Dog people, explain something to me. (A low-key rant) [View all]

My job takes me into people's homes to work on audio and electronics. I'm often there for hours, often crouching/sitting/lying on the floor to get at wiring or equipment.

It's very common for the customer to greet me at the door with a barely restrained dog, and they invariably say "you're ok with dogs, right?"

If the dog looks like it'll be an issue, I express my concern, and 100% of the time the dog's owner is clearly offended, like how dare I not want to manage their animal for them while working on their $5,000 system?

I've had dogs jam their noses hard and repeatedly into my crotch while I'm trying to explain technology to non-tech-savvy customers, and the most they'll do is say "Falcon, stop that."

Or I've had them actually start to hump me while I'm working, and the owner always says "Oh, he never does that."

I've adopted a new one-strike policy, which I communicate to the dog owner: the dog gets one strike, and I'm out.


So here's my question: Why do certain dog owners have no qualms about inflicting their unruly beasts on service professionals on-site to do a contracted job? And why do they get visibly irritated when I express impatience about their dog forcing itself on me? Why not put the dog in the guest room/crate/basement/yard while the stranger is present?

What is the proper response in that situation? (And I haven't even mentioned the obviously aggressive dogs that the owners refuse or are unable to corral).