A guest slapped my dog twice on the snout

[lunagirl]

My husband and I recently agreed to start hosting a small group of people at our home on a weekly basis. We were initially worried about this with the dog (see my other post about how excited she gets around visitors), but after consideration, we reasoned that we could manage it.

So last week we hosted for the first time and overall it went fairly well. Our plan was to eliminate any dog issues in the first place by simply keeping her locked in our room for the 2 hours. We left in her in there with her toys, food/water and, of course, her bed. We checked on her frequently, too. Other than hearing her whine through the walls when the guests first arrived, she calmed down right away and things went fine, until...

As people were leaving, one of my friends heard the dog earlier and asked to see her, so we let her out. She came out, excited as ever, ran right over to them and did her crazy thing where she leans into them and wags back and forth so hard that she can almost take you out at the knees! Right after, she tried to jump on my friend's husband and, he slapped her hard enough on the snout to make her yarp. It honestly took me by surprise. She immediately got down and seemed confused. I caught all of this out of the corner of my eye, apologized to our guests but they brushed it off like no big deal.

Well, you know how sometimes saying goodbye can take forever? Turns out we continued to chat at the doorway on their exit. My dog Luna mustered the courage back up to walk back over. She started sniffing the husband again around his backside, and he again, very quickly, slapped her on the snout again, hard enough to make her yarp! Again, I apologized and they seemed to brush it off and left.

What bothers me is that I asked ahead of time if anyone has issues with dogs, and everyone said "no". But I'm still just very bothered the way this man decided to slap my dog. What concerns me is that this happens again since the group is meeting for at least another 6-8 weeks. I guess I just need to refuse to bring her out until everyone is gone. I don't mind people telling my dog "no" or pushing her away, but backhanding her hard enough to make her yarp crossed the line in my opinion. What are your thoughts?

 

[linda2147]

that man would never be allowed in my house again. And I would not hesitate to tellhim why.' tell him the nexttime you see one of his obnoxious kids you will take it upon yourself to give it some punishment see how he likes that

 

[mechi2]

He probably thought he was helping you train your dog. I wouldn't like anyone slapping my dog either, it's not their place to do so unless they thought the dog was going to harm them. Next time take the dog away when you see her approaching the guy.

 

[Alpha1]

If anyone dared to slap, hit or kick my dog, they would never be allowed in my house again and I'd let them know why. I'd probably confront them the minute it happened and kick them out right there.

The dog should not have been locked in a room while everyone was there either. Any dog would be extra excited and happy to be let out among the people. The dog needs to be trained, or you can keep her on a leash that you hold. get one of those expanding baby gates and put it in the doorway so at least the poor dog can see what's going on, and if someone wants to pat her on the head during their visit, they could.

 

[lunagirl]

Well... I ended up calling my girlfriend (of the husband who slapped my dog) just to ask her about the situation. I really wanted to know how it made me feel and where I stood moving forward.

She immediately apologized to me because she "had a feeling that her husband may have crossed the line". She explained to me that they own two outside dogs that he uses for hunting and on their farm. That they are treated well and loved, but that her husband is very "old school" when it comes to how he trained them and interacts with them. I asked what she meant by that and she said "he is very strict and harsh when it comes to their training, and he doesn't tolerate misbehavior". And they never let their dogs in the house, ever (heated barn). She struggled to put into words his perspective on dogs, but she basically went on to say that he likely sees dogs more as purposeful tools (she literally said "like livestock"), as opposed to companions to have relationships with. Although I didn't necessarily agree, it at least gave me some understanding and insight to his perspective on dogs.

I let her know that her husband did in fact cross the line.

 

[linda2147]

who cares? he shouldn't own any animals and he still would not be welcome in my home. No excuses and no apologies, you can't unring the bell and whats done is done

 

[Alpha1]

Well... I ended up calling my girlfriend (of the husband who slapped my dog) just to ask her about the situation. I really wanted to know how it made me feel and where I stood moving forward.

She immediately apologized to me because she "had a feeling that her husband may have crossed the line". She explained to me that they own two outside dogs that he uses for hunting and on their farm. That they are treated well and loved, but that her husband is very "old school" when it comes to how he trained them and interacts with them. I asked what she meant by that and she said "he is very strict and harsh when it comes to their training, and he doesn't tolerate misbehavior". And they never let their dogs in the house, ever (heated barn). She struggled to put into words his perspective on dogs, but she basically went on to say that he likely sees dogs more as purposeful tools (she literally said "like livestock"), as opposed to companions to have relationships with. Although I didn't necessarily agree, it at least gave me some understanding and insight to his perspective on dogs.

I let her know that her husband did in fact cross the line.

An apology from his wife is weak, it should at least come from him personally. Sounds like he's a jerk with animals and she's an enabler. Too bad their dogs are banned from the house and being part of the family, but I would not allow him to be near my dog, especially after no apology.

 

[lunagirl]

An apology from his wife is weak, it should at least come from him personally. Sounds like he's a jerk with animals and she's an enabler. Too bad their dogs are banned from the house and being part of the family, but I would not allow him to be near my dog, especially after no apology.

Yes, I agree. I will have them back later this week with the rest of the group. Maybe he will apologize personally, at least I'm hoping he will... I've committed to hosting this event so I'm probably just going to stick to my guns and leave Luna in the room until everyone leaves as to avoid any issues moving forward.

 

[linda2147]

this ouple should be excluded from any further get togethers. Or just invite the wife. You need to send that asshole a stern message and let him know in no uncertain terms you are done with him, forever.