Petting Your Dog
March 24, 2010 by Paris and John
Filed under Tips
Petting your dog is something that comes naturally to dog lovers–but do you ever think about HOW you pet your dog?
Earlier this week we had a tip about making your dog feel secure at the vet’s office from Dr. Temple Grandin’s keynote speech at the International Association of Canine Professionals conference we attended this past weekend. For today’s tip, we have another practical tip from Grandin, who has worked extensively researching the best ways to handle livestock and also applies those ideas to pets as well. According to Grandin:
Stroke the dog, don’t pat him. And stroke him, don’t barely tickle-touch him.
Good advice, especially for those who live with a big dog. For some reason, sometimes it’s all too easy to really pat (sometimes harder than we’d like to be patted!) a large dog…but that doesn’t mean he really wants to be petted that way. Firm strokes make dogs feel secure and calm.
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