Dog Encounters of the First Kind

In My Humble Opinion
21

Never yell a command at dog; a trained dog only needs a firm voice, and an untrained dog will bark back at you.

‘Down’ is the wrong command; it can mean ‘lie down’, ‘get off the couch’, or ‘let’s dance’.

Body language is game playing; you are a human, use words

Tell the dog to ‘Sit’. Firmly. (This works with dogs of all languages, by the way; when a dog hears an unfamiliar command, 9 times out 10 (s)he will sit.)

Then give it a scratch behind the ears, and a tennis ball.

Hey, (s)he likes you; affection and good humour is too rare to dismiss as an annoyance.

That being said, how can I keep you cat off my lap?

22

We used to own a very hyper medium sized beagle. This dog would jump off the ground at anyone who visited. Whenever someone came over, I’d always make sure I held her back. If the visitor was a dog person, as some were, and said that it was okay if she ran up, then I’d let her go.

I don’t mind other peoples’ dogs jumping on me. When I go to friends’ houses with dogs I always tell the owner its okay to let the dog come after me :slight_smile: