(no subject)

[balmofgilead]

Dogsitting again (this time for our neighbors' very sweet chocolate lab, Willy), I find myself standing outside in their (extremely large) yard With Dog.  A man and his two small children walk by, which takes a long time because there is so much yard to walk past.

small child:  dog not nice! dog not nice! dog not nice! dog not nice! dog not nice! [ed. note: Willy had not barked, growled or lunged at them.  He was doing his standard "pretending to be a cow" routine.]

balmofgilead  (sadly, after the man & child were out of earshot):  Hey, Willy, do you want a snack?  Young and tender and moist...mmm! 

Comments

[ginamariewade.livejournal.com]

Strikes me that the child is repeating what he has been told, kinda like going into a china shop and saying "No Touching, No Touching, No Touching."

While the particular dog you had might be a sweet dog who only hurts fleas and other invertebrates, the small child's caretakers have probably indoctrinated him not to run up and pet strange dogs that he comes across.
I know that I instructed Little Bear in this way when he was very small, because I didn't want some random mutt to bite his face off when he was just trying to be friendly.

[balmofgilead.livejournal.com]

I was taught the same thing, and I agree that it's a good policy in general (i.e. asking the owner if it's okay before petting the dog). It certainly beats what some of the kids in our neighborhood do (throw grass).

The general attitude toward dogs in the Orthodox community (which is, indeed, "dogs not nice!") pisses me off, though. I admit it's a big sore point for me.