First contact with a dog

One of the things that keep surprising me is the general lack of knowledge on how to approach a dog for the first time. People usually hold out their hand, look at the dog in the eyes and talk to it in a pitched voice as you would with an infant. All of this is wrong and should not be done in the beginning. Some dogs are naturally very relaxed and happy go lucky so this might go well but the proper way is to let the dog come to you and ignore him while he sniffs you and determines if he wants your company in any way. If he remains at your side and shows signs of joy such as a wagging tail or making eye contact then you can pet the dog and play with him. In some instances the dog will just walk away or might not even come near you. As we value our personal space so should you the dogs decision. Don’t get offended if you try to force contact and the dog reacts by soft growling, showing of the teeth or moving away. Dogs may even try to bite in these cases and although it is bad behavior from the dog you have triggered this with your inappropriate actions. Some dogs do not wish to be touched or handled and you should respect this. Sometimes gaining a dogs trust may take a while, especially as it may have had a horrible past experience with humans, but it will be all the more delightful because of it later.