I fostered probably over 150 dogs, so I met new dogs all the time & often I interacted with other foster families dogs as well. Transports brought in 15-25 dogs at times, so you could meet many in one day, but usually not all. I intentionally would not greet a lot of these dogs, as I knew they were stressed & tired & anything could happen & most likely it wouldn’t be their fault. I didn’t want a dog to be labeled & when I first started to foster if a dog ever bit someone no matter why, the dog was not legally allowed to be adopted out. The law has changed, but a rescue or shelter is supposed to notify any potential adopter of any bite to a human.
When meeting a new dog, whether entering someones home, out on a walk at a pet store or wherever you may be, I always suggest people think before they just reach to pet the dog. Not all dogs are good with being touched by strangers & some owners may prefer that you don’t pet their dog for a number of reasons. When I am meeting a new dog, here are my thoughts & ideas:
- I don’t look directly at the dog, eye contact for humans is polite,but for dogs it can be confrontational. A stare straight in the eyes can be perceived as aggressive. A quick glance is fine, but don’t hold the look for more than a couple seconds.
- I like to talk to the human that is with the dog & ignore the dog for a bit, it allows the dog to take in my scent & assess how their human is interacting with me & their comfort level. Dogs read body language, smell hormones & figure out such things as fear, comfort level & if someone or thing is a threat.
- I stand with the side of my body facing the dog, I do not stand straight on towards a dog, this can be perceived by a dog as threatening/confrontational.
- I allow the dog to approach & smell me. I may keep a hand down by my side, but close to my body, & I don’t reach out to touch the dog unless the dog lets me know it wants me to pet it.
- I don’t lean over a dog & if a dog is small I will bend down at the knees, but with the side of my body towards the dog.
- I don’t pet the top of a dog’s head, taking your hand & going over their heads is some things most dogs don’t like. The first time I read this I didn’t believe it , & that is what the author said, but she said call your dog over & try it. I had two dogs & two fosters at the time. One dog walked away, one bummed my hand away with their head, one did a lip lick (stress reducer) & I think the other one yawned or looked down (again forms or stress reducing). I honestly was surprised, yes some dogs don’t seem to mind, but if you see the slightest sign they may not, or know that most dogs don’t like it, then pet another area. The idea behind why they don’t like it is that most predators come from above & go for the neck when attacking, so over the head petting can be scary to a dog.
- I ask the dog’s owner if it is ok to pet their dog, this is very important, especially when kids approach a dog they don’t know. Not all dogs interact with kids well. Some dogs may have a bad history with a person of a certain size, height, hair color, smell, etc… I had a gentleman come to meet a foster dog & the dog wouldn’t get near him & that was odd for this dog. I remembered he acted like that the last time he saw my brother in law, when he came straight from work, but not the previous times he saw him. The gentleman was wearing a leather coat, so I asked him to remove his coat & move away from the coat. He did that & the dog came right up to him, something about the coat smell must have brought back a bad memory for the dog.
- If I know I am meeting a dog of a friend I asked in advance if I can bring treats to give the dog. Some have diet restrictions/allergies or they may be picky like I am about what my dogs eat.
- Some dogs are more fearful or more protective on leash or in a fenced yard versus at home loose inside their home. I say this because you may have met a dog once at one place, but it can act differently in another surrounding, so don’t just assume the dog will react the same way & rush into petting it right away. Evaluate the situation for a moment & give the dog time to smell you & remember you.
- I also have a rule of 4 on the floor, meaning if you don’t have all four paws on the ground I won’t give attention by petting or even talking to the dog. I don’t want my dogs jumping on people & I don’t like dogs jumping on me. A young puppy may be a ok when small, but when they grow up they can make an outfit dirty, knock someone over, etc.. I have noticed most dogs figure out very quickly what I want (except) & they stand or sit for attention. Dogs repeat what they get rewarded for, so if you allow them to jump on you & you reward them by attention or touch even to push or move them off they were rewarded by touch, so likely to repeat.
I have used the ideas above & they must work because I often hear from owners that their dogs like me & aren’t usually that good with strangers. I try & look at it from a dogs perspective & don’t assume they are 100% comfortable at first, so I let them decide. Of course if I sense something I just lean on the side of caution & walk away, never touching the dog really interacting. I hope these ideas will help you next time you meet a new dog & also keep you safe & the dog has a good experience as well. My dogs are both good with most people, one likes kids way more, one isn’t a fan of most men he doesn’t know, if someone pets the top of Hunters head he is usually done with that person & won’t seek their attention. Echo will try to bump up his head & knock their hand away.
If you are enjoying my blog please visit often, as fall approaches I will blog more often, summer time is a busy season for me & have a big road trip with my dogs coming up in a little over a week. My dogs & I are going to get to enjoy the hospitality of a dear friend in Arkansas, while my birds will be taken care of by my pet-sitter. I may blog a little on my trip, but can’t promise it. As I have said before I am open to ideas of blog topics you’d like me to post about. I have a lot of ideas, so I’m not running out of them, but want to be open to suggestions. Please consider subscribing to my blog, you won’t get spam, just a notice when I publish a post, also liking, commenting, sharing & visiting often all help my blog to be seen by more people. The goal of my blog is to use my 20+ years experience fostering & a lifetime of pets in my care to help pet owners. I don’t claim to know it all, but have a lot of experience to share to help pet owners help their pets to Thrive & not just Survive. Thanks for reading, this is # 71 so I have 70 other posts for you to check out. Debbie
Echoing Great Pet Care 