In a family of five people, why does the dog single out one particular person to bully?
Jaimie is a lovely, soft-spoken young woman living at home while she hunts for a job after finishing college. Her schedule doesn’t permit her much time in the house, so her interactions with the family dog – Guy, a Husky mix – are limited. And because of Guy’s constant, unwanted attentions toward her, she has been spending even less time at home.
From the moment she walks in through the garage door, Guy is all over her – jumping, licking, nipping at her sleeves and pant legs. He dances in front of her, circles her, follows her up the stairs, bounding ahead and turning to face her halfway up.
“Mom!” she shrieks, “make him stop!”
Jaimie admits she is intimidated by the dog.
Guy knows this.
Dogs CAN sense when someone is scared, tentative or wary of them – by watching body language and hearing the tone of voice. Guy observed Jaimie’s body language – she naturally shrinks away from him and tries to make herself smaller – and listened to her voice tone – high, piercing, a bit of a tremble – and he reacted.
I really do feel badly for people who don’t like dogs, who wish nothing more than that the hairy, slobbery creatures would just disappear. Because the canine sensibility WILL JUST NOT LEAVE THESE FOLKS ALONE.
We dog lovers are oblivious to their distress. Or at least, we are not particularly empathetic towards the anti-canines among us. We say things like “Oh, look, he LIKES you!” and “Don’t pay any attention to him, he’ll go away eventually” and “Isn’t he adorable? How can you resist that face?“
Meanwhile, the whimpering, pitiful, target of your dog’s attentions is cowering in a corner, vowing to run far, far away and never come back.
For the dog owner, have mercy on your daughter, friend, relative, or whomever is suffering unwanted attention from the dog.
Teach your dog to SIT and STAY, and make sure that he does that when his human punching bag comes around. Don’t allow bullying to continue – intervene, and mean it.
My advice to anyone who is afraid of dogs, or finds themselves picked on by the family dog:
1.Take a deep breath. Calm down.
2. Stand up straight.
3. Avoid eye contact.
4. Say nothing to the dog.
5. Keep your hands to yourself – in your pockets if necessary – and don’t touch the dog.
6. Stay still.
The majority of dogs will be a bit stunned by your non-reaction and will make another futile attempt or two to get a rise out of you. Then, after determining that you are utterly uninteresting, will leave you – finally, blessedly – alone.
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