Dog Behavior: To Greet or Not to Greet?

It is best for our dogs to learn that encountering other dogs on walks is just another routine part of the environment and nothing to get excited or anxious about. The best way to do this is not allowing on leash greetings.

It is normal for us to think our dogs should greet other dogs we encounter while out on a walk, but there are some downfalls to allowing your dogs to do this.

If you allow your dog to start saying hello to other dogs while out on a walk they can think they need to say hello to ALL dogs they encounter while out. This can create a dog that may bark, lunge and pull out of excitement to get to the dog they want to greet. As a result, you end up with a dog with poor leash manners, or a dog that ends up trying to say hello to the wrong dog and getting hurt.

When dogs are off leash they are in constant motion, naturally approaching from the side, circling around, sniffing each other’s rear, etc. On leash, dogs are expected to greet nose to nose. Dogs don’t naturally greet nose to nose, so this can be confrontational. They also have no way to get away from the situation if they are uncomfortable. As a result, if they can’t flee they may ‘fight’, or be reactive in order to create space. This can include lunging, barking and growing in an aggressive manner to either get you to move back or to get the other dog to retreat.

Sometimes those greetings are inevitable though. If this happens, try to move with the dogs, keeping the leashes untangled. Don’t be afraid to instruct the other person if they aren’t moving. Try to limit the length of the encounter. The shorter the better. This lessens the chances of excitement or tension building ending in an unpleasant interaction. Teach your dog a quick ‘let’s go’ command to indicate it’s time to move on!