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Petorama: Question #53

petorama

Ask Yvette

Dear Yvette,

I have a large dog who is well behaved and friendly. We have worked hard at teaching her to sit to let people pass by. But I find some people with toy breeds seem to panic around us. Some even dash away from her or scoop their dog up. Can you please tell us how to get across to people that we really aren't unfriendly.

Susan

Many people with small dogs and puppies do get intimidated when they see larger dogs. Sometimes this is warranted. There are horror stories in the media. When your dog is as big as the head of the approaching animal, let's say that can be frightening.

Generally, I don't expect owners to be comfortable letting unknown dogs of different sizes romp together. It is an ideal standard that all dogs be stable enough to play nicely together. What I do expect is that owners plan ahead and socialize their puppies to a variety of other breeds of dogs.

Toy owners do not have to let their dog interact with a large strange dog. But they should be able to walk down the street and pass one. Toy dogs should have received enough exposure that they feel safe and pass without terror.

In the same regard, owners of large breed dogs should take the same steps. You want your large breed dog to recognize that toy breeds are not prey. If your dog has an issue or plays rough, you need to be aware of it. Knowledge is power. If you know your dog chases small dogs then understand that this can terrify the other animal. Work on the problem and do not allow your dog to terrorize other people's pets.

I am finding that more and more people are become more proactive and more responsible. It is more common to see dogs walking nicely on body harnesses today than five years ago. I see people walking down the street training their dogs. People are raising the bar.

The dilemma that owners of small breed dogs face is that they do not know you and do not know how your dog will react. Common sense and courtesy can be extended on both sides of the equation so all parties can feel safer.

Keep your dog on a leash: Regardless how confident you are in your dog's skills put your dog on a leash. I recently watched as someone walked his unleashed toy dog into my son's schoolyard. The dog seemed well mannered, and the person seemed pleasant enough. But one of the children the dog passed was terrified of dogs. Unleashed dogs frighten people. Leashing your dog is a courtesy.

Step aside: Put yourself in the other person's shoes. If someone is approaching, especially a child or senior step aside and if need be put your dog in a sit stay. This goes for all breeds of dogs.

Move slowly: Running, dashing or a fearful owner can agitate another dog. If you need to pick up your dog, then do so slowly. If you feel safer putting some distance between you and another dog, then do so calmly. Running, darting and rapid movements can trigger some dogs to chase. And that is probably the last thing you want. If a dangerous dog is going to attack, you won't be able to outrun it anyway.

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Yvette is an award winning pet writer and pet behavior columnist. She also is the author of Meeting Milo, a North American dog bite prevention program to reduce the approximately 2 million children bit by dogs annually. She is the owner of AwesomeDogs.ca and works as a behavior consultant in London, Ontario.

This column was originally featured in The Londoner
See more of Yvette... www.awesomedogs.ca
www.meetingmilo.com

Yvette has 2 dogs of her own, KIKI and KAYA. Take a look...

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