For the Love of Dog

05/02/2021

16/11/2020

Want to be able to make friends with new dogs when you meet them? You can signal that you’re friendly by using canine body language!

We often hear that you’re supposed to offer a dog the back of your hand to sniff, but the body language of this move is actually quite threatening. When we lean forward to offer our hand, we’re facing the dog square on, looming over them, making eye contact and invading their space. All of those signals combine into an intimidating message, and as a result many dogs will become uncomfortable when greeted in this fashion. Confident dogs will usually respond with a couple of signals like turning their head away, yawning, or licking their nose, which means they’d like the human to ease up a bit. Shy or anxious dogs will back away, cower, or even growl, snap or bite.

The best way to greet a dog is to either stand side on to them and invite them over by patting your leg or calling to them, or crouch down on the ground and let them come to you. This method ensures that it’s the dog’s choice to come and say hello – they’re moving up to you, rather than you moving up to them.

If the dog chooses not to approach, it means that they don’t want to say hello. It’s important that you respect that choice, and leave them be. If you’re going to be spending some time with the dog, be patient and hang back – the best way to win the trust of a shy dog is to avoid putting pressure on them to interact. Move slowly, blink your eyes a lot to avoid staring, and don’t speak loudly. If they approach to sniff you, don’t pet them right away. Let them sniff, then when they’re finished move away from them and try inviting them closer again.

Best of luck making some new doggie friends Dog Geeks! We’d love to hear how being conscious of your body language has helped you greet dogs, or if you’ve ever won the trust of a shy dog by being patient and avoiding pressuring them.

- Maddie Ross CPDT-KA

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For more graphics and videos on training and behaviour, check out our library: https://www.beacondogtraining.com.au/thatdoggeek

13/01/2020

09/01/2020

Dogs are NOT beds!

As a lesson learned, I forgot to brand this infographic. In an effort to continue our mission to educate the world about dogs, please give credit to Trailblazing Tails when sharing. Thank you in advance!

You may also find our series of educational infographics on our website as free downloadable PDFs https://www.trailblazingtails.com/pages/educational-content.

24/12/2018

Wishing everyone and their dogs a very happy Christmas. I will not be posting any pictures of my dogs in Santa hats or reindeer antlers. Why? Because they wouldn't like it, and there's no good reason to make them deal with it just for a "cute" picture. So here's a picture of them, happy and relaxed, waiting for a treat instead. Best wishes to you all

17/12/2018

I can highly recommend Alexandra Horowitz's book "Inside of a Dog" if you are interested in how your furry friend perceives the world.

I occasionally see dogs being walked, in our neighborhood and I think, “sorry, little dog.” Don’t get me wrong. The dog owner means well. They are out there walking with their dog and that’s more than many dogs get. But I see these dogs being marched down the street with no opportunity to .....

01/12/2018

01/11/2018

Happy to announce Puppy School starting this Sunday. Still space for a couple more pups if you or a friend are interested in joining us

23/10/2018

I had a very similar experience to the author of this article with my beautiful Cookie (that's her in my profile pic). Thanks to alternative therapies, we had an extra 6 months of precious time together.

We share some research on the most effective alternative therapies designed to help pets get better here in Hong Kong.

20/10/2018

We are pleased to announce the launch of our Dog Park Safety Project; a series of posters that are the result of a collaboration between the IAABC, Dr. Jessica Hekman and artist Lili Chin. The goal of this project is to promote safety in dog parks and in dog play through community education.

14/08/2018

it's always baffled me that people feel the need to mess with a dog's food while it's eating. As a food guarder myself, I can guarantee I would stab you with a fork the second time you took my dinner away. Leave them to eat in peace

20/11/2017

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/dog-spies/it-s-not-you-it-s-me-if-a-dog-won-t-play-with-you-it-could-be-your-fault/

You've probably heard the expression, Life Is Short: Play With A Dog. "Okay!" you think. "I'll do it!" After all, dogs play together until they are gray in the face.

01/07/2017

In dogs and humans tempers are more likely to flare as the temperature rises.

09/06/2017

I love this idea!
I think unless you have owned, or had a friend with a reactive dog, many people just have no concept of "personal space issues" for dogs.

I can't say enough good things about LiliChin. She has many free-to-download handouts on canine body language and safety around dogs. Some in multiple languages. Check out her work

19/04/2017

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bstvG_SUzMo&t=5s

Bite prevention starts with understand what a dog is trying to say! Please help us spread the word!! If you're a trainer, a vet, a breeder or you work for a ...

19/04/2017

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABDrhNBwdpk

Dog bite prevention video for families everywhere. 77% of dog bites come from a friend's dog or the family's very own dog. We want to change that number. Ple...

26/08/2016

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=NqbZDAAAQBAJ&pg=PP1&dq=joanne+hinds&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y =onepage&q=joanne%20hinds&f=false

What Dogs Like is a book with an important message. Nearly 80 percent of dog bites are from the family or a friend’s dog. Written as a read-along rhyme with illustrations, What Dogs Like cleverly helps educate young people as well as their parents on how to behave around their canine friends.

15/08/2016

With animals in mind