I know we've talked about consent before, but I'd really like to address it again from the standpoint of helping anyone out there avoid getting bitten by a dog. While it's certainly possible for a dog to bite someone "out of the blue," it really is unlikely. Generally speaking, dogs bite for a reason. While biting someone is a choice not every dog is willing to make, the fact that some dogs do make that choice is important and why we all need to think about what consent means for each dog, the dogs who bite and the ones who'd never make that choice, both deserve to be heard.
First off, if you always make it a habit of only engaging a dog that engages you first, you automatically reduce your risk. Waiting for a dog to approach you means they've chosen to initiate contact. Now, whether that contact will go much beyond a perfunctory sniff is up to the dog. Let the dog approach you. Let them sniff, if they remain near you, bow, nudge you, or bring you a toy, they want to interact. If they approach, sniff, and then walk away, don't pursue them and don't try to reengage. They've already told you they aren't interested.
Now, if the dog has engaged you, remember that not all human touch feels good to them. Dogs have preferences and while some of those preferences seem universal, some are very specific to the individual dog you are interacting with. Thus, most dogs enjoy chest rubs and scratches and dislike head pats and tail touches. A lot of dogs hate having their feet touched, but are fine with a leg rub. If you observe dogs being engaged by strangers, you'll see some commonalities: Most dogs are okay with chest rubs, shoulder strokes, and a light touch to the side of their neck. Extended touch, rubbing fur the wrong way, fast motions, etc. are often met with lip licks, gaze aversion, and the dog moving or leaning away. And if that person tries to bend down to kiss the dog, squat to hug them, etc., you'll often see a flurry of activity by the dog to get away from that contact. Sure, there are dogs who put up with the unsolicited hovering and looming of people, but for many this is very anxiety-provoking. While that same dog may be fine with their owner hovering and looming, or offering that hug, those kinds of invasive behaviors are less likely to be tolerated when they come from strangers.
How do you know if a dog is enjoying the attention you are giving them? That's easy. Did they solicit more? Did they stay in proximity to you? Did they lean into you or nudge you for more? Does their body appear loose with a soft gaze and maybe a lazy tail wag? These are all signs a dog is enjoying the attention they are receiving from you. A stiff body, turned away, with lip licks, yawning, frozen in place or moving away with ears lowered or back means you need to stop engaging the dog and allow them to decompress. When you are assessing your own dog, you'll often be given more leeway by the dog because they know you and trust you. Just because your dog lets you "do anything you want to him" doesn't mean he'll be equally as tolerant of other people doing those same things.
Whether it's your own dog or someone else's, here are some generally good rules of thumb: Let them come to you; let them sniff you; let them choose to stay; if they solicit attention, give it to them; pet them for a couple of seconds and then stop; wait to see if they solicit more or move away. Doing it this way will keep you from getting bitten by that dog. My client knew all of this, so what happened with her dog?
This dog also suffers from resource guarding aggression. Regardless of how calm or relaxed he seems, if he's sitting or lying down in a spot, he may claim ownership of that area and snarl, growl, or snap if you try to displace him from his spot. He's gotten much better about moving out of the way, when asked. Once he's moving, he's no longer resource guarding. This time, however, there was one difference. He started to move and as he did, she reached out to pet his head. That's when the bite happened. Did you figure out why? He hadn't solicited her attention and never solicits head petting. Her absentmindedly doing so resulted in him lashing out. Now, I agree, this was overkill. He could have simply growled, snapped, or even whirled toward her and this would have resulted in the end of the interaction. Why did he choose to bite her? Only he knows why, but now the risk of him biting again is much greater than it was before. Now, she needs to be much more thoughtful about how she approaches her own dog and how she allows others to approach him. The risk is simply too high for her not to do so.
It's important to remember that any dog can bite; actually, anything that has teeth can bite. Whether a dog bites you or not has more to do with your behavior than you think. Be smart. Be thoughtful and intentional in your interactions and listen to what their body language and behavior are telling you. When in doubt, err on the side of caution and don't engage the dog at all. If they really want your attention, believe me, they'll solicit it and there will be no doubt in your mind what they are looking for.
As always, if you have questions about your pet's behavior, you know where to find me.
Zelly is very clearly soliciting attention here. She approached my daughter, parked herself at my daughter's feet, facing her. Zelly's gaze is soft and her body relaxed. When my daughter lowered her hand, Zelly placed her face in that outstretched hand. I think you can tell from her expression how Zelly truly feels about this interaction!
