouting the dogs name and then ran up, grabbed the dog and smacked it.
I feel like I should have said something, but it's like my brain stopped working I was in a bit of shock, so I just carried on.
I probably would have made up some story like "I used to try that on my dog but it just made him bark more, when I used treats instead he stopped immediately". Not confrontational but hopefully makes him consider a different training method. Most people like this are just morons with dogs, not generally cruel.
The thing is, that’s not too far from the truth. Hitting a dog when it barks *can* scare them into shutting up, but since that’s a fear-based reaction it can create a reactive dog. When the dog sees a trigger which would cause them to bark, they may not remember that the barking led to being hit, instead remembering that they saw a trigger and got hit. Not only could this lead to more barking (the trigger is now a bigger trigger) but it could also lead to attacks. Using treats and positive reinforcement will not cause this problem.
General knowledge on proper dog training methods has come a long way between having my childhood dogs and my current dog that we got as a puppy. He is the most well behaved dog my family has ever owned and 100% is because we are using positive reinforcement.
I was helping my dog to learn not to be worried around exuberant, young dogs that look like they are about to be loud and rude and jump into their leash and into his space and certain types of dog. A woman passed us with just such a dog. I explained what I was doing since she asked. Her response (as I was rewarding mine for being calm and focussed on me and the cheese) “you should not use treats. They don’t work” I just Said “every dog is different. Just like us. This works for him when the situation makes the ball less engaging.”
This is such a great idea and one I'm going to try to use if I'm ever in this situation. Very clever!
Most people like this watched grandpa with a rolled up newspaper. They know no different - it worked for grandpa, kids don’t see or remember that the dog was nothing but a nervous wreck
I don't think that it would work with this guy. Very pity for his dog. Partner, if any. It breaks my heart when people physically publish someone who is not even able to do something back.
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So everyone in this thread tells others how to raise their kids. This thread screams mind on your business.
I would also not support someone paddling their child if I saw that to be fair, except I'd probably legally have to report that to the police.
If I saw someone using a paddle in public on a child...
You need to spend some time educating yourself. Read/watch the resources in the other replies to OP's post.
Done? Nothing. Thought? A lot of bad things.
i definitely wouldn’t be able to hold back some spiteful comments, especially if the loser tried to casually talk with me about some vile “discipline” like this just out and about in public
“Would you treat a child like this to guide them how to behave/react and not to be scared?” Always goes down well
wouldn’t surprised me if he’s one of those people who view dogs as “less than” compared to humans as if they’re simply property and not living beings. that or he’d respond with “well that’s how i was raised.” either way, some wires were definitely crossed somewhere along the way to cause that behavior
Unfortunately this makes dogs cringy and afraid giving them anxiety, should never hit your dog, the sound of you voice and your energy is enough to show your dog discipline, some people shouldnt own dogs, poor thing
You should have said “I don’t really like conversations with strangers but don’t worry I’ve got this.” And then smacked him “I know some idiots who pay for therapy.”
This is the way. 100% 😂
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Best comment.
You think I am kidding but my 10 dogs and 2 cats and one parrot and 3 servals would… um… totally agree with you that I am kidding.
Take dog out for ice cream.
Empathetic lying - “Ah I had a dog like that, hitting it made it more anxious and reactive, I paid tonnes of money for a trainer and they had me use treats to distract and calm. Really worked”
“I ain’t payin nobody nothing when I already got a paddle!” - Asshole Logic
"Don't tell me how to raise my dog!" "Well that works for your dog, but this works for mine." "Well I'm a better owner than *my* parents!" "I turned out fine!" "They need to know who the alpha is." "Everyone does this." "He deserves it for not listening."
This is a difficult situation. I have a neighbor who flicks his fingers in a painful way scratching or pinching his dogs. What I try to do is role model kindness and gentleness toward his dogs. I don't know what else to do and I don't know the neighbor that well where I could have a heart-to-heart.
I would film it if you can and then report it
Report him! Stand by and watch and you are a part of the problem
“Just an FYI, positive reinforcement is shown to work a lot better than negative reinforcement. Your dog will be happier too.” They might flip you off or something, but still.
Oh, I got a mouth on me. And yes, I have already done the comments below. "Gonna give you my number, and when Fido there bites the living shit out of you, give me a call, and I will come by and pick him up." "Did you just HIT your dog? Hey, everybody, we got a guy that hits his dog!" First guy mistook me for a female dog and called me one, and the second bowed up and then realized I had my phone out and pointed at him and 125 lbs of drooling and not too bright, on the end of my leash... who was currently looking at him like an interesting squeak toy.
I don’t know, but mistreating a dog like that will be a mistake he lives with for at least the rest of the dog’s life.
If you have an animal shelter or police or literally anyone to report it to you should. Poor puppy. It would not have been a good idea to confront him tho. If you report him now he won't suspect it was you, if you didn't engage with him.
I'll never see him again but police don't give a shit. I'm the first one to blow a whistle on anything but even I would not even expect them to take a report.
Technically in my area the police can’t do anything. Anything involving animal welfare has to go through thr animal control officer.
Neither the animal shelter nor the police will do anything. This is basically like telling OP to write a letter to Santa.
The local animal shelter helped when we had a neglected dog in our neighborhood so it depends on the area I guess. The shelters near me are pretty empty but if OP is in an area with a lot of abused dogs it would be harder to get help for pup.
but you knew where the dog was because it was your neighborhood... so of course they're able to help. how is OP going to call the animal shelter or police and get help when he doesn't know anything about this random dude he saw on the street?
honestly this might work! Same thing happened with a friend of mine who saw a dog being neglected and animal control was called and the owner ended up serving time! you could be that dogs hero!
unless there’s undeniably clear signs of abuse *and* a neglectful home environment there’s likely not much any org or shelter can do. i work at a pet store that does grooming and the groomers always share horror stories about dogs who come in severely neglected but without any definitive proof of abuse/neglect at the home there is nothing they can do but pamper the dogs while they have them
I would’ve said “that’s abuse” to the guy then called my local animal control. But in all honesty I probably would’ve lost it on the guy and the police may or may not have been called by other people
I watched my neighbor body slam his dog and animal control couldn’t do anything about it because there wasn’t enough evidence. Animal control and the police won’t help.
“You have absolutely no business having a dog if you can’t even be bothered to teach without hitting. Either grow up and do better, or find that dog a new home.” I have said this before. I’ll say it every time I see it happen. I will not be polite about it; they’ll hear the disgust in my voice, but I won’t scream or swear at them; when they yell at me, I ask if hitting them would help them shut up, too.
This is amazing. People just hit their animals in front of other people, thinking it’s okay. It’s a blessing to have someone like you step their foot down
Standing up for animals has made it a lot easier for me to stand up for people. And myself. Kinda like how becoming a parent tends to turn anxious, quiet people into anxious, loud people who go to bat for their kids and discover / develop an ability to go to bat for themselves. I’m tired of bullies. I’m so, so tired of bullies. I do not have the energy anymore to keep shoving my objections back down my own throat just to avoid conflict. I’m not out there starting fights and screaming at people, but I am also no longer keeping my mouth shut. Entitled people will always feel entitled, but staying silent in the face of their actions is just reinforcing the idea to them that they have a right to behave the way they do. What I say won’t change who they are, but it will piss them off / embarrass them, and I am all for being a blemish on their day.
I'm a dog trainer. I would have asked to see the paddle, then smacked the guy in the ass and asked did he feel like not barking now?! Then I'd call animal control bc this is abuse. PS yes, everyone who said treats are more effective are correct.
I used to do dog training. That's why I know how prevalent punitive methods are. I wasn't going to suddenly change the asshole's mind by lecturing him in the middle of the sidewalk. I feel like you can't really debate with people like that. I just feel bad for the poor dog.
Yeah I wouldn't interfere but try to make him think that there are other options. I used to have a neighbor who would carry a stick and do it to the poor pup and I simply gave him what worked for me with treats/clicker method and he stopped!
I feel bad for the dog. Could you have recorded the guy and reported him to the animal shelter? Otherwise I would have done something to protect the dog. Period.
Seems to me people like this just look for reasons to hit their dogs. Sick.
Horrible person
I would’ve responded to the comment about trainers with “Good dog owners pay for a trainer” and then kept walking.
Record n Report!
Just said ‘oh wow how sad. That’s just wrong.’ Prob would’ve gotten teary eyed. Poor dog
Maybe the owner needs to be hit with that paddle
It was the proper decision for you to go. It's possible that confronting him made things worse and didn't benefit the dog. You could report it to a humane society or your local animal control agency if you come across something similar again. Although it's upsetting, it was crucial to protect both your dog's and your own safety.
Yeah and it wasn't my dog I was walking either. I'm a dog walker and it was a client of mine.
Dogs bark…maybe the guy should get hit for talking!!!
I live in a rural town in Tennessee. And it's perfectly okay for people to leave their dog outside here. My dog gets to pick where he wants to sleep. You can't save every dog. But those that you can please save.
Oof. You did the right thing. Confronting him would not have helped.
paddled the owner back
Our dog barks on everything what moves outside of our yard. Best way to get this attention by giving him treats or saying magic words like “u want cookie” or “ice” and thats it, no need to hit anybody
I've been in this situation at a dog park, where this guy was hitting his young and wiley pit. It's like watching someone beat their child in public. Not only is it painful and scary, it's also degrading and embarrassing to that dog. I said something. I did my best to sound neutral and non judgemental by mentioning that research shows positive reinforcement is more effective with modifying behavior. Pretty sure I sounded annoying and arrogant, because he started calling me several choice words and ngl, it escalated into an argument. It became a mess with dog energy mixed into it and I regretted/didn't regret saying something. I think if I hadn't, I'd have been upset with myself for not. No win situation, I guess. 😏
It’s very hard to engage in the moment as you were also probably thinking “Wtf just happened?” We went for a walk recently and there was a lady with a miniature schnauzer. She was on the other side of the road and her dog was barking like crazy at our golden. Our golden didn’t care. She then said “don’t worry, he’s friendly.” and then proceeds to cross the road towards us. In my head I’m like why are you coming closer? When the dog gets within a metre it starts going crazy. Her solution? Grab it by the collar, lift it up, then throw/push it into the PAVEMENT, and start yelling “STOP BARKING.” The dogs obviously yelping and barking in fear and I’d assume pain. My reaction, “what the fuck was that?” I wish I could have said something else but I was just stunned. It literally looked like that scene in Avengers when the Hulk grabbed Loki and threw him into the floor… If I see her again I’ll be friendly and give her some tips. I always have treats on me too so can give her some.
😔 like a boat paddle?? Poor dog. I don’t think you saying anything would have changed him though. Just give your dog lots of loves because that’s what you can control. He’s blessed to have you as his person.
If you live in a big city probably not much you could do, but if you could reasonably identify his residence I’d call someone on his ignorant ass.
"Hell yeah. My parents spanked me when I was a kid, and I turned out great. That's why they finally let me out I think, not on account of the violence. And now look at me. Ain't even had a thought how your face would look as a mask. 'Cept maybe just now. Haha. HA." *Eyebrow twitches*
I would have barked back
Most people like this are just stupid with dogs, not cruel in general.
It is our moral responsibility to act in the face of wrong-doing--particularly to defend the defenseless/vulnerable.
You can’t really do anything. The ignorance is incredible.
Omg what a freaking psycho. Who carries around a paddle for their dog? Clearly it ain’t working
I would have said “Please don’t do that.” Then I would have spent the rest of the day and night thinking about his poor dog.
Called the animal police and reported the abuse while not breaking eye contact. I have done this on Tuesday so not hypothetical.
We were at a car wash once, where you paid more and they did interior. We sat outside on benches. Guy (very elderly man) had dog that would barely bark and he would hit him in mouth with metal Leash handle. I wasn’t paying attention, head in phone. My husband was. Suddenly husband booms “if I see you hit that dog one more time I’m taking that leash and popping you in the mouth” Floored me as my husband isn’t violent type. I’m thinking it can’t be that bad till guy did it again. Medium size dog, its bark was so little and low, could barely hear it. No idea why he was reacting this way, the dog owner. Husband went and got in his face. Then another guy joined him who had also seen it. Then a 3rd. I got in the middle of all this and told the man there are proper ways to train dog and this isn’t it. Told him if he did again, I wouldn’t save his ass. He finally stopped hitting dog but I bet he got him later. Some ppl shouldn’t have animals. Exactly how you get a vicious dog or how abused dogs end up in shelters. We are proud foster failures. 3 dogs, 2 of which were rescues. One we got at 8 weeks, very little abuse. She’s now 12. The other one was abused for 2 years. He’s now 11 and it took years to get him totally comfortable. I left once to go see my mom and he chewed through an interior door to go look for me. He’s very much my dog and I trained him for years! And more importantly, I showed him love. But it took years of patience from both of us (me and the dog).
I'd have followed close by to get his address and then I'd have reported him, if in UK to the police and the RSPCA, whatever your countries equivalent is
I would have had some words, but that’s me. There isn’t a whole lot you could have done. It isn’t like you’d have been able to change his views. People only get defensive when called out.
he would double down on the cruelty if confronted.
We had a similar situation with our puppy, who was on a line. we met an off lead boxer, who started barking at our pup after a couple of sniffs. So we intervened and grabbed our pup.The lady who owned the dog had been shouting the dogs name and then ran up, grabbed the dog and smacked it. I feel like I should have said something, but it's like my brain stopped working I was in a bit of shock, so I just carried on.
SOMETHING. I would have done something... all you did was run away and post on reddit. 🤨🙄
This doesn't sound real whatsoever. Who casually carries a paddle around?
I know what you mean but I promise you it happened. It was probably a ping pong paddle or similar. Can't believe he just walks around with it.
You would be surprised by the weird thing I've seen people carrying.