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How to Greet a Dog – A Proper Greeting

November 4th, 2009

The first time my big dog saw a child we were outside the vet’s office. There were three children of different ages. They weren’t talking, they were just milling around. He reacted as he did to anything new: he backed away and watched. He stretched out his neck to smell them but wouldn’t get closer than about 6’. He didn’t get comfortable enough to want to get close to them before we went back inside.

I’ve heard stories from my colleagues about dogs meeting children for the first time when the child runs up and hugs a dog’s head. I don’t want to think what would have happened if a child had hugged him before the day he saw children at the vet’s. It could have been a disaster.

When I teach classes, one of the steps I always cover is how to greet a dog. I often hear, “My dog always jumps on people so I don’t let him get close“ or “He barks too much.” If handled correctly, owners get to see their dogs being successful at something they didn’t think could happen. Conversely, these techniques can be used to greet others’ dogs, too.

With the prevalence of dogs in public nowadays, everyone should have an idea on proper procedure to greet a dog. Even if someone doesn’t like dogs, the knowledge can be useful. It’s especially important for children to know how to greet a dog properly for the child’s safety.

This article describes a proper introduction if the dog is yours. It isn’t meant to be a “how to” on training. If you have problems with any of these elements, please contact a professional trainer.

If someone is coming toward you and your dog, assume they do not want to meet your dog unless they start to approach or specifically ask to greet the dog. To be a good citizen, your dog should have already learned to stay with you unless told to do something else. Ask him to sit at your side.

Ask the person to stop at least 5’ away and ask if they would like to greet your dog. If they continue toward you, hold your arm out with your palm toward them and say, “Please stop. My dog’s in training.” Even if your dog is perfect, most people will respect the request and stop.

Show the person exactly what you want them to do. Make a fist with your palm pointed down and arm extended. Hold your hand at the level of your dog’s nose. Tell the person that if your dog sniffs their hand then they can scratch the dogs chin or neck.

Give your dog permission to, “Go say hi” and let him go to the person’s hand. After the person has petted your dog, call him to you and continue on your way. Remember to thank the other person for helping you “train” your dog.

This post was provided by Marilyn Wolf, BS, CPDT-KA, Pet Trainer & Behavior Consultant of KorrectKritters, 727-372-9825.

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K9 Cuisine is a provider of premium dog food. We’re committed to providing our customers with the knowledge, and the products, to help their faithful friends be the best they can be.

photo credit:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/laurat/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Tags: dog training, greeting a dog, how to greet a dog, kids and dogs, training
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