LOL!!!
I work with the public daily, get used to hearing the same general comments!!!
Since your pooch is in training & going to be a therapy dog, & if you're actually going to take him/her places & have him/her work, these same questions & comments will be 10x what you have now, on a regular basis, every time you take him to work. It's just in people's nature.
They're trying to make a connection, & they can only draw from the information/experiences they've had.
Most people don't know the various breeds & are just connecting to something similar they've seen on TV or in a movie.
You will be forever explaining breed, of both your pooches.
If you're going to be using him with elderly & children, you may often hear the same comments multiple times from the same people, even if they are familiar with your pooch, even if you've explained it to them more than once.
You can either be the educator, or you can smile & nod, but find a way to not let it annoy you, because it's not going to end.
My personal experience with the "let's put a saddle on that thing"--this applies to every dog, of ANY breed that is larger than say a 75lb shepherd!!!!
It just seems to be the thing so many people say, no matter where you are, city, country, park, it's crazy, but this is the "go to" phrase.
This has been said to me so many times in the past, with shepherds, danes, rotties, labs-anything that is even slightly bigger than most family dogs.
Crazy--it has been said to me even about Tessa since she was 11.5 weeks old!!!!
She currently the size of a male golden retriever at 10.5 months, so not a "big dog" by my thoughts, she's regular dog size in my mind--she is the smallest of the pooches I've had, but, well, apparently, I need a saddle.
I have pics of Tessa from 11.5 wks to present at my desk at work. I hear the saddle comment now at least once per week, since she is no longer "new news" with my co-workers. Before that it was daily
I've accepted that's their way of breaking the ice.
Tessa is ALWAYS mistaken for a male. ALWAYS. This blows my mind, because she is such a feminine girl--in MY eyes--She's got 'ear frills' & is just pretty-but again, that's in MY eyes.
For the general public, since they see her a "big", they equate this to "male". It was the same with my last pooch who was a rottie/shep/dane mix.
The "who's walking who?"--yes, sometimes this one comment bugs me more than most, because I take it personally to mean they feel I cannot control my pooch.
***This is said to me even when she is being a perfect angel.***
It feels insulting, and directed at me personally, because I am one of those dog owners who takes pride in how well my pooch responds.
In actuality, it's just something people say to break the ice, like all of the other 'stupid comments'.
Most of theses comments are really just people trying to connect, their segue, to get a little closer to your pooch, because for some reason everyone wants to get a little closer to a "big' pooch, they do lure people in--myself included!
A peek inside my tortured mind:
Previously, I've always had extremely obedient, compliant breeds.
That was "my thing"... pooches I took everywhere, that always behaved, because I PUT THE TIME IN.
It was a social thing for me, & I derived a LOT of pleasure & met a lot of nice people through my pooches.
I've actually had hotels invite me back, was on a list-because despite my pooches being "big"--because they were so well behaved.
It was a source of pride for me personally.
So this one comment, "who's walking who?", hits home for me on a deeper level.
I'm working on this one, because Tessa, being TM, is stubborn & independent.
She sometimes pulls & when she doesn't listen, ****I feel embarrassed or humiliated***
So it's my issue entirely--one of the biggest hurdles I've had when it comes to accepting Tessa's TM-ness, is that I cannot ever depend on her to LISTEN, & the deep humility I feel when she does not.
The frustration is maddening some days.
Much like if your child doesn't listen in public, it's a reflection....
Or at least this is how I have always viewed it.
I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that no matter how much time I put in, I cannot bank on Tessa responding the way ***I*** want her to. Compliance isn't in her genetics.
Sometimes I feel my efforts are futile, and a degree of apathy sets in, & in those dark hours, I wish I had a TM owner psychiatrist to get me over/through this issue.