In our profession, it's hard to pass by a dog without a greeting because as dog lovers, we just love dogs! Fellow dog lovers like to talk to dogs, pet them, scratch their ears and fuss with them. That's great as long as you know the dog, the dog knows you and you have established this behavior as being acceptable between both of you. However, this can become a potential problem when you assume that all dogs will love the attention and assume all dogs behave like this; especially with a dog you don't know. Your innocent actions could seem threatening to some dogs, so you need to be sure that you know how to act and behave around unknown dogs.
We must appreciate that the behavior and body language humans display is very different to canine behavior and could be regarded by canines as offensive and/or an attempt to threaten, challenge or control. Understanding that the behavior we show when greeting, differs so greatly from a dog's behavior, is the first step towards making your greeting of an unknown dog, safe, respectful and polite.
How dogs
greet
Firstly, look at a greeting from a dog's viewpoint. Well-socialized dogs,
meeting for the first time, will be making assessments based on canine behavior.
They see a dog and assess its body language from a distance. Then they may go
towards the other dog and stop, still assessing its body language for signals
to indicate whether it's relaxed, friendly or anxious, nervous, wary or a
threat. A dog is also assessing the threat level of the other dog by its
stance. This could be tail up, ears pricked, head up, proud stance, hackles
raised, or maybe tail down, ears sideways or down, head lowered and even
looking away. Depending on the signals a
dog is showing could mean the difference between a confident dog, a nervous or
aggressive dog or a relaxed dog with no threat at all. Some dogs may use
submissive signals such as immediately dropping to the ground and laying on
their back or side. If that's your dog, be happy that it is unlikely to get
into trouble! The next step is that they sniff each other's faces and then go
head to tail to check each other's signature smell from anal glands and genital
areas. After initial greetings and assessments, they may either walk on
comfortably, play, or one may show submissive signals, like lowering head,
rolling over willingly, or even urinating (especially uncertain pups). The
other dog will then usually indicate acceptance to the submissive signals and
both will happily go their separate ways.
How we
greet
Humans do not greet in this way! Nor do we naturally recognize these forms of
body language signals. Primate behaviour involves meeting face to face, looking
into the eyes of the other ‘person', using vocal sounds (talking), and lots of
use of the hands and arms (touching, stroking, gesticulating, hugging, kissing).
If we use this behavior when greeting an unknown dog, we may be inviting an
unwelcome reaction from the dog, and here's why.
Of course, there are many dogs that are very well socialised with humans and our rather blunt form of greeting. They love having their head, ears and body ruffled and patted and will jump up and/or show happy wagging tails. Humans are good at recognising that happy-dog body language and understand the dog's desire for that type of greeting. The trouble is that we are not so good at recognizing the body language that tells us we are not meeting one of those types of dog!
How to
greet safely
Please consider doing the following when thinking about greeting a dog on or
off lead in the park, street, or in the dog's home.
First, ask the owner if it is safe to greet their dog. We may teach our children to ask an owner, but in our experience, an adult rarely asks the owner of a dog if they can do so. Some people even feel it appropriate to feed treats to their dog without asking permission.
If the owner says not to greet their dog, then please accept this. Don't assume that every dog will like you and because you've had dogs as part of your life for some time that it's okay to keep trying to touch the dog. Up to now, you have most probably met lots of well-socialised dogs.
The best way for people to assess and greet a dog is to do the following: -
- All greetings must be on the dog's terms-allow dog to make the first approach.
- Keep talking to the owner so you don't stare at a dog.
- Stand very still. Don't make sudden movements.
- Ignore the dog. Let him come to you to sniff your legs.
- Do not try to stroke or speak to a dog while he's sniffing you... he hasn't finished checking you out. A dog that sniffs you and then retreats should not be approached, because he does not want your advances.
- After 30 seconds or so you should be fairly sure whether or not the dog wants a happy hello.
- ALWAYS ask the owner first.
- Even if it is obvious that a dog is happy, do not lean over him. Stroke the upper side of his body but not his head. This indicates that you don't want to be considered controlling. Also, some dogs have very sensitive ears so, if unsure, stay away from them!
- Don't force yourself on a dog if he moves away from you or indicates in other ways that he is not comfortable. Stop after a few seconds and see whether the dog leans into you or nudges you for more.
As humans, we tend to assume that dogs will understand our intentions and our words but unfortunately that is not the case. Our means of communication differ so greatly from that of dogs. This is why so many people receive a bite or a snap as a result of unwitting behavior when they approach an unknown dog! By failing to respect canine behaviours, signals and body language whilst imposing attention onto a dog we risk injury to ourselves or others, and put the dog's life at risk too. Some dogs cannot understand the differences between human and canine behaviour. Dogs learn through association and a series of events and interpret our movements and body language through their canine instincts; our words are largely interpreted through voice tone. They assume that you will understand their body language and their signals so it's up to us to ensure that we all recognize the signals and educate ourselves so that we do.