“Is he friendly?”
This morning, as Kaleb and I were going on our morning stroll, I thought of this question that I’m asked often when approaching other dogs.
As I was reflecting upon it, I couldn’t help but acknowledge the difficulty of this question.
Although, in most situations when asked, I can confidently respond with, “Yes, he is” based on yesterday’s experiences.
The reality of the matter is I don’t know for certain how he’ll react today. On top of which, I don’t know how I’ll react if the fight breaks out...LOL.
What if he woke up on the wrong side of the bed?
Considering that happens to me, I’m assuming it has got to happen to him as well.
What if the other dog’s frequency doesn’t align with his ?
It’s not like I can pull out one of my on the go Dr. Seuss books and teach him the importance of making friends.
Plus, I’ve tried reading to him out loud before, but he doesn't seem to respond to any words other than “walk” or “food”
“What contributes toward Kaleb being friendly with others?” I asked myself.
The first thing that came to mind was exposure.
Exposure to all dogs, the friendly and the not so friendly.
In fact, there are numerous times before meeting another dog, when I don’t try to differentiate.
I challenge my own assumptions of how I think the meeting is going to go.
Rather, I create the opportunity for them to meet anyway.
What better way to help another become aware of something than to help them recognize the behavior in the moment?
How do you create learning opportunities for others?
I challenge you, next time you’re taking your pet for a walk and you see another pet across the street walking toward you, ask yourself, “What can I learn about my pet from this encounter? What can I learn about myself from their interaction?”
As you think about the concept of “being friendly”, what do you think contributes to it?
