Encounter

There was a huge dog just quietly standing across the sidewalk. When I say he was across the sidewalk, I mean exactly that – he was one of the largest dogs I had ever seen, something like a Great Dane / Labrador Retriever hybrid. I love dogs, I have a 14 year old Sheltie of my own, but this particular dog made me a bit apprehensive just due to his sheer bulk. I had to decide if I was going to defer to this dog and walk around him, or continue on the sidewalk as I approached. I stayed on the sidewalk.

The dog would not move aside. I had to stop in front of him. I spoke to it in a friendly but firm voice, expressing my confidence, yet hoping my nervousness wasn’t apparent.

“Move over big fella.” I knew of course he did not know the meaning of the words, but I hoped, from the inflection of my voice, he would see who was in charge. He didn’t move and I wasn’t going to move aside either. Impasse.

The dog looked calm, and for some reason my nervous feeling was replaced by calmness too. I slowly extended my left hand for the dog to sniff. In my experience dogs seemed to need to catch your scent to really get to know you. It was a friendly gesture on my part.

He did not sniff my hand, but instead took it in his mouth and held it just firmly enough so that I could not easily remove it. I looked at the dog and he looked at me, I could swear I saw laughter in his eyes. I had the distinct impression he was saying to me, ‘OK Bigshot, whatcha gonna do now?‘

I didn’t panic, I still felt calm. I smiled at him and then took his ear in my right hand and gave it a gentle twist as I held it firmly in my grasp.

We looked at each other calmly, both of us were confident and unafraid. The deal was a hand for an ear, and we both understood it. He let go of my hand, I let go of his ear, he moved aside and I passed him without looking back.

Dread Pirate Roberts

April 30, 2009

lol!

=Bernard=

Oh yeah, my kind of dog, I love dogs too. Had a Welsh Corgi for 14 years before I had to put her down. Yup, I like dogs with a sense of humor.

USFGirl

lol

floating ghosts

ew – dog slobber. i hope you washed your hands after that little encounter.

rainbow dust

I’m impressed by your calm. If a dog closed his mouth round my hand, I think I would freak out… ~

woman in the moon

dog spit is a good thing.

SweetAssV

animals do the strangest/cutest things 🙂

OTC

LOL! That dog is bad ass!! Kudos for handling the dog the way you did. It really pisses me off or at least annoys me when people want to get all worked up and freaked out around big or mean looking dogs, not realizing they’re the ones causing the dog to act out and only exacerbating the situation. 99.9% of all dogs, no matter how big and scary they look, are perfectly safe to be around and

mean no harm. You just have to understand them, and know how to handle yourself. That’s why I really can’t stand the bad rap that pitbulls get- they are NOT vicious creatures by nature! It’s just a handfull of owners that have turned handfull of dogs into something not so nice. …Ok, sorry for the rant lol

RainbowGlitterWitch

*smiles* cute.

Wooden Sandals

The UPS driver, an obvious small dog hater, bends down to laugh at my Bichon and says, “I am so afraid of you, Ferocious!” About that time my St. Bernard comes around the corner and barks once, inches from the squatting driver who now lands backwards in a panic. As I continue to sign the little electronic thingamagiggy I softly say, “Bet you feel stupid, huh?”

dragonlady

May 1, 2009

glad you’re working on your interpersonal skills, big guy. the sleeping bags are ready and waiting……..

Mitzie

There was something very calming and positive about this entry. Made me think about our judgements about other people as we pass them by on the street – how we approach one another and assess the person… and the possibility of meeting another person on even ground – both respecting the position of the other and acknowledging that neither is better-or less-than the other. Quite an encounter.