How to Pet your Dog

How to pet your dog: If your dog lies on his back and lifts his leg, it means he wants to get pet on the chest. Obviously a dog will only do this with people he feels completely comfortable with. If the owner were to touch the dog in a different area, such as a sensitive area, the dog will probably check to make sure the intentions of the person are not dangerous.

Don't touch: Dogs need to be willing and learn to let their owner take control of what is going on. Imagine what you would feel like if a perfect stranger came up and started talking in a completely different language to the person that is with you and then all of a sudden started touching you. Dogs need to learn to overcome these types of situations; some dogs actually learn to enjoy these types of situations. As the owner we are responsible to facilitate things for our dogs by teaching a dog to enjoy being pet by doing it ourselves.

Places dogs enjoy being touched: There are certain places dogs easily and quickly get used to being touched in. Generally, a dog's chest and back are the safe areas to touch a dog in. Try touching your dog in these places and check to see if he is relaxed. You will be able to tell if his attention is focused on something else and does not seem bothered by it. Dogs that like being touched have been taught this from the moment they were puppies.

Fearful of hands: Unfortunately, there are some dogs that have not had enough pleasant experiences with people touching them when they were puppies. And what's worse yet, some dogs have been hit and are actually frightened of human's hands. This is why some dogs bite people's hands. Be careful when using your hands to touch a dog and make sure you move them slowly to help the dog understand that they can trust us.