Here’s something you wouldn’t expect: The Unexpected.
The Unexpected is demonstrated in this video of a cute and feisty 14-week-old Golden Retriever puppy doing a little something naughty and playful. Listen to the sound this fuzz ball makes!
Adult dogs are able to exert much more pressure with their muzzles full of teeth than this playful puppy.
Click on Santa and the Dobermann to read an assessment of this tense holiday photo.
But some humans don’t respect the capabilities or the unexpected possibiities of a dog’s muzzle. Some people think “But dogs love me!” No matter how much you think dogs love you, no one’s immune to a dog’s actions if she’s having a bad day, feels cornered, and reacts with a snap. Whenever I have to tell an adult not to bend over and greet my dogs face-to-face, I’m always surprised.
And I’m just as surprised at the usual response people offer after my request, “Why? Does she bite?” This reasoning displaces the responsibility of greeting a dog from the human to where it does not belong, to the dog, When a dog feels threatened and has no option but to snap or bite, guess what the dog will do!
The thing is any dog *can* bite. Most well socialized pet dogs don’t, but any dog can bite. I wouldn’t take the chance to find out if today is the day, especially with a dog I don’t know. A dog I’m just meeting? No, I would never stick my face in front of her face. It’s a gamble with The Unexpected, who oftentimes works in tandem with Murphy’s Law. “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.”
Don’t stick your face into the face of any dog, but especially a dog you don’t know. There’s no need to have that close proximity of face-to-face contact, unless it’s the friendly dog who decides to cuddle up to you and give you a kiss. Yes, this is one-sided, but erring on the side of caution could save a lot of emotional and physical pain if The Unexpected insists on injecting Itself into the moment.
To send your dog to the Love Wags A Tail board-and-train camp for motivational learning with our cast of characters, contact us with your dog training, behavior modification wish list to get started.
Helen Verte Schwarzmann
Contact me
Certified in Training and Counseling
Certified Pet Dog Trainer-Knowledge Assessed
Certified Trick Dog Instructor
AKC STAR Puppy, CGC, and Trick Dog Trainer and Evaluator
Your Board-and-Train Dog Trainer for south and southwest Florida, Southwest Ranches, Plantation, Fort Lauderdale, Weston, Broward, Collier, Lee county
