Canine Capers: Meeting a Strange Dog

By Lesley Liddle

Lesley Liddle is a certified service and pet dog trainer. First Mate Lulu is a Corgi/Red Heeler with spots like a baby harbor seal; Crewman Leonard is a Chihuahua/Doxie with tall ears like a rabbit. Both dogs have very short legs and were originally found in California shelters.  Lesley has average legs and can be found on Orcas Island.

Dogs greet one another in an altogether different way than we humans do. We might think a person sneaky, weak or just plain wierd if they did not approach us straight on. If they were to slither up sideways, look down and refuse to give a healthy handshake we might tend to suspect they were unfriendly. In contrast, a proper dog to dog greeting is done by approaching in a circular fashion, eyes averted, and the actual greeting begins back to front with intense sniffing. It becomes sort of a circling motion. So how do we manage a human to dog greeting properly and safely?

First of all, if the dog is stand-offish, shy or unfriendly, it is very unwise to approach straight on, or to show a keen interest, or to give any eye contact at all. It is better to just turn away slightly, stand quietly and to appear preoccupied. If the dog begins a curious approach, allow the dog to sniff your hands while they are at your side and continue looking away and showing no interest. When the dog then moves into a more relaxed, tail wagging mode, you can also relax and move slowly. It is still a good idea just to ignore a shy dog until it has obviously decided to be friendly and interested in you. Holding a treat in your hand while you remain standing and allowing the dog to approach you and take the treat while not looking at the dog is often a good ice breaker It will probably cause the dog to initiate more contact in hopes of another treat from you. It is a mistake to push yourself at a dog right off the bat or insist on patting it on the head. For heavens sake stop patting strange dogs on the head! They don’t like it. If you must reach out to touch the dog, reach under their chin and pet them there or on the chest rather than over the head. They only like old friends to pat their heads.

Some dogs are wildly friendly and want to jump on you immediately and slather you with wet kisses. This is a situation in which you should spin around, give this dog your backside, walk away until he sits and calms down and you can then turn and quietly say hello. You might have to repeat this several times. The dog’s owner will be very grateful to you when you do not reward impolite behavior. I have an occasional outdated knee jerk reaction sometimes when I’m caught off guard and a big dog is repeatedly impolite in greeting me – my right knee pops up to protect myself. Just never EVER do this to hurt a dog – a slight bump with your knee or turned shoulder is all it takes to protect yourself and stop the dog from pouncing on you. The spin around is a better if slower solution because it allows the dog to offer a “sit” instead and to receive praise for that. You are not in a punishing role.

Finally, if you have the misfortune to encounter an obviously hostile dog and you are frightened, you must make like a tree, breathe, do not turn your back but stand firm looking down at your shoes, slowly place your hands across your chest, sing the alaphbet song to yourself, and chances are the dog may approach you but will sniff rather than bite, and eventually walk away. Any rapid flailing motion with your hands, or running on your part is likely to cause such an animal to chase and bite. Do remember that most hostile dogs (unless they are trained attack dogs and are working) are actually frightened themselves, so giving them time to sniff and leave is always the best course.