You have a reactive dog – do you find people tend to approach you and simply pet your dog? What is your dogs reaction? To back away? To nip?
Many people don’t seem to respect dogs – or respect their space. Come over the top of a nervous dog, try petting it – the dog reacts, maybe with a growl, a nip or even a bite. Is it aggression – or is it a correction? Something to think about.
I was at Petsmart one day, reached down to pet a golden retriever, and it snapped at me. Owner got concerned, he apologized profusely but as I explained, it’s my fault – not your dogs. I invaded his space and didn’t show the dog any respect – and I got corrected. The owner looked at me a little weird, said he never thought about it that way.
Another time at Homes Alive on Calgary Trail, a lady had 2 French Bulldogs with her – she was at the back of the store. As I watched her and the dogs, it was clear that one was fine being there – the other was nervous. People came up to the dogs, they are small and cute – and they would try petting the nervous dog. She would retreat and hide between the owners legs.
I went over and talked to her, sure enough, she had just adopted the nervous female. The male was great. I squat down a few feet away and offered my hand to the nervous bully. She didn’t hesitate, she came forward and sniffed my hand. She came forward some more – looking for affection. So I gave it to her. The owner was amazed that her dog responded so well.
First of all, by squatting down and offering my hand, I’m giving her the choice of coming to meet me or not. Sniffing the hand isn’t so much about smell, it’s more about acceptance. Back then I was a smoker and could only imagine what my hands smelled like to a dog, I wouldn’t want to sniff them. But, she read me, realized I wasn’t a threat, I’m calm, and she made the choice to come forward. Told the owner to tell people that yes, you can pet my dog – but please do it my way, my dog is nervous, give her some respect and ask.
Kids love Monty, and they want to pet him. Thankfully, vast majority of children ask to do so. Monty loves kids, and truly doesn’t care if a child runs up to him and pets him right away – however, if my dog was aggressive, the child would likely get hurt then it’s always the dogs fault. I take every opportunity to show children how to approach Monty properly and dogs in general. Always ask the owner if the dog is friendly and ask if you can pet. Most times the answer will be yes — if the dog is ok. Squat down a few feet away, offer your hand and relax. It rubs off on the parents too – and many are thankful that a stranger is willing to offer up that little lesson.
positivereinforcement #purelypositive #forcefree #dogtraining #foodreward #balancedtraining #gambler #trusttechnique #bfskinner #dogtraining #operantconditioning #positivereinforcement #negativereinforcement #positivepunishment #negativepunisment #trainingquadrants #dogtrainingquadrants #balanceddogtraining #balancedtraining #ecollar #prongcollar #treattraining #rewardbasedtraining #doggram #doglovers #trainingdog #doginstagram #doglove #dogslife #doggie #puppytraining #trainyourdog #dogtricks #dog #puppy #dogs #doglover #puppy