How to greet a dog
It’s a common misconception when greeting a dog that we should stick our hand out for them to smell. In all honesty, I prefer your hand over your face, but it’s still a behavior that a dog can misconstrue as rude, especially if you enter their space and then shove your hand even further into their space, such as their head.
There is a brief second in this interaction where the dog has to make a choice. Either a.) they will move away as they’re not interested, or b.) they can feel threatened and snap. Now, I’m not saying all dogs are like this, but generally, when we think the hand approach is a good idea, it's towards a dog who is not openly greeting us. Somewhere along our evolution, we forgot what a red flag is from a predator. Hello, if a dog is not actively trying to greet you, then they probably don’t want to meet you.
Here is the thing, most of us are taller than dogs. Generally, when we greet dogs, we bend over, stare, and do whatever weird behavior you think a dog may like, such as talking in a squeaky voice. The dog, who has already made it clear that they’re not interested, is like, whoa. This human is not behaving like other humans, and unlike us who ignore red flags, dogs do not and react accordingly because it is all about survival of the fittest.
So, what should you do instead if a dog is not actively trying to greet you? Well, ignore it. Yup, it’s that simple. If you want to increase your chances of the dog visiting you, stand and talk to the owner like a normal human. Don’t be a red flag. My guess is once the dog deems you not a threat and you’re pretty normal, they will probably come up to you and check you out. It can be that easy, and if the dog doesn’t, then so be it, he doesn’t want to be your friend.
So, the key takeaway is to stop being weird, be aware of your surroundings, and take a lesson from the dog: you don’t have to be friends with everybody.
As your teacher would say, keep your hands to yourself.