Neighbor yelled at me for letting my dog sniff too long on one spot

Old guy on Maple Street said I was wasting time letting my beagle sniff a fire hydrant for 5 whole minutes. Tried his way of just yanking her along for a week and she started pulling like crazy. Ever had someone tell you to speed up your walks and it just made things worse?

3 comments

3 Comments

wesley1811mo ago

Last year I was totally that guy who thought a walk meant moving forward the whole time. My neighbor's golden retriever would stop at every mailbox and I'd be internally rolling my eyes. Then my vet told me that sniffing is basically a dog's version of reading the news and checking their social media all at once. I tried the "keep it moving" approach for a week and my dog started wrapping the leash around my legs out of frustration. Now I just let her sniff for 3-4 minutes at whatever spot catches her nose. She's calmer on the leash and I actually enjoy the extra time to just stand there and breathe.

riley431mo ago

Oh geez, next thing you know the hydrant sniffing police are gonna start issuing tickets for excessive loitering. I mean, five minutes is honestly pretty restrained for a beagle, those little guys are basically professional smell connoisseurs. Maybe the neighbor just needs a hobby that doesn't involve monitoring other people's dog walking cadence.

diana_west271mo ago

Right, so what did the neighbor actually expect you to do, scream "heel" and run past the hydrant like a drill sergeant? Bet he's the type who thinks a tired dog is the same thing as a well-behaved one. Did he even explain his logic or just stand there fuming while your beagle did her morning scroll?