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[Johnny Cage In The Shower]

WARNING: Old man yelling at clouds story ahead.... So I am going for an evening walk to my local coffee shop. I live in the burbs. There is a nice, wide and newly paved sidewalk near my place, and a park with a bridge (overpass) at a base of a hill. (Super quiet, safe Canada, suburban neighborhood) The sidewalk on the bridge runs long, up a hill for a good 250 feet without any intersections or interruptions. And the sidewalk is ONLY on ONE side of the road. The other side is road construction.

I am trying to get a lil work out. Walking at a brisk pace. I see an awkward looking teenage kid in baggy clothes and big ass cans (headphones) on her head, walking her miniature, not quite small, but almost small enough to be a "toy" category dog with her.. one of those hairy chihuahua type dogs that bark very loud and non stop when they see any human being within their vicinity. So She's at the bridge with her dog snapping photos with her phone. As soon as I got close to her. She decides, she's done with her photography and starts to walk, in the same direction as me. Now I am about 8 feet behind her, her pace is just as fast as mine, so I cannot even close the gap and pass her. All this time the dog is going crazy; turning around, Walking sideways, backwards, pushing and shoving on the leash and looking at me and barking....like annoying small dog bark. I am like well... I hope she stops and moves over to the side of the path soon and let's me pass. She doesn't. I try to speed up and pass her without jogging or anything like that, don't want to spook her. But I thinks that's too late. For whatever reason, she can sense me behind her and picks up her pace too. This is becoming very awkward. I put myself in a 'creepy dude' position while trying to mind my own business. It's daylight still by the way. So I am like I better just stop, she's not going to stop and let me pass or shut her dog up. I stop, and just stand there middle of the sidewalk like an idiot for a good minute or two. And let her go ahead and she eventually gets to the top of the hill to an intersection, crosses the street and stands at the opposite side of the street while staring at me walking past. Sorry if this was boring and long, but like what is the etiquette in this situation? Do I have to stop and cross the street every time I see some punk ass kid with their dog now? Shouldn't dog walkers be a little more aware of other pedestrians sharing the sidewalk ? Like wtf !! Many times I've seen Adult dog walkers move aside and let me pass them while their dog would mark their territory on a tree trunk or a fire hydrant or something. And we smile and nod. Or sometimes they were even kind enough to cross the street with their dog if they saw me. To not make things awkward. Anyway, this just frustrated me. Fookin kids these days.

 

[Bragr]

Should people be allowed to have dogs is the real question.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

I hope she stops and moves over to the side of the path soon and let's me pass. She doesn't. I try to speed up and pass her without jogging or anything like that, don't want to spook her.

Social interactions for millenials 101:

"Hey, sorry, can I just ran past you with my dog and I will be on my way? Cool, thanks!" + you increase the pace for an eternity of 10-15 seconds. Problem solved.

Should people be allowed to have dogs is the real question.

In a city where the apartments are small this is a very valid question. If you are going to end up with a shit small breed that will just shit on the sidewalk just get a cat, much easier to take care of.

 

[FunkMiller]

Should people be allowed to have dogs is the real question.

Fully believe dog licencing should be a thing everywhere. There are cunts out there who should never have them, for a multitude of reasons.

 

[GymWolf]

Keep it on a leash even if you think he is a good boy that always follows you.

 

[Pegasus Actual]

You should have yelled "Hey! Ya got some nice cans and it looks like we move at about the same speed!" and given her a big toothy grin.

 

[k_trout]

Keep it on a leash even if you think he is a good boy that always follows you.

so much this

 

[GeekyDad]

...Old man yelling at clouds story ahead....

...So I am going for an evening walk to my local coffee shop. I live in the burbs. There is a nice, wide and newly paved sidewalk near my place, and a park with a bridge (overpass) at a base of a hill. (Super quiet, safe Canada, suburban neighborhood) The sidewalk on the bridge runs long, up a hill for a good 250 feet without any intersections or interruptions. And the sidewalk is ONLY on ONE side of the road. The other side is road construction.

I am trying to get a lil work out. Walking at a brisk pace. I see an awkward looking teenage kid in baggy clothes and big ass cans (headphones) on her head, walking her miniature, not quite small, but almost small enough to be a "toy" category dog with her.. one of those hairy chihuahua type dogs that bark very loud and non stop when they see any human being within their vicinity. So She's at the bridge with her dog snapping photos with her phone. As soon as I got close to her. She decides, she's done with her photography and starts to walk, in the same direction as me. Now I am about 8 feet behind her, her pace is just as fast as mine, so I cannot even close the gap and pass her. All this time the dog is going crazy; turning around, Walking sideways, backwards, pushing and shoving on the leash and looking at me and barking....like annoying small dog bark. I am like well... I hope she stops and moves over to the side of the path soon and let's me pass. She doesn't. I try to speed up and pass her without jogging or anything like that, don't want to spook her. But I thinks that's too late. For whatever reason, she can sense me behind her and picks up her pace too. This is becoming very awkward. I put myself in a 'creepy dude' position while trying to mind my own business. It's daylight still by the way. So I am like I better just stop, she's not going to stop and let me pass or shut her dog up. I stop, and just stand there middle of the sidewalk like an idiot for a good minute or two. And let her go ahead and she eventually gets to the top of the hill to an intersection, crosses the street and stands at the opposite side of the street while staring at me walking past. Sorry if this was boring and long, but like what is the etiquette in this situation? Do I have to stop and cross the street every time I see some punk ass kid with their dog now? Shouldn't dog walkers be a little more aware of other pedestrians sharing the sidewalk ? Like wtf !! Many times I've seen Adult dog walkers move aside and let me pass them while their dog would mark their territory on a tree trunk or a fire hydrant or something. And we smile and nod. Or sometimes they were even kind enough to cross the street with their dog if they saw me. To not make things awkward. Anyway, this just frustrated me. Fookin kids these days.

Perhaps next time try disarming people with kindness. I go for walks each (clear) day at a local rec center. There are people of all ages, with dogs, without. If I sense tension like that, I usually try to disarm them with a warm "hello." No conversation, just "hello," "good morning/afternoon/whatever," or the like. It usually gets them and me feeling instantly comfortable with our surroundings. Everybody's etiquette is different, so it seems pointless to me to try and act unnatural. But a warm greeting, most folks can get onboard with that. And if they can't, at least I feel I've done what I need to do.

 

[phaedrus]

If you are going to end up with a shit small breed that will just shit on the sidewalk just get a cat, much easier to take care of.

 

[nush]

There are cunts out there who should never have them, for a multitude of reasons.

The "cunts" will be the ones without the license and the authorities will be underfunded to do anything about it.

 

[fran.fernandez]

Always leach even on park, bags for stool and water for cleaning the pee. Always hold him on elevator. Stay close when people are touching him or pass nearby.

 

[xrnzaaas]

What I always hate is when people have their dogs on a long leash and don't react to other pedestrians heading their way... so the dog is free to approach that person and not everyone will react positively. As a dog owner you need to know that other people may be afraid of dogs for various reasons (like getting bitten by one in the past). Just respect that and make the leash shorter and control your dog until you're in the clear.

 

[CrankyJay™]

Yeah she was being weird, probably fearful of you etc.

 

[Laieon]

Should people be allowed to have dogs is the real question.

No it's not.

Should dogs be allowed to have people is the real question.

 

[Facism]

One thing that's been fucking me off the last few years, are people bagging their dogshit and then just leaving it in the middle of a path, or hanging off a hedge/tree in the middle of the countryside. you know you're going to be nowhere near a bin. You know other people use these paths. Take a backpack so you can take your dog's shit home and dispose of it properly for fuck's sake. Even worse is that they leave this biodegradable shit in a non-biodegradable bag. Just pick that shit up and toss it into the field next door, where no human being is going to set foot.

 

[Johnny Cage In The Shower]

Perhaps next time try disarming people with kindness. I go for walks each (clear) day at a local rec center. There are people of all ages, with dogs, without. If I sense tension like that, I usually try to disarm them with a warm "hello." No conversation, just "hello," "good morning/afternoon/whatever," or the like. It usually gets them and me feeling instantly comfortable with our surroundings. Everybody's etiquette is different, so it seems pointless to me to try and act unnatural. But a warm greeting, most folks can get onboard with that. And if they can't, at least I feel I've done what I need to do.

I think trying to have any, I mean ANY type of dialogue with her, even a simple "Hi" or a "Hello" would've added more to the tension and made things even more awkward. Reasons being
1) I never got a chance to walk parallel with her. She always kept her pace and distance from me, between 5 to 8 feet in front of me, so If I said anything she had to slow down, or maybe stops and turn around to acknowledge or hear me. She never turned around once while I was trailing her. As if to not even acknowledge my presence, yet she made it clear she sensed my presence.
2) She had headphones on, over the ear ones, big cans. So I doubt she was willing to look up and hear what I had to say.

Simply put: If I wanted to be heard by her, I had to get real close, maybe even wave my hand within her line of sight, to somehow get her attention and then say something. She was just a socially awkward teen, she was clearly intimidated by my presence, a pedestrian sharing the sidewalk with her, she couldn't handle it, didn't know how to deal with it. This is because...Probably and unfortunately she spent too many of her growing, maturing days indoors and alone during the last 2.5 years, due to the pandemic. And I got the feeling she didn't have the proper guidance and parenting while being outdoors with strangers ... Like as if she has never gone for a walk with the Family dog alongside her parents or one of her parents to witness how they have handled strangers walking by. In so many ways this upset me. Like teens today are seriously suffering from the lack of real life social interactions with bystanders in a physical world.

 

[thefool]

Should people be allowed to have dogs is the real question.

We'll eventually get there.

 

[Johnny Cage In The Shower]

Also it's worth noting: it's ONE thing to just be an awkward, emo teen with headphones on walking at a strange pace while looking down and ignoring your surroundings.

It's totally ANOTHER THING, being the same awkward, emo teen with a loud and obnoxious tiny dog, taking up the entire sidewalk with its leash and barking at every one around.

 

[German Hops]

Should people be allowed to have dogs is the real question.

Only if they don't purchase peanut butter.

 

[GeekyDad]

...Like teens today are seriously suffering from the lack of real life social interactions with bystanders in a physical world.

Yeah, but perhaps, as the older individual, you can initiate. Body language can say a lot, I think. Just putting on a kind vibe can be enough perhaps. Don't even have to look her way to do that.

 

[cash_longfellow]

I was walking at my local spot a few weeks ago. It’s a paved trail around a man made pond. Many people walk their dogs there. There are clearly written guidelines that all dogs must be on a leash. This guys dog came up to me not on a leash, I naturally pet the dog so it wouldn’t bite me. The guy had the nerve to get all Karen on me for petting his dog. I told his cuck ass to put it on a leash then. Needless to say, it almost turned into a physical altercation, but I just walked away. OP, this is one way dog owners should not act lol

 

[Cyberpunkd]

Always leach even on park, bags for stool and water for cleaning the pee. Always hold him on elevator. Stay close when people are touching him or pass nearby.

Thank you, especially the bottle part. Should be a huge campaign to convince dog owner to splash some water, the pee stains on the sidewalk and buildings' walls are disgusting.

 

[diffusionx]

I would have just said "excuse me I'd like to pass" and moved forward. I walked my dogs (RIP) in Brooklyn for years and it's like the school of hard knocks for dog walking there. I always tried to get a clear path and sort of scanned ahead of me looking for potential problems, stuff on the ground, etc.

 

[Johnny Cage In The Shower]

Yeah, but perhaps, as the older individual, you can initiate. Body language can say a lot, I think. Just putting on a kind vibe can be enough perhaps. Don't even have to look her way to do that.

I am not sure you are properly visualizing the situation here. Outside of her looking in my direction for a Split Second, while puting down her phone at the bridge, she never once turned her head in my direction again, let alone made eye contact with me. She constantly kept her pace ahead of me. So there is no way for her to see me, to observe my body language, as her BACK was constantly towards me.. I could've pulled my pants down and done a clown dance behind her, she wouldn't have noticed. She had her headphones on as well, so I am NOT at all in her line of sight nor she could hear me. I wanted to say something like "excuse me, just getting through" or something along those lines "on your left..." as I slightly gained on her. But she was sensing me speeding up ( maybe from the dog's constant barking or from the corner of her eye?!?) So she started to speed up even more so I won't catch up, to the point where it got really awkward and forced me to make a decision to either jog (like sprint even) past her, or just stop all together and let her walk away. And of course the less creepy option was for me to stop. All this time she knew I was a few steps behind her walking, as her dog would not shut up and keep looking back and barking at me.

The normal reaction for any dog walker in that situation would be to sense the people behind them walking at a brisk pace and thus move to the side of the sidewalk, maybe on the grass while (as some here stated) while holding your dog at a very close, slacked leash, and let people through. I've witnessed this by "veteran" dog walkers countless times. Puts you AND THEM at ease, very natural and friendly gesture, you can smile, greet and nod at the dog owner and maybe even wave or pat the dog as you walk past them. That's usually how these scenarios play out: That's the natural way of handling this. Again. Not trying to chastise this teen, but I actually feel sorry for her, as it was clear she wasn't an experienced dog owner/walker. Even worse; she wasn't even experienced socially to be in a public space.

 

[Trogdor1123]

Well, it’s the dog owners job to keep their dog in line. They shouldn’t bother other people.

My puppy is just over a year now and still jumps at people because she is excited and just loves everyone and wants to play (but at 72 lbs it can be scary for people, I get it). Drives me nuts and it is something we are working on. But, that is MY JOB, not the job of a pedestrian. Any time my actions, or my dogs, impact another persons enjoyment, I’m in the wrong. It is simple. If my dog is jumpy, I keep her away from people.

 

[AJUMP23]

Use a Leash.

 

[EverydayBeast]

Walked dogs for years and never thought twice about pedestrians or construction.

 

[Johnny Cage In The Shower]

Walked dogs for years and never thought twice about pedestrians or construction.

What do you mean ? You've never once had to stop by the side of a sidewalk to let a fast walking pedestrian walk by as you wait with your dog on his leash? I have a very, very hard time believing that.

 

[PaddyOCanager]

The etiquette is for the dog walker to stop and let others pass, then continue.

Either way it's not a big deal - at least she had it on a leash unlike some of the pieces of shit where I live.

 

[INC]

I'm walking a potentially dangerous animal, therefore I'm responsible for all its actions

I walk with my dog off a leash, If I can clearly see its clear of people and other animals.

Otherwise he stays on a leash unless these others people are comfortably round him.

He is also highly trained to respond off leash I.e stops and lays down if he sees anyone whilst off the leash


As a dog owner, if Im walking and a dog off leash attempts to come near me or my dog (whilst he is on the leash), and that dog shows any form of aggression, you best belief that dog should expect to get kicked, fuck the owner tbh. Some may think that's wrong, but it's an animal you obviously have 0 idea how to handle or train, so it's literally dog eat dog at that point.

 

[GeekyDad]

...The normal reaction for any dog walker in that situation would be to sense the people behind them walking at a brisk pace and thus move to the side of the sidewalk, maybe on the grass while (as some here stated) while holding your dog at a very close, slacked leash, and let people through. I've witnessed this by "veteran" dog walkers countless times. Puts you AND THEM at ease, very natural and friendly gesture, you can smile, greet and nod at the dog owner and maybe even wave or pat the dog as you walk past them. ...

Part of your thread title was "Are there (written/unwritten) rules on how you should behave while walking your dog with other pedestrians?" But it sounds like you had the answer you are comfortable with the whole time.

 

[Winter John]

One night I went to a friend's birthday party and there was this girl who was really cute. I noticed nobody was really talking to her which was weird but I didn't think nothing of it. At some point I sat next to her, we hit it off and ended up going back to hers. The next morning we decided to go get some shopping. I'm pretty much head over heels with this girl. I'm thinking this is it, she could be the one. She was cute, she was funny, she read books, she fucked for days. I was floating along the street like a princess in some Disney movie. Imagining the phone call home. Dad she picked me!!!

There was this dog barking. I didn't really notice it at first but the closer we got to the store the more it stood out. It was one of them yappy, annoying fuckin barks that drills in your ear. We turned a corner and saw it was some rat dog tied outside the entrance. It's bouncing round goin nuts as people walked past. We get up to it. It's still yappin like fuck and my future wife drops to her knees, starts shouting bark bark bark in it's face. I laughed, it was pretty funny. The rat dog goes nuts obviously. She does it again, shouts bark bark bark at it. It goes nuts. I expected her to get up but she didn't. Just knelt there right in front of the dog shouting bark bark bark. I became aware of people looking, and I started to get a bit uncomfortable. So I laughed and told her we should go inside but she didn't pay any notice. Bark bark bark. Now it's embarrassing. People are actually stopping to look at this girl. It's almost as if a crowd is forming. I tried to get her up but she's not having it. So I tell her I'm going in to get some stuff and I'll see her in a minute. I'm walking along an aisle and all of a sudden I hear her shouting John. John where are ya? There's 2 security guards running past. I don't know what the fuck is going on but I hear her shouting my name over and over like Jack Nicholson at the end of The Shining. I can see the entrance and there's a fuckin crowd, a bunch of guards and her trying to fight her way inside. I did the only thing I could think of. I ran down the back and hid in the toilets. I figured there was no way she'd get me in there even though I could still hear her bellowing my name. 10 minutes later it had gone quiet so I left the toilets and snuck out the back. I never saw her again but it turned out her nickname was No Bones Sophie and she was infamous for doing that shit, which was why nobody was trying to hit on her. Anyways, it ain't nothin to do with the etiquette of dog walking but I figured it was more interesting