And I'm not the one who decides this. Conker will sometimes flat-out refuse to go outside if it's raining. Rain is just not his thing, but it does come in handy when I'm not in the mood for his ignoring-me-and-sniffing-that behaviors when we go out for potty runs. He goes out, does his business then comes right back in.
Having a dog that absolutely LOVES people is a great thing, for most people. My Mom's Border Collie/Lab mixes are a perfect example of this. Though they may bark/growl/howl and sound like they are going to take your head off when you walk onto their property, once you get up to them they are nothing but love and kisses and will do anything for a scratch or treat. Simply pointing without saying anything will get them to go wherever you want. This is great if they get loose and will go up to most people who call them. You can also tell them to go home and they will. We accidentally left one of the side gates open one day and they got out. A police officer spotted them, rolled down his window and yelled "Go home!" and they did. He followed them to our house, saw my bewildered Mom outside and asked if they were hers. You'd think he was going to give her a lecture on how she should properly contain the dogs but was instead impressed, saying that they were the only dogs who actually went home when he told them to. Most loose dogs would just blindy run away or ignore him instead of going home.
Something that my choices of breeds are all known for. Conker has only slipped his collar twice. I now use a harness, and thankfully those both times he didn't realize he was loose or I may not have him right now. We are very good about keeping him away from the door when we go in/out without him or if someone comes over. He may learn that the door is a no-go area if he isn't called but being a Shiba, if he spots something outside he wants he'll go get it no matter what we say.
The temperaments and aloofness of my favorite breeds is something that I really do like. Again, it's nice to have an incredibly social and outgoing dog but I like the thought of one who would bark and growl in a defensive way rather than playful if I were on a walk at night, or if someone came into my apartment without invitation. On the post about the Shikoku article, a few Kai Ken owners were saying how they like owning Kai's because most people don't find them as cute as Shibas. This would be nice, especially since Conker doesn't like strangers looking at, talking to or touching him. When I first got Conker I wasn't quite sure what to think when people would walk up and bend over to pet him without invitation since I was used to my Mom's happy-go-lucky people lovers.
But most people would ask to pet him first and since I figured he'd let them, I'd say yes. Conker would run to the end of his leash and somehow get trapped by the people who insisted on petting him. Now I refuse to let anyone touch him unless they work at the treat store or are a relative/good friend of some sort. Even then, it takes many treats, complete silence and lack of "noticing" him to get him to go up to someone once they have seen him. If they haven't he'll walk up to them and sniff their shoes until they notice then he's off hiding behind my legs.
Conker HATES it when people bend over near him (excluding Fred and I). Squatting down, or better yet, sitting or even laying down are his preferred methods of meeting someone, and most people on the street aren't willing to do that. I have met a few "anti social" dogs and haven't have a problem with not being able to pet or play with them. I met one lady who had a young Siberian Husky who was worse than Conker when it came to people. She asked me if I could help her with the dog and gave me a few treats. I didn't look at the Husky, talk to him or even let him know I knew he existed. I simply sat down and placed a treat far enough away from me yet close enough that he knew the treat was associated with me but didn't have to get pet or come too close to get it. 20 minutes later the Husky was taking treats from my hand. The next time I saw him (which was about 3 months later) he was still reserved with strangers but would readily take a treat in exchange for a short chest scratch. The lady was glad she'd met me and helped her with the Husky. She had other willing people do the same thing I had and the Husky turned out to be a nice but still somewhat shy dog.
If only I could find some willing people around here to help me with Conker.
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