People will be offended when you stand up for the dog.
Still stand up for the dog.
They will label you an asshole for preventing the bite.
We are going head to head with misguided expectations from an information deficit. Space is a special need.
The bite prevention literature abounds — we say not to reach, list all the behaviors not to do, but they’re instinctual for the human. We inherently reach out to help, to love, to comfort, and we also like to touch cute beings and shower them with our love.
We are wired backwards to the way the dog thinks is all, but lawwwd the miscommunication is brutal. And writing about is no less insulting to just about every perception. This is a conversation that a lot of people will not even entertain.
It isn’t personal when we stop the encounter, but I think it feels like it. But so will the behavior, so that’s why the transactions rarely have a positive ending. Everyone’s pissed and it’s often a giant misunderstanding.
It takes more than information to overcome a deficit, and this one is ripe with finger pointing and emotion on both sides. The teaching moment never presents.
What if the offender’s total life experience of loving dogs is 1 golden retriever?! They don’t know what we know yet. They think all the dogs want pets. All the dogs they knew did in fact want pets.
But the interception, when a relationship needs space, is for the mom or dad the pits. We come to dread it. They report having anxiety about the letdown which sometimes leads to unintended confrontation and a lot of big feelings. I’ve been cussed out many times and called every name in the book for nothing more than asking for space.
We have some green special needs dog moms and dads on the ground — they’ve just risen to the bowels and are experiencing some of the unexpected realities of loving a dog who needs space. When they call, I welcome them into the club.
HUMAN BEHAVIOR ISSUES = HUMAN BEHAVIOR SOLUTIONS
Use an “In Training” (or similar) harness as a nudge. .
