“Reach forward with your palm down,” I hear a Mom telling her daughter, with regards to how to greet the dog in front of her. I wish I’d have been closer because I would have called out “NOOOOOO.” The dog was backed up, clearly showing that he was not interested when the girl bent over reaching out to him. As I knew what was going to happen, he barked ferociously at the little girl. Mom yanked her away and the owner of the dog yanked him away.
Don’t touch other people’s dogs, just don’t. The other day a man and his wife were walking by and as he got right beside us he bent over and reached out to touch Riggs. Riggs jumped out of the way at the rudeness. Yes, reaching out to touch dogs is rude. We humans don’t think that it is rude but it is surely rude to dogs. Dogs do not just go up and touch each other. Yes there are those dogs who do because they lack social graces but they usually learn from the other dogs that it’s not a good idea.
Just imagine for a minute that you are out on a walk; you are alone, no dogs with you and someone walks by and reaches out to touch you. We would automatically recoil, maybe yell at the person or do even more. It always amazes me how people want to touch strange dogs. Of course there are dogs who are very friendly and enjoy being touched by pretty much everyone. Elsa is like this but she definitely has boundaries and she displays her willingness to be touched by approaching people.
She displays her willingness to be touched by approaching people.
The statement above is so very important and should be the rule when greeting dogs. Don’t reach out to pet, don’t hug, don’t tell the owner how dogs always love you, and don’t push the issue. Just stand calmly and non threatening (turned to the side) with your hands by your side and wait. Does the dog approach? Seem interested in approaching? Or does the dog just ignore you, back up or go behind their guardian? These are all signs of interest in being touched or interacting.
Simply asking a dog’s guardian is not enough before you touch. You need to ask the dog and the way we do that is to wait it out. You need to see if the dog approaches you, first. Do not bend over towards the dog, do not have direct eye contact with the dog, do not reach your hand out…wait.
Often the harder you try to be friends, the worse it gets. Attention in any amount can be too much for dogs who are not fans of interacting with strangers. Remember that next time you want to touch.