You Don’t Have to Say Hello

There seems to be some kind of compulsion in our society to have dogs who don’t know each other greet one another on leash when out in public.  Am I the only one who finds this a bit weird?

If you know anything about me, you know that I’m a hard-core proponent of canine socialization.  However, I don’t quite understand why my dogs would need to greet any canine they meet on the street. 

As a trainer, I happen to know that many dogs who are out and about probably shouldn’t be.  I know how common it is for owners of reactive/aggressive dogs to be in denial.  Dogs who have bitten people and other dogs can still be walking down the street, at the pet store or in the park with their owners.

I have the advantage of enough education and experience to read dogs more effectively than the average owner, so I feel pretty confident in knowing which dogs I should absolutely avoid.  But for most of my clients the prospect of allowing their dog to greet a strange dog is a hold your breath, cross your fingers, crap shoot.

Another problem is that so many dogs have not been taught how to greet other dogs appropriately.  To add to that issue, many dog owners don’t understand normal, appropriate dog behavior.  Time and again I’ve seen a friendly yet highly inappropriate dog greet another dog in a rude (but friendly) manner.  When the dog being greeted gives a very appropriate and much warranted correction, he is deemed mean or aggressive.  It’s all backwards!

My strong preference is for dogs who are out on walks to learn that other dogs are of no consequence.  My perfect world would have dog owners waving to each other and saying hello with no response from the dogs. 

I would love to see dogs having a rich social life through well-run daycare, back yard play groups or safe dog parks so that walking with their owners could simply be about walking with their owners.

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