Should You Let Strangers Pet Your Dog?
You are at the park with your adorable golden retriever. Not surprisingly, people want to rush over and hug your beauty, bringing their own dog with them. Since you are a dog lover, you may think, “Why not?” Instead of welcoming the attention, you need to be cautious. Stranger danger is a problem for people and for dogs. Not every person with a dog is safe, and not every pet is friendly or healthy. Before you engage in or allow interactions with your pet, consider several possible issues.
Safety
To stay safe in the world today, you need to be wary of strangers. Although you may feel safe because you are with your furry guardian, you still should not let down your guard. Unfortunately, the best way to get through a pet owner’s defenses is to praise her fur baby. Do not allow anyone to approach you or your dog unless you are in a public area with other people around. Even then, you do not have to allow anyone to stop you and pet your animal. Don’t worry about being perceived as unfriendly. If you do not feel comfortable, do not allow any interaction.
When you are approached by another dog lover with her pet on a leash, you should not let your dogs mingle. They may want to fight each other, which can turn into a serious problem. In addition to that issue, you do not know the health of the other animal. You may take excellent care of your own dog by keeping current with vaccinations and giving monthly doses of Trifexis for dogs to fight heartworm and other ills, but not every pet owner is as conscientious. Your pet can catch diseases such as distemper and canine influenza from an unhealthy dog. Find your pet a safe playmate through your friends or a quality pet daycare or playgroup.
Legal Issues
Your dog may never have even nipped at a person before, but you can never guarantee how your dog will interact with a stranger. If your dog thinks you are being threatened, he could bite someone while you are out on a stroll. The best way to prevent a biting incident is to keep strangers from petting your animal. Again, that sounds harsh, but if your pet does bite, you could end up facing a civil suit. At the bare minimum, you would need to offer to pay the victim’s medical bills. Although you might think the issue is resolved, you could end up being served with legal papers at some point down the road. Even if you’ve never really “known a stranger,” you will be much better off letting your dog interact only with people he knows. Telling little kids not to pet your beloved Brownie may sting, but gently explain why they can’t and move on.
Dog lovers generally love to socialize, and often, these interactions are trouble-free. After all, most dogs are a joy, and their owners are pretty sweet too. However, you can run into trouble in the usually friendly dog world. Strangers can be dangerous and, sadly, so can their pets. Even if it seems unfriendly, you should keep strangers away from your dog. Doing so will help protect you and your pet from a number of problems.
16 Comments
Tamra Phelps
Most of the dogs I had were pretty friendly, but I think it’s just foolish to try approaching and petting a stranger’s dog without asking first. And approaching carefully.
Sarah L
No, I do not let strangers even try to pet my dog.
Natalie
I always ask the dog owner before petting the dog. It is important to ask about the dogs demeanor.
polly
I never approach someone’s dog unless I have asked them first. You never know how a dog will react to you.
AJ T.
What’s up with that dog? Does he have conjunctivitis, or is he winking at me?
AJ T.
What’s up with that dog? Does he have an eye infection, or is he just winking at me?
michele
Both of our dogs are exceedingly unfriendly…if you try and pet them you would be sorry.. one I know would bite immediately….protective to the max….
Allison Swain
I personally don’t like strangers touching my pets! I never know if they may bite somebody, and I don’t know if that person has germs or is sick. I prefer to be safe about it and just say no.
Jennifer Boehme
I previously let anyone pet my Pug, but in last year I have seen people want to pet my dog and their dogs had fleas, and one had worms that were transferred by shoes of people. I am cautious about others around my pet and even their dogs. I don’t want my pet picking up something from a visitor dog in my home.
Kristen
Especially….if you have small dogs….do not let people pick them up!
Karen R
My dog doesn’t like other dogs so I would not put her in that situation. She has never even nipped at anyone but you can never be too safe.
Kate Sarsfield
We don’t have a dog at the moment (simply couldn’t cope!) but when we have had dogs I would never have allowed a stranger especially a child to approach my dog. Dogs are pack animals & by approaching the Alpha (ME!!!) the dog instinct is to protect me.
Tamra Phelps
I always ask before petting someone else’s dog. And I always hold my hand out to let a dog sniff my hand first, too. Even a friendly dog can be startled or scared, & then bite. I prefer to be cautious.
Nicole Bradley
Our dogs are tracking and hunting dogs, & we live way out in the country on a farm. So only we get to snuggle& play with our furbabies!
CJ
My dogs are not friendly at all. They believe my mother and I belong to them and no one else. If they see people even talk to us, they get mad and territorial. So if we have company they need to be safe in their houses far away from people.