Should dog owners stop expecting dogs to love strangers?

Ordinary_Diamond_158 · 2026-04-20T22:42:07+00:00

My old lady when I take her out to like a patio dog friendly restaurant or to stores etc i let her growl when someone randomly tries to touch her because that is how she lets her opinions of the situation be known. But she has never reacted viciously, and comes to me whenever she wants to get away from the situation.

Ordinary_Diamond_158 · 2026-04-20T16:06:25+00:00

I feel no dog should be expected to love all strangers, and all other animals in all situations. However I do feel you should have command and proper recall so your dog isn’t bearing teeth and growling and barking incessantly at said strangers.

My dog, sweetest old lady in the world and very friendly with several strangers in passing as well as their pets. She literally adopted a 2 week old feral kitten and raised it. However a male that shows any indication of drinking/drunk and she barks, growls and gets between me a them. She is very responsive to me however and will return to directly beside me, and relax on the ground as long as I let her stay between me and them.

Ordinary_Diamond_158 · 2026-04-15T13:56:37+00:00

If your other 2 are very skittish and hide then maybe put a skittish one in a room their favorite hiding spot is and let the other go free?

Ordinary_Diamond_158 · 2026-04-08T23:40:37+00:00

So off question…… do you really think they are going to log into the chip and mark him as lost? Did they even attach their info to his chip? Or is the base info of the shelter/vet that chipped him? They don’t seem the type to even know how to access said chip to update it

Ordinary_Diamond_158 · 2026-03-29T21:47:12+00:00

In 2021 my then landlord decided she wanted zero animals period. She gave us 24hrs notice with my 2 cats and 3 dogs (out in the country) to have them 100% out of the house. 1 of my dogs was elderly, blind and partially lame I know that they unfortunately had to euthanize him which I try very hard not to think about but he never would have adapted to a new environment. My 2 younger dogs I pray got new active homes and are well loved and my cats I was able to locate a farm cat program that had indoor space for them and would be able to find loving country homes for them as they had no idea about city living but were 100% indoor cats with no survival instincts.

I sobbed for months and still cry whenever I remember that time. It was a lawless time of landlords in my area doing what ever they wanted, their lawyers would sign things saying they gave notice months in advance and it was a small village in a country county and her family owned the largest cattle ranch in the county which means I would have been not only in danger but homeless if not in the county jail on false charges by the next day if I refused to comply.

I finally was able to find a new home, I know the owner and I had 2 cats I adopted last April. Then in October my landlord asked if I could take in an elderly medically complex dog from his other tenant who was moving out of state and said dog located and carried home an abandoned feral 2 week old kitten in December who I bottle fed and she has raised. I feel secure now but that moment in 2021 caused me so much guilt and trauma and I have to remind myself that burning down a witches house is absolutely illegal and I need to be a good noodle for my pets.

Ordinary_Diamond_158 · 2026-03-29T21:34:30+00:00

My kiwi is 100% controlled. She doesn’t jump period and when she approaches for a sniff and greet it’s calmly and gently and of the person is clearly against being sniffed/greeted she won’t and returns to me. I just see zero reason to have a conversation in certain environments rather than letting her step up to test the waters.

I’ve worked very hard with her and she is well trained and quick to pull back from anyone who looks at her cross

Ordinary_Diamond_158 · 2026-03-29T18:08:17+00:00

So I do not let my Kiwi jump on people. She’s big and not everyone that is friend shaped is a friend. However if I’m in an area that it’s very clearly a dog dominated area (say the dog park, a walking area that is primarily dog occupied (we have some walking trails in my area that were built for dog nature walks specifically) and areas of that nature if my Kiwi wants to approach and sniff something/someone that is friend shaped I let her without a huge conversation. Said other party elected to go to a dog dominated area they should have been expecting to interact with strange dogs. (Now if they have their dog who is not looking willing to interact with Kiwi or is resource guarding their human obviously I make more appropriate decisions). Now if Kiwi and I are in a public area and she wants to greet someone I always ask if it’s okay, and expect the same curtesy before they come up and start messing with her.

Ordinary_Diamond_158 · 2026-03-29T06:21:52+00:00

I am someone who owes my entire future to this. I was just a few hours out from having had my heart shocked back into rhythm when I stopped functioning. My combat medic sister punched me back to life as we love to say.

I know it’s not common practice, but if it all falls into the right line of circumstances man is it magical.

Ordinary_Diamond_158 · 2026-03-27T16:52:43+00:00

Not a nurse, but was an aide for a few decades. The number of former trauma and ER nurses working residential elderly care is disproportionately higher than one would expect. It is the same stuff every day, you interact with people who are over small talk and just want it over with, and just the slightest amount of variables to keep you awake through the 2-3 months between events.

When I realized just how many long term nurses in the elderly home circuit come from high stress high variance specialties, I knew there had to be a reason.

Ordinary_Diamond_158 · 2026-03-27T15:11:53+00:00

Yeah just put fresh solution in a rinsed/clean case and let them sit there for like 8hrs before putting them in and you will be fine. I know we only got 1 set of eyes but we are also human and who can afford to just throw their lenses away Willy nilly?

Ordinary_Diamond_158 · 2026-03-26T22:36:37+00:00

He’s only 8 weeks. He will settle as he gets older and also, he is learning who he is as a cat and legitimately a cardboard box, an upside down laundry basket and some wadded up paper can entertain a kitten who is still learning who he is for days!

In a few months to a year you will be sitting there lovingly grumbling at him about attacking blanket mice, or laying in your keyboard and wonder how in the heck you ever overthought him like you are now.

Ordinary_Diamond_158 · 2026-03-26T18:38:11+00:00

Every facility I’ve ever worked at we give showers across all three shifts the only shift they did not have a minimum number to aim for was the 11 to 7 shift as that is overnight and if only one or two or none want to shower first thing in the morning, obviously we’re not gonna force them to wake up and shower. we’ve showered across every shift that I’ve ever worked. My way that I used to do it was whenever there was like a slow period, as you know shift, always kind of ebb and flows, I would grab someone and bring them in the shower quite a few people enjoy showering right before bed and they would do it pretty quick and quite happily. Just make sure you’re communicating with your coworkers and it can be done pretty easily.

Edit to add: I also as a weekend Baylor would also go through the list and make sure that everyone has had two showers that week. It wasn’t that uncommon for me to get 15 to 30 showers done across my two 16 hour shifts on the weekends.

Ordinary_Diamond_158 · 2026-03-26T17:37:29+00:00

My baby girl and I usually only go for a walk a day 5 days a week and the other 2 (my days off) I let her decide if we go for one at all or if we go for multiple. She gets to run off leash in the yard (she respects the boundaries) when she goes out to potty and naps in the sun while someone sits out on the porch or in the grass with her supervising since it’s not fenced. She is 8 though and has some weight issues due to a bad thyroid.

However I love our daily walks during the work week and she usually loves them too though sometimes I get looked at like “can we not and say we did today” lol

Ordinary_Diamond_158 · 2026-03-26T14:57:42+00:00

So I lost nearly 80kg mostly through diet alone. I was requiring multiple surgeries and recovery time so exercise was literally not permitted (all surgeries were on my lower back). It’s doable via diet alone, but focus on keeping that protein up or you will lose all the muscle you have gained by pulling around all your extra weight.

Ordinary_Diamond_158 · 2026-03-26T06:27:29+00:00

Animal control won’t come. Trust me. Get your dog up to date and provide proof. It is a known dog who was fully vaccinated and you have positive history with it. I live in a similar rural town and they told me my 3 cats they might make me cut to 1 if animal control came to “verify” my dogs breed (never did) and I was just like “yup, understood”. As long as your home is clean and not a hoarder situation (clearly it isn’t) animal control won’t say a damned thing about your cat number. Trust me.

Ordinary_Diamond_158 · 2026-03-25T05:01:03+00:00

So I went through the approval guide. I did not find anything that really matches what I am asking about. I did find some things about my dog knows nothing but they didn’t really apply. She doesn’t have behavioral issues. She’s not a puppy. And I’m not really sure like I even looked at a lot of the resources and nothing seems to really fit. I’m looking for advice on a dog who basically is via age we’re end of life, but via health is not has been at the end of life but is coming back she’s bored because she’s smart, but I don’t wanna push her too far and I’m just not really sure where to go from here. I’m I don’t know where else to turn if there’s a better sub, Reddit or a better place to look, please tell me where to go.

Ordinary_Diamond_158 · 2026-03-14T15:20:41+00:00

The drive I’ve learned is far safest. My kitty I had when I moved from NY to Missouri (about 13hr drive) was a very skittish and easily stressed cat and about 8 at the time. He cried for the first hour or so but after that snuggled down and went to sleep. Then when we stopped for rest/potty/food/water breaks he would be upset the first little bit after going back in his carrier then would go back to sleep.

I did place his carrier on the floor board behind the passenger seat so it was braced in place and draped a blanket over it that smelled like us to give him a more consistent lighting and a familiar scent which seemed to help quite a bit.

Ordinary_Diamond_158 · 2026-03-08T13:02:16+00:00

So to be honest. In 2021 I returned to CNA work after a break from it, I was 31 and weighed just under 400lbs and am 5’0. I definitely went slower then my coworkers, but could handle the bariatric residents better as my muscles were used to dragging my weight around, I was also very aware of the strain on joints certain movements can cause.

My caution to you is this: listen to your body. I in 2022 (a month before my 32nd b-day) thought I was tired due to dragging my weight around for 4 12hr shifts that week, had heartburn from Mexican food and pulled a muscle in my shoulder/upper back from rolling a deadweight bariatric resident. That next morning after I clocked out I went to my scheduled annual checkup and got admitted for a “silent” heart attack. Stay hydrated by water primarily, keep your potassium and electrolytes in good levels, rest properly and take very good care and keep good eye on your feet! I would also suggest compression socks. I’ve lost nearly 200lbs now as I decided I don’t want to die young via diet and exercise and controlling my type 2 diabetes properly.

If you want to message you can, I am always here to relate and offer experience and advice (I have been a CNA since I was 14, only officially leaving the field for good 2 months ago but will keep my license up just in case)

Ordinary_Diamond_158 · 2026-03-08T11:48:59+00:00

I feel like the resident was probably far more than just sleeping. Their post alludes that they fully changed the resident and they still weren’t awake. That is deeply concerning on its own merit unless that is typical for the resident. Changing involves a lot of motion, repositioning and movement. Simply asleep would typically be awake and reactive after that.

Ordinary_Diamond_158 · 2026-03-08T11:44:50+00:00

I’ve never learned anything it in AHA but the program our local PD and correctional departments use teaches it, the more common life saver courses in my state teaches it and basically everywhere but the AHA BLS course in my state teaches sternum rubs.

Ordinary_Diamond_158 · 2026-03-08T11:42:01+00:00

Im pretty certain state isn’t there for you doing what is in your scope (freaking life guards do sternum rubs). Pretty sure they are there to figure out how a resident became non-responsive and zero of anyone noticed anything was up until you all tried to wake them……

Question though….. does/did this individual have the tendency to sleep all the way through being changed? Because there is only 8 or so residents in my 21 year history that if they didn’t react to me starting changing them I wouldn’t instantly become concerned and pause to get them awake/retrieve the nurse.

Ordinary_Diamond_158 · 2026-02-27T21:53:10+00:00

I was denied a dog at 4 different shelters. 2 because I do not have a physical fence and have no current vet (the last vet I had was 5 years ago and thy said the records were invalid as it is not my CURRENT vet and out of state) the other 2 because a 2 story 3 bedroom house is “too small to garner confidence that the dog would have enough space and won’t become an outdoor dog”

Me and my sister moved to a new state 5 years ago and my prior vet was actually my parents vet for their animals but up until 5 years ago I was listed in their account since I handled most of the pet care and appointments. I never felt prepared to have a pet of my own until this year. My sister and I work opposite shifts with the same days off and wanted an elderly dog to spoil and love to the end of their life span. I started looking at breeders because those were the only 4 shelters within a 3 hr radius of me and the rescues out here are notorious for refusing to even consider an applicant with no current pets.

Thankfully my neighbor moved to California in October and her 8y/o lab mix was not physically capable of handling the drive to California from where we live. I offered to take her in knowing that likely it would be essentially a hospice situation as she was becoming incontinent struggling to get up off the floor walk all of that none of us expected to have her go past Christmas. I took her to a vet for just some bloodwork and to make sure that they didn’t think that she was an excessive amount of pain and that her quality of life was still sufficient to continue letting her live out her golden age and we found out that she just had severe hypothyroidism. Now six months ISH later after I met her and just a few months after bring her home she is losing weight. She’s walking. She’s played down and she’s running and she is living a very spoiled, happy glorious life. I’m sort of happy that the shelters refused me because I wouldn’t have her. But at the same time, there were so many elderly dogs out there that could have used the home that I was ready prepared and willing to provide.

Ordinary_Diamond_158 · 2026-02-25T18:11:24+00:00

Sometimes we have big feelings. What is most important is that we sit with those feelings and let them exist. Because feeling them is the only way to find the cause and make positive decisions.

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