Dog Petting Lessons

When petting a dog, there’s a fine line between being affectionate and being annoying.

You can always tell a dog lover.At the sight of any four-legged, we light up, excited to meet and pet and please the pup. Ah, yeah, that’s the spot, right? You like that!

But so often, we’re wrong.

We touch a little greedily, eager for the validation of that unconditional return of affection. We’ve convinced ourselves that all dogs want to be petted. They love to be petted. They’ll like it. It’s good for them, too.

“When we meet humans, do we go up and molest them? No, we don’t.We have respect for their boundaries,” notes animal behaviorist William Berloni, who made history by training shelter dogs for Broadway and Hollywood.

“With dogs, we want that tactile relaxation, so it doesn’t matter what you want, little dog.” Ouch.

Tags: 

behavior