Two-Way Street: Teaching Teddy Appropriate Behavior Around Dogs

Now that Teddy is a skilled mobilist (mobilist: (n) one possessing ability to get anywhere, get into anything, and obtain everything within 3 feet of the floor, with speed), with a zeal for four footed friends, it is essential for us to teach him proper interaction with dogs.

My previous post pertained to me teaching Teddy to pet the dogs, but proper interaction involves so much more than that-- and, quite importantly, it involves teaching Teddy that it is NOT OK to run up to any dog, unfamiliar or familiar, and pet, grab, lick, poke, or pull its tail.  

More after the jump...

(photo: with the dogs at the park)

No small feat-- this is a Toddler, after all-- but this is by no means a pipe dream.  We groom a child's mobility in all kinds of ways at a very early age.  "Hold my hand when crossing the street," "go down the stairs on your bottom," "big step up to get in the car," "no pushing other children mustering up their bravery before plunging down the big kid slide."  We also need to add "no running up to dogs" to that list.  

So much of dogs' fear of children come from the way in which a child approaches a dog.  A child sees a bit fluffy toy, and a dog sees, as i've said before, the equivalent of King Kong.  I can not put another dog in position of stress just because my Toddler wants to play.  

In my house, I can teach Teddy to "play nice,"  outside my home, I teach Teddy to "leave them alone."  We are conditioning him into not running up to dogs, to stopping a few feet before their snout, and "waving" from a distance, vs. reaching out and petting.  We are teaching him to respect that not all dogs are stranger-friendly, let alone kid-friendly, and that a dog's personal space should not be violated.  

Its a work in progress, but just as important as "look both ways when you cross a street."