Can my friendly dog say HI?

Can your friendly dog meet other dogs on leash? Sure. It's your dog. It's always your choice in the end.

But as dog trainers we know how meeting other dogs on leash often... creates bigger issues and how really it doesn't have any value.

When Laura from @laura_thefrenchtouch said the sentence 'Dogs should only meet if they are relevant to your dog's life', a lightbulb moment happened for me in terms of explaining it to people.

Yes, your dog can meet other dogs but only if they are relevant to your life.

Will you see them again or is it a one off? Is it a dog your dog generally likes? Is it a person that's important to your life?

There is absolutely 0 value in your dog meeting other people or dogs that they will never, ever see again.

How many of you say hi to every single person you see on the street? No, we only say hi to relevant people. Family, friends, check out staff and shop assistants, waitress or mechanics whoever we are in contact with that day.

But we don't sit down at a restaurant and greet every single person sitting at a table? We are capable of acknowledging them and calmly ignore them, whilst being polite to staff and being friendly with the person we are at the restaurant.

Sociability is like a scale right? It's not all or nothing. It's, some people I interact with, others I

I don't.

Guess what? Same for dogs!

Want to learn more? Check out our podcast episode on this topic:

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