Pet Gazette

How to behave when a strange dog approaches you

If a strange dog approaches you, should you run or should you stay calm? Of course, you need to stay calm, rulenumber 1. Emotions are a weakness in the animal world and fear is an emotion.

Here are some guidelines of what you need to do to stay save when a strange dog approaches you:

1.  Do not take it personally; the dog is only protecting his own space and not out to get yours.
2. Stay calm. Dogs communicate with energy. Fear and anxiety is energy. If the dog is aggressive, he wants you to get scared which spells vulnerability in the dog world. Any emotion does. So stay calm and controlled and the dog will be thrown off.
3. Stand your ground, don’t run. If you have a purse, an umbrella, a stick, or something similar, place it in front of you to make yourself appear larger. Body language is another form of communication that the dog understands and he will see that you are no threat to his space, because you are claiming your own. By staying calm and claiming your space you are building an invisible energy boundary between you and the dog. You let him know that you are not afraid.
4. Wait until the dog retreats or simply looks away or turns his back on you. Then calmly walk away.

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