08/25/2024
Please respect dogs space. 💕
And owners, please protect your dogs from well meaning people.
Who here appreciates a stranger walking up and touching your body without proper introduction and permission? Anyone?
Picture this, you’re minding your own business and a person much larger than you walks up, says something you don’t understand and tries to touch you. You back away but the person keeps coming, trying to touch your hair, your face, even your private areas. You try to get away but they keep coming, looming over you. You say NO and put your hands up in a STOP gesture but you’re cornered and they keep trying to touch you. You feel extremely unsafe, defensive and helpless. Terrified actually. What do you do?
One of our founders witnessed an upsetting incident recently and wanted to share a reminder to respect dogs space.
“My husband and I were enjoying lunch and admiring a cute dog eating with her family at a table right outside our window. The dog was content and well behaved, sitting quietly watching the goings on. A woman approached, clearly a kind dog lover. She said hello to the owners and reached for the dog who backed away. The woman kept coming, backing the dog under the table. The dogs eyes were wide with alarm, body stiff, tail tucked. The woman stopped for a moment and the couple chatted while the dog sat warily crowded under the table.
The woman then reached for the dog again, the dogs pupils dilated in fear, her entire body stiff and miserable, and we could see the barely perceptible twitch of her lip that said, “I’m terrified and going to bite.” Thankfully the owner said something at that moment and the woman paused. A few minutes later the dog warmed up and allowed a brief contact but I can still feel the tension in my own body as I watched the poor dog trying to communicate her discomfort. Had the dog bitten she would have been labeled aggressive, quarantined for rabies, possibly even euthanized as “unpredictable”.
As dog lovers we need to stop causing dogs stress and fear by trying to touch them when they aren’t ready. Of course pet the dog who bombs up to you, happy, relaxed and begging for attention. But let them make the overtures.
As dog owners we need to protect our sensitive dogs. It’s important to be firm, but also upbeat and cheerful about it, as that will help our dogs confidence. When I’m out with a sensitive dog and someone approaches wanting to touch them, I usually smile and say something like, “he’s kind of a dinner and a movie guy who doesn’t enjoy being touched by strangers, like most of us.” But I also usually deflect them by asking if they have a dog, or chatting about dogs in general. I keep it light and relaxed but I don’t allow contact if the dog isn’t comfortable.
Making a difference one animal at a time.
www.dogwoodanimalrescue.org
