Tips when you don’t want strangers petting your dog

Guest post by Sean

Update November 2022: This podcast on embracing observational learning while still advocating for our dogs has some more recent, balanced thoughts. Sean’s original reflections below still stand as options though!

We’ve all seen that look, the point, the squeal, the kid yelling “puppy” as they tear away from their parents and come running at you and your dog. Maybe you both get a kick out of saying hi to everyone on the street!

But maybe you don’t. Like, you really aren’t interested in the impending interaction.

Maybe your dog is human reactive and this could set you back. Maybe your dog is like Scout and having a loud child unsteadily racing at you with their arms outstretched makes them timid. Perhaps you think it’s odd that other people think they have the right to come up and interact with your personal property (yes, dogs are technically property in the United States, not that this means we treat them like objects) without asking. Maybe you’re just not in the mood right now, or you h…