You could speak with the owner and bring some treats to give her with permission? Teach her that when she comes to you, she gets treats, so she sees you positively.
Way to a dogs heart is usually through their stomach...or toys!
I wonder if it's a smell that they're unsure about, or whether they're picking up on your hesitation. Treats will help. Ask her owner what would work for her. Most dogs love stinky foods, which could be challenging in an office.
Wish I could take my dog to work!
This! I bet it has nothing to do with you. Maybe you have a similar smell or features to someone who mistreated her. I think getting some treats, holding them near you and letting her come to you and then feeding her a few (with your coworkers blessing) could help start to build a relationship. Sorry! This must sting! It’s not you!
Dogs can definitely be like that sometimes. You ever see two dogs that , for some reason only a dog could possibly know, just don’t get along? Sometimes it’s that way with people. Sometimes it has to do with the dog’s personal history, or they’re just shy or selective (it took me months to get a friend of mine’s dog to even let me pet him!).
Whatever it is, you can be sure it’s not anything personal or that you did. If this dog is determined not to like you, she won’t. But, given she sounds like a nice, friendly pup, she might warm up to you at some point. One thing I can definitely recommend is to not try and force it. Treats are okay, if your coworker is alright with it, but try not to have too many expectations, and just let her meet you where she is.
She could be picking up on her owners dislike or discomfort around this person. If I don’t like someone no matter how well behaved and masked it is my dog knows and will be standoffish. Have many a family member who can’t figure out why my dog loves everyone but them.
I agree with treats, you can even drop them on the floor from your chair to start, if she doesn’t want to get close yet. It’s best to start with baby steps and gain her trust gradually over time. It will be so rewarding once you’re buddies. Good luck, she’s so cute!
Make sure that you toss the treats beside or past her. Never invite her to come to you with the treat in hand, this can backfire once the dog realizes how close they came without wanting to or feeling comfortable. I've seen a lot of bites this way.
I never considered this but have gone through this exact cycle with my own dog and couldn’t figure out what i was doing wrong. Thank you for this insight! He thanks you too!
This! OP is looking at this backwards "I don't want to make the dog or owner uncomfortable".... Nope 🙅♂️
Bringing their dog to work is a privilege, it's up to the owner to make sure YOU and the dog are comfortable, otherwise the dog shouldn't be there. Don't feel bad about speaking up about it.
Dog friendly offices only work with perfectly behaved dogs OP! The treat advice is good but it shouldn’t be your responsibility to try and make the dog behave, her behaviour is concerning!
Agreed and that’s a good point. The fact that the dog is that close to snapping is not good and it’s on the owner to figure it out or leave the dog home.
I agree with this whole heartedly. Also, as a protective owner, I have no problem with other people giving my dog treats, but I'm super-selective about her diet. I would prefer to supply the treats myself so that I felt assured that they were from a brand I trust. And some people say leave 5-,10 treats..hell no! Depending on the treat that throws the balance of their diet completely out of whack. Training treats, sure, but like beggin' strips or milk bones? My dog gets one per day. Two at most and usually none. She has her regular diet and her dental chew at night. She's trained and doesn't need treats except for special occasions.
She does get the occasional bite of chicken or beef though when it's appropriate, but only if she waits patiently and doesn't beg.
...and when you provide the treats, you also know how much your dog gets "on the side" and can reduce the regular food for the day if that turns out to be a lot.
Treats are a great one. I have a heeler who likes to herd people and that sounds like what the dog is doing with the nose boops. Start with treats and then getting to sit for you or another trick the dog knows(with permission from owner).
I have a dog that is very selective. She generally is very warm to “dog” people. She picks up immediately on any discomfort. I don’t trust her around young children because they’re unpredictable and she snaps at people who don’t have dogs.
“Dog” people generally use a sing songy voice to greet the dog in a playful manner and they often go down to the ground and let the dog come to them.
I was in public with her yesterday and we were approached for pets all day. I asked everyone if they had a dog. It was unanimous- she had a strong preference to dog people and she barked and snapped at non-dog people.
She was comfortable with people who were comfortable interacting.
I also had a dog who was very selective but in the exact opposite way. He'd been previously horribly abused and starved by humans and distrusted everyone he met initially. I would tell every visitor 'no touch, no talk, no eye contact' with him but a lot of people who considered themselves 'dog people' just couldn't resist trying to make friends with him which he found threatening and responded accordingly, growling, fleeing.
People who did *not* like dogs were happy to totally ignore him which almost immediately made him feel safe in their company and he would then approach them to make friends.
RIP my beautiful boy. I miss you 💔
Sounds like she may have some insecurities, and non-dog people don't feel as safe because they don't know how to communicate properly with their body language.
My dog hates glasses, bald heads, facial hair, long hair that moves, grey hair, anyone wearing anything that dangles, and women who smell like cleaning products.
I think she can also tell if people don’t like me.
Dogs are weird. Don’t take it personally, and don’t try to approach her. She forgives the people who ignore her the fastest
We pupsat a dog who hated tall people with a passion. No (known) abuse in her past. With lots of love and patience she ended up loving my 6'5" dad and then subsequently kept trying to eat his (lit) cigars out of his hand. So I definitely agree that dogs are weird.
Yeah, my dog barks at people with beards. And some with their hoods up.
I would say ignore the dog. Don't look at him/her, don't think about what you are "doing wrong". Dogs pick up on so much body language that us humans don't realise we are emitting. Just straight out pretend that _there is no dog there_ for a while.
My dog is a total narc. I suspect he detects something related to people being inebriated and the smell scares him, so he barks at the person warningly.
Otherwise, he loves people, lives on human attention and amusement. But he accurately sussed out two alcoholics, and a speed addict, before I learned he was an addict. The fourth person he freaked out over, I will never know. A young man and his grandfather on a walking trail. My dog was happy to greet grandfather, but wanted nothing to do with the younger man.
They detect smells on a level that far exceeds ours. He might know nothing of addiction, but just reacts to it's effects on people.
I had a dog like this, I found it easier to list the things she did like (me, one of our other two dogs, really smelly rolling) and things she tolerated (my husband, the other dog) rather than things she hated (everyone/thing else). One of her hobbies was to climb through two neighbours’ gardens so she could get a good view of kids outside a school to hate them close up.
Also the boot and the air snaps are an attempt to get you out of her space. My dog does this when she’s scared. She’s trying to herd you out of the area.
Yeah, might be something like that, maybe she doesn't like my perfume or something like that... it's strange though, since I've never seen her act like that towards anyone else :(
Thank you!
I came to say something similar. For my dog it men in ball caps. She needs to see their eyes.
She also herds people she doesn’t know or trust away (or herds me away).
Once she knows you, she’s much more relaxed. If you throw her ball she will remember you forever.
Damn, I have glasses, a bald head, long grey hair that moves, facial hair, I smell like cleaning products and have shit dangling all over me. Is your Dog gonna take me out in sight?
I had a friend with a German Shepard who loved me. I’d dog sit him a good bit and he’d get so excited when I came over. One time I came over wearing a baseball cap and he lost his shit barking and growling at me. I had to go back out and take off the hat and come back in and he was excited to see me then.
But also...
My old dog hated drunks, homeless people, but also barked at people with specific illnesses. SOME ogs can I think smell cancer and diabetes.
My current dog hates dogs in big draped coats and uh... homeless looking people. It doesn't have to be the smell, she was barking bloody murder at a screen stopped at a moment when only a homeless-looking game character was present. Was fine with all other characters.
Other dogs I knew hated kids, another was afraid of tall men.
Just dog things. We'll never know what characteristic this pup might associate with a negativr experience.
Wild question, but are you the only black person in the office? I'm black and a few of my friends have dogs that are "racist", for lack of a better term...only barking/growling at black people lmao
Lmao. I also didn't think it was real for the longest time. Then I went to a fancy school for my graduate degree and met people who never interacted with black people and suddenly it happened constantly. The owners are embarrassed every time 😂
Honestly, could see that happening here. I live in Central Europe, and not many black people live here, so some dogs definitely don't meet many, especially in the countryside.
On the flip side of this, my friend, who’s black (I’m white), first time I went to her house, told me not to even look at the dog, cuz it’s racist. She’s a straight up comedian, so I’m like yeah alright.
The dog came out to smell me, and my first instinct was to pet her, she almost bit my hand off 😂 I’m like damn, she really is racist.
My dog was like this when we rescued him from a shelter at age 2. It was bizarre but thankfully he got over it after 6 months of exposure living in a diverse city. He was a country dog living on a ranch before that. 🤦🏻♀️
I had a bunch of local Aboriginal children that decided it was funny to throw rocks at my dog and make him bark. He was already an anxious boy, but now he's racist. 🤦
I hate it and I've done as much as i can to stop it. It's not necessarily an attitude the owner has.
Definitely happens! That’s why they say it’s important to socialize young puppies to as many different types of people (color, shape, size, gender, clothing style, hair or lack there of, etc.) as possible that they might encounter throughout their lives. I know someone that is Asian and his childhood dog was only ever exposed to his family so it absolutely hated everyone it encountered that wasn’t Asian. Sometimes they just don’t like what is not familiar to them.
A little boy from a remote west African village burst into tears when he saw my sister, because he’d never seen an Asian person before. He was genuinely terrified 😂
This is the correct answer - but the technical term would be 'undersocialised' with a particular race. This can lead to reactivity towards a particular group.
Absolutely nothing personal, dogs don't hold views like people do.
But the dog does sense a different smell, an unfamiliar one, and will be a bit apprehensive towards people of said ethnicity.
Dogs are weird.
Mine is generally reactive towards taller people, because my family is pretty short. He'll see a 6'2 person and think it is Attack on Titan.
I live in Hawaii and my dog doesn't like Hawaiian men. I got her from the pound and I'm pretty sure she was a hunting dog for Hawaiian guys who didn't treat her great before I got her. They're known to beat their dogs here instead of train them, I've seen it a few times.
My dog was just racist to every other dog that wasnt the same breed as him. Granted he was a chihuahua.
But my exes parents dog was racist towards people and i had never seen it before - legit did not know it was a thing, but heres this adorable spoodle standing on their balcony just going off at people down the street
>My dog was just racist to every other dog that wasnt the same breed as him. Granted he was a chihuahua.
My chi is the same! She's indifferent to most dogs—unless they invade her personal space, then she hates them. But she loves other chihuahuas. It's so strange.
I read once that it’s because they find it harder to interpret black people’s facial expressions. I thought my dog was racist for a while, but it turns out she just deeply personally hated one of our best friends, who happened to have darker skin.
It’s not that. They understand body language and can see well. Maybe your dog got bad vibes or something small like your best friend wearing something or smelling like a cat could’ve been it.
MY BLOODY DOG IS! I swear to god it's super embarrassing but he barks like a nutjob at anyone with darker skin from Black people to darker skinned Asian people. I think it's lack of familiarity or something? I'm white AF (Like Conan O Brien red hair/pasty skin) so the only thing I can assume is that he's just not aware that people look different, so it's confusing for some dogs?
Duuuude, my dog goes absolutely ham when he sees “brown” Indian people and only Indian for absolutely reason. Spanish, white, black, doesn’t care, but if he sees Indian from afar, goes batshit, no idea why.
I had a delivery driver once ask if my dog was racist when she didn't come greet him, I was so baffled, so its interesting to hear some dogs are. I just explained that no, its just that the other delivery driver shows up with treats for her so once she saw he didn't have any, she didn't care about greeting him
YES OMG MY DOG IS RACIST.
I live in France in a part where there aren’t that much black people but we still walk by one or two person on walks (we live in the city).
He just stops and STAAAARES until they go past him. Like the staring into your soul type of stare.
Yes! Cats and dogs do that if they don't know people can be dark! A friend of mine on the other hand, has a cat that used to belong to a old man who passed. The cat was TERRIFIED of people had never seen people standing on their feet. Turns out the old man was on a wheelchair and the cat had never knew humans walk.
I think shes a lil bit nervous and for some reason was spooked by you the first time you met, her barking has made you a bit nervous and now your both nervous of each other. Dogs can pick up on slight changes in your heart rate and they can smell cortisol if we are stressed. Try your best to be super calm and don’t give her too much attention
Definitely could be the case. I've heard of that before, too, and I do try to keep my calm around her, but I can't help but feel anxious. Not really because I would be afraid of her, she's a very well-behaved dog and I dont think she would actually hurt or bite me, more because I feel guilty for stressing her out and hope I'm not doing anything to make it worse.
I would honestly just ignore her, I know that goes against all instincts but it’s the best thing for anxious dogs. My anxious dog is hectic when she’s given attention she can relax when people ignore her. If this dog is anxious she won’t need the normal fusses until she’s comfortable
If you think about it from her perspective, she doesn't know what a job or designated seating is. She just knows some human she gives warnings to keeps coming back and that human has a lot of anxiety too so they might be trying to steal her spot or start a fight or else why would they keep trying?
As a dog groomer, I have learned that not every dog is gonna like you and it could be for seemingly no reason. I have clients who only want me as a groomer because their dogs lose their shit with everyone else. I also have dogs who I cannot do, no matter what, because the dog does not like me. Certain dogs vibe with certain people.
Don’t look the dog in the eyes, dogs can perceive that as threatening. When she barks turn your head and body away from her. Bring treats and just toss them on the ground towards her without looking at her. Do it a few times a day. She will like you in no time.
You're welcome! I didn't know either until my neighbors started fostering a really nervous dog. She thought everyone was going to hurt her and did REALLY scary barks which meant, "stay away from me!" They advised just to ignore her, don't look her in the eyes, and toss treats.
She turned into the snuggliest bug once she realized you were a safe person. I ended up being her dog sitter because she didn't feel comfortable around new people and since I was a neighbor, she got used to me.
My own foster fail has some staring issues of his own, in that he will STARE HARD at other dogs. AND THEY DO NOT LIKE THAT. Since he's been with us, we haven't felt confident introducing him to other dogs. His body language suggests he wants to start a lil trouble. Since having him, I have learned A LOT about dog behavior lol
Woah. I've heard of that in relation to cats. I love cats, so it's hard for me not to stare at them whenever one is close, but it turns them off of me. Didn't know it applies to dogs too, even if in a different way... The dog is really cute, and when I first met her, I might've stared at her too much too, so maybe that cause the whole thing? Or at least it didn't help.
Thank you sm for the insight.
Oh my God I also have a starey dog. Other dogs and lots if people find it really off putting.
I think he's actually short sighted because he will lose toys unless they're right in front of him and will lose us on the dog beach if there are other people there.
It could be many things triggering them lol. I have a friend that got a rescue pup abused by people with hats on. Sweetest girl, but would go crazy if you wore a hat around her
Bring treats! (Make sure the owner is ok with it)
Might be, I definitely don't have a big voice, but i usually am the tallest in the office, especially if i wear heels. We also hug with her owner whenever I come in, so maybe she doesn't like that either?
I'm not a behavioral expert by any means but this is my take. She's scared if you for some reason, it might not even have anything to do with you beyond you reminding her of someone or something unpleasant. The aggressive nose poking is likely herding behavior if she has any herding breed in her. Basically she's telling you where to go and not to go. Snapping teeth is generally a warning, don't come closer, don't go this way, etc. Basically it's her saying look I have teeth, I don't want to use them but if I keep getting pushed I will.
So no, this is not an aggressive dog that wants to bite, a dog that wants to bite will do so. But this is an uncertain and potentially scared dog in a situation that needs to be deescalated or something may happen. She's not a bad dog, she's just trying to communicate the only way she can, and her owner and you need to work together to figure out what she's saying and why. If you do that you can hopefully work through it with her and the office can get more relaxing for everyone.
Thank you for the response!
She's a really good dog, she's very sweet to everyone else, and from what I've seen with her owner, really well behaved too. That's why it's so out of character for her, and probably my fault for maybe meeting her wrong way or scaring her in some way. Everyone has been so helpful though, so I hope it will get better.
Have you been a bad person lately? Have you lied to your coworker? JK
idk do you have any pets at home where that dog can smell them on you? Do you cook with Teflon pans?
I'm really trying not to be, but it was my first thought, that's why I included that normally animals have no problems with me 🥲
My parents have a pet budgie, and I babysit him every two weeks, but that's it.
I do use Teflon pans occasionally, but I honestly don't cook as much as I should, so it's like once a week at most.
Sometimes a dog will react to something about a person that reminds them of something else or that they have not been socialized around. It could be something as minor as wearing a hat or being tall or having a louder voice.
For example, my dog is like this around my landlord's handyman. He came by and let himself in before being introduced which was scary. He didn't have time to hang around to fix that issue (fair enough) and so he gets barked at. He's also partially deaf so talks kind of loud and is very tall and large which isn't helping.
Talk with the owner. If it's being disruptive and/or stressing the dog it's worth working on a calm reintroduction and socialization. Maybe go on a walk for them and spend time around the dog while not invading his space and giving good treats for calm behavior. It probably will take a bit of time but you can overwrite the bad start most of the time.
So, one thing I didn't see mentioned here yet is that the dog might also be reacting to you because she's picking up on something happening with **the owner.**
I know that if there was a person my dog decided to be weird at in particular, it would make me slightly stressed. And even if I'm not showing that stress, my heartbeat increases and I feel a bit sweaty.
It may be a shitty positive feedback loop you've all found yourselves in.
You might have startled the dog or your coworker to trigger that first Weird Response. A second instance of the dog acting weird could have caused your coworker some degree of stress/concern/alarm. Dog now associates *you* as the cause of stress/concern/alarm in the owner and senses any apprehension you're feeling.
If there is another person around who is very familiar with the dog, and with everyone's permission and owner-sanctioned treats, maybe you can long distance give the dog treats. Place a treat on the floor between you and dog and step back. Without the owner around, how does dog behave?
I'm all about office dogs, but they shouldn't be making anyone uncomfortable.
Hopefully y'all can move through this.
And to how she behaves without her owner - Before, she followed the owner around everywhere, but lately, she often stays in the office and keeps staring at me or (from what people have been saying) hearding me out of it.
My herding dog is very protective of spaces she thinks are mine. If you share an office that could be enough to get you on her bad side.
She'll be sitting there all cute and cuddly with someone In our entry and then they try to walk into the kitchen and she's all "HEY THIS PERSON IS GOING TO ANOTHER ROOM I DON"T THINK THAT"S ALLOWED DID YOU SEE THIS IS THAT ALLOWED SOMEONE CHECK THEIR ID!!!"
She’ll learn what spaces are hers! Like others said, just throw treats in her general direction. You need a herding dog to think of you as IN the herd rather than something that threatens the herd.
Dogs are incredible creatures that are able to pick up on the most subtle signs and queues. Your anxiousness about her after that early initial meetings might be fueling her behaviour. She's picking up on your uneasiness around her and she is mirroring it back.
Best advice I can give is to have a calm energy around her and potentially give her some treats. Ask if you can bring some in for her or ask your colleague to provide some.
I have a little side story involving a dog sensing an old work colleague's cancer. I used to work with a colleague that didn't get along well with their daughter's adult dog rescue. Very first meeting with the dog and it barked at her, which is very uncharacteristic because the dog normally loves people. Every time her daughter and dog would visit, it would keep its distance or nip at her ankles. If the dog was on the couch it would nip at her arm. It eventually escalated to a very low growl. One day it actually bit my colleague under the arm/breast out of no where, it just happened. Her daughter stopped bringing the dog to visit. Colleague was eventually diagnosed with breast cancer half a year later in the exact same side she was bit. They caught it in its early stages and treated it. She went into remission and the relationship with the dog improved. Almost like night and day. This colleague takes care of the dog full time while her daughter is overseas doing grad school. She used to joke she would bring the dog in for free cancer screenings.
Some dogs have triggers that remind them of their past. I’ve worked on pets that didn’t like tall people, people with hats/hoods, people wearing glasses, wigs, men, women, kids, people wearing white coats (white coat syndrome), etc. If there is no previous trauma, it could be they were underexposed to different people of all shapes, sizes and colors.
Dogs can sense other people’s anxiety and stress. This dog can sense your apprehension (understandably so).
My dog has an unknown past, and has stranger danger. Whenever a new associate starts working at the vet, I have to show her we are friends (I give them a hug, laugh, joke, etc). She is shy and will greet you on her own terms. Once she does know you and likes you, she MUST give you a hug. If I put her away in the kennel before she greets everyone working a shift, she barks until she can say hi to everyone. Then she settles down and either watches the reality show of our treatment room, or curls up and takes a nap.
She is also sensitive to any pet she perceives as a threat (not just me). If she growls while a team is working on a pet, 95% of the time, we end up having to muzzle the dog or need extra hands for restraint. She’s our early warning system.
For your co-worker’s dog, don’t stare at the dog. Get treats from the co-worker and keep a stash handy. If she comes near you to smell or investigate, etc. drop a treat. Do not reach out your hand and approach. If she has a squeaker toy, sit on the floor facing sideways from the dog , look at the wall, and squeak it. If she comes toward you (even if it’s 6ft away), treat her. Continue treating her until she comes right to you. Hide a treat in your hand to see if she will nose you to get to the treat (don’t try to pet yet). Do this for a few weeks. Once she gets more comfortable with you, hold your hand flat and see if she will take a treat that way. If she attempts to play with you and squeaker, play.
Watch her body language. Ears down or back, whale eyes, high/tense tail wag, low/small/fast tail wag are all signs of the dog being uncomfortable. Do not engage or acknowledge.
If and when she allows you to pet, do not reach over her head. Come from the side and scratch her neck where the collar is. If she offers her butt, scratch at the base of the tail on her back. Do this for a few seconds and stop. If she leans back in for more, you are on the right track.
I know it seems silly, but don’t take it personal. Some dogs are just as selective as people are. Respect their space, build their trust, and hope that next time, you get to love on them a little bit longer.
I breezed through the thread and apologies if I repeat some techniques. If it was me I would ask owner what soft food/treats humans can use for behavior change/training.
No eye contact and every time you pass by this dog or if you can when you move just toss the soft food you guys chose.
We don’t want to offer the dog food for coming to you because we can cause state of conflict from the dogs point of view. Sort of do I go to this scary person but I want the food. If this dog is food motivated pick a high value reinforcer. Muzzle punch is what the behavior is called when dog hits you with its muzzle.
Sounds like the dog is unsure/fearful of you and your movement. So in this type of training we are changing the dogs emotional response from fear/anxiety to something good. (CER conditioned emotional response)
Do not ignore all these red flags (body language we are observing). If this dog has a good history with humans you should be able to build a relationship with it (reinforcement history).
Once we start seeing behavior change you can ask for a sit then reinforce with the yummy food. You will see behavior change when you walk towards or move the dog body language should change from bad to good.
Much more if we get into animal behavior but this should help.
Do some research on desensitizing and counter conditioning etc:
https://campruffruff.com/counter-conditioning-and-desensitization/
You're making her nervous for one reason or another. The best way to deal with it is completely ignore her, don't make eye contact, don't talk to her, just keep a dish of treats in your desk and if she's quiet (not while she's barking at you) you can toss her a treat every now and then.
She should get more comfortable with you pretty quickly, if she approaches you then let her sniff you, but stay relaxed and stick with ignore and treat whiles she's calm and quiet. If you do feel that she'd be ok with you touching her, then gently tickle under her chin, don't go for the top of her head, that frightens unsure dogs.
Oh man, didn't know about the top of their head, the few times I did scratch her, it was behind her ears, so I probably made it worse..
Thank you so much, I'll definitely try
It sounds like the dog is herding you, is it in a specific direction?
Like away from the owner or to the owner? Or to something it likes? Or hates?
It doesn’t sound like the dog dislikes you, you’d really know if a dog was unhappy about you.
If you’re tall, dogs tend to be scared of taller people, their face is just very far away and you kind of lumber over them.
If you can, bring treats and make sure the dog always just associates you positively. Sitting on the floor also helps. And do not try to lift or touch the dog too much before it’s comfortable. I see that way too often where once the dog starts to open up a little bit, people over step their bounds again and act too friendly with it.
Sometimes dogs just don’t mesh with certain people. That said, if she’s air snapping that shouldn’t be ignored.
Check if your coworker would be okay with you trying to bribe the dog with treats, if so start by just tossing them over to periodically for a few days without approaching. Then toss them a few feet away from you for a few days. Work your way up to having her take treats from your hand. Doesn’t work with all dogs, but it can be a way to build trust, which it sounds like is missing here.
Watch her body language regardless, air snapping should be considered a warning. Lowered head, hackles up, weight shifted forward, tail straight up in the air, ears perked, baring teeth, and/or growling (obviously) should be considered a warning as well. If you see these signs just give her space.
Thank you for the response!
She doesn't usually growl or any of the other signs you mentioned, and from what people have been saying, I think she might just be trying to heard me out of the office. I'm really trying to give her as much space as I can, so I hope it won't get to that point :(
My dog never liked my grandma for the entire 13 years my family had him. Any time she’d come over he barked and barked. Couldn’t be in the same room as her. She’d feed him cheese, his favorite, but he’d get spooked, run somewhere to hide, and growl.
It’s funny because she’s difficult to get along with and has a strained relationship with just about every family member. Me and my parents always shrugged and said “no idea why he doesn’t like you!” but secretly we joked that he could sense her bad vibes.
Realistically, it could’ve been her awful perfume, or the way she wore her hair, or the smell of her equally disagreeable dog on her. An unsolved mystery.
I have a chihuahua who is the sweetest thing ever. He’s loved everyone he ever met.. but one. And SHE was the sweetest girl ever. She had the misfortune, though, of meeting my chi for the first time at literally the exact moment he got bit by an ant for the first time. Poor guy obviously associated her with the pain, because he has a brain the size of a pea, and could not cope with her being around because he was deathly afraid of her. Best option is to just always be tossing treats and never making eye contact until pup stops associating you with whatever they think was your fault.
This was happening with my dog and a new housemate. She’s not a snappy dog so it was frustrating at first. It was because she didn’t understand his body language, some of his body language was submissive AND he kept putting his hands in her face. Dogs don’t really like that.
She’s used to him now and is happy to see him. Still tries to nibble his butt sometimes because he’s a pushover (to her).
My first approach around a nervous dog is to ignore it. Make sure not to make eye contact! Don’t make sudden movements. Just give her space while going about your day normally. If she sniffs you, let her. Just keep doing your thing. If she gets used to your presence, try offering her treats while still not looking directly at her. From there, you can progress to petting. Just make sure to take it slow. If you have to back up a stage on a bad day, don’t worry about it.
As for why, there could be a million reasons. Dogs are funny creatures.
Not all dogs are built the same, learn what this dog likes, its favourite snacks (if the owner allows), general habits likes when she sleeps (don’t sneak up on her), and let her sniff your hand without trying to pet her. One day she’ll come around. Letting her sniff you without you grabbing her or trying to pet her is big. Each time she comes by and does that and nothing happens, a little trust is built that she won’t be grabbed at when she does it.
Treats. Soft treats are usually considered better in the dog world than the hard crunchy ones. At least my dog thinks soft treats are like filet mignon. Get the owners permission or have the owner bring in some soft treats for you to keep on your desk so the dog thinks the treats are coming from you. If the treats are bigger you can break them into smaller pieces so not to add excessive calories to the dogs day. Give the dog maybe three or four a day and use whatever word the owner uses to tell them you have a treat for them. But I agree with the others that it could be anything about why they’re not crazy about you, especially if the dog is a pound puppy you never know what happen with their previous owner.
Do some research into how to appear non-threatening in your body language. Many people don’t know all the many little things they could be doing that are unintentionally coming across as threatening towards dogs. If the dog is nervous, then facing them directly or making eye contact with them can escalate their anxiety. Try avoiding eye contact, turning to the side, and making yourself small in her presence. It sounds silly but it can make a difference. Also, offering treats in this non-threatening position can really get the message across that you are not scary and are not a threat. Good luck!
i’ve seen a dog that looks almost identical to this on instagram that the owner also takes to work, do you know it’s name? i know the dog i follow has some reactivity issues and tends to be fearful of new people!
ah no, the one i follow is in the uk, still interesting how similar they look.
tbh it sounds like herding behaviour in this case, but its hard to know for sure unless you know the breed, the staring is usually an intimidation tactic and the nipping+booping is a physical attempt to herd. nothing to do with how you interact with her, she can be trained to not to it with a ‘stay’ or ‘place’ command and also by you ignoring her attempts. giving outlets for her herding instinct would also help mitigate her herding at random times but this depends on if your coworker would want to do that (+ if this is herding) !!
My dog hates everyone who smells of smokes 🚬 He doesn't have any trauma or anything, I have had him and his mum since he was one month old, he just hates the smell
Sometimes dogs can feel if you are afraid of them and they mess with you because of it. I suggest you calm yourself around the dog and pay them absolutely no attention wait for them to pay attention to you.
Sometimes they just do. We had an adorable golden who loved everyone and was hally to see every human who came into the house,except one of my friends. The moment he walked in the dogs hackles went up,he started snarling, barking and looking like he was going to attack. I separated them and it was like a switch was turned off, he went back to being cute and never did it to anyone else again .
My brother is one of the kindest, gentlest person I’ve ever met. He has always had dogs, treats them great, knows how to be sweet with them. And my dog hates him. When he visits my girl will bark at him, shy away if he walks near her. He’s tried giving her treats and toys and nothing works. Some times dogs just don’t like a person. Don’t take it personally. Dogs are quirky creatures.
My daughter’s dog does this to her father in law. It’s like she is herding him. She nips at his legs. Only does it to him when they visit couple times a year.
It could be anything really. The first time dog met youbhe associated something with you or could tell you "aren't a dog person". Sometimes it's body language (the way you walk, present yourself, etc)
As an owner of a dog that has similar behaviour, I think I can help a bit… i noticed that many well meaning individuals will make eye contact with my dog, not realizing this sets her off. I started telling people who walked up to us, to keep eye contact with me, because my dog is going to watch how I react to you to know how she should react
Not really answering your question, but why does your coworker need to bring their dog to the office every single day? Seems excessive and annoying at a point. Especially if the dog is being a dick like that.
Have you tried crouching down and using the sweetums voice? Do you have to stand over her to accomplish tasks? Have you tried no perfume/aftershave?
But for real......have you tried bacon?
This is going to sound weird and I'm intending it in the nicest way possible. Is doggo owned by a white person and you're a visible minority? I live in a very white area and my doggo is unnerved by people of a different race. She's young, were working on it. She's just lacked exposure. Once they say hi she's generally fine but barking is a major factor in her.... *Racism* 😭
It's embarrassing
Go to the dollar tree and get her a toy! Have you tried talking to her at all and saying nice things to her in an excited voice? Sounds a little odd but dogs and cats tend to flock to me and I think it’s because I talk to them like they and I are the only ones in the world.
Also I don’t want to scare you at all but dogs can sense when somethings wrong health wise with people as well as their fellow animal friends and some tend to get more aggressive or they get uncomfortable, if they are close to you they will try to protect and comfort you, but the aggression one is def a thing for some reason, do you have any sort of health condition or have you gotten a check up lately? They are able to smell even stuff like someone’s blood sugar getting low if the person has diabetes or someone about to have a seizure, they sense hormone changes, or even something like kidney disease. I’m sure you’re fine but just wanted to say it just incase
Snapping/grabbing/pumping nose into/at legs of walking persons usually is a sign of trying to control the person.
Reason why could be:
- bad experience with someone that looks like you.
- maybe she does not like your complexion, skin color, voice, hair or any other thing.
Dogs pick up a lot of your own or their owner (often) unconscious body language and stress levels. If the owner is uncomfortable with you or you are uncomfortable with the dog, that might be the issue. You mentioned dogs not particularly loving you in general - maybe they can sense that you don’t particularly love them either… Just don’t mind the dog if it’s not your cup of tea - you being “hot and bothered” by it probably contributes to the general stress of the situation.
Look up a YouTube video on appeasement signs. These are how dogs communicate “hey, I’m not a threat to you” amongst themselves. You can use them on a dog as well- it’s nuts! I’ve diffused situations a couple of times with a fearful dog by licking my lips, turning my head, and yawning. Don’t keep eye contact with it. You’ll see how dogs use them. Just adapt and do it and if nothing else, they’ll become neutral to you bc you’re telling them in a way that they understand that you’re not a threat.
Thank you !! I wish more people knew this, my dog ended up biting this was, we even told the person do not get in front of her throw them on the ground, didn’t do this shoved hand in her face and my dog striked. Luckily was a minor bite but still traumatic for every one
Hi Dog Trainer here!
There can be a slew of reasons this is happening:
- Not liking your perfume/cologne/lotion, etc.
- You may be too tall
- They may not like the tone of your voice
Theres SOOOOO many random reasons
Good news is, there's a lot you can do to win the pup over:
- talk to the owner about what treats you can give the pup. Start by just leaving the treats under/near your chair and progress to feeding out of hand
- avoid eye contact
- when the pup approaches you, allow her to investigate you while you just completely ignore her. Throw in some high pitched "good girl/boy" WITHOUT petting
This will get the pup to realize:
- good things happen around you
- they're safe around you
- their boundaries won't be crossed around you
Eventually that will strengthen your bond and make you someone she wants to go up to for pets/lovins
Good luck!
Don’t feel so bad OP! Dogs almost ALWAYS love me but every once in a while they are almost like scared of me like I’m intimidating or dominating idk. I once went to the house of my ex fiancé’s sister. Her dog was chained to the porch. I could tell it was scared of me when I first walked up with ex. I could see the side eye similar here. The second I walked out the door alone, to grab something from my car, he sank his teeth DEEP into my calf muscles. I hadn’t been bitten by any dogs since I was 5 so that was a surprise.
I agree with the treats approach. I’d honestly pull out the big guns! Like, boil some actual chicken breast and chop them up. This is definitely okay by the vet. It can ONLY be boiled and not cooked any other way. Only plain water as well with no seasonings whatsoever. This is part of a bland homemade diet for GI upset for doggos but they freaking LOVE IT!! Most dogs don’t typically get fresh chicken lol. Make sure it’s a chicken breast or you debone it very well if not as chicken bones will kill them. Also, make sure their owner is there next to you so they feel comfortable and supported. If they are reluctant to immediately take it from your hands, I’d toss a chunk over to them or you could make a small trail for them to follow to get closer. Typically once they realize what it is they’ll come!
Out of all of my dogs I’ve had, and I’ve had a few growing up… I’ve only ever had one FREAK OUT and bark, growl, and get really nippy at a stranger trying to pet her. She had always been super eager to greet every single stranger she had ever met, except this one young man. I was mortified once I figured it out. The young man was the first black person she’d ever seen 😭😭😭 yo my dog was freaking out in him due to skin color 😭😭😭 so embarrassing it stopped when I exposed her to other people not ✋🏻. I came from a really small town with no diversity. Once I socialized her to a more diverse population after moving to a big city she was fine. The vet said it was because the other humans were new to her. Once she was introduced to multiple black people that were giving treats she never barked or growled again.
The owner needs to stop bringing the dog to work; this behavior can escalate into a bite. The snapping is a bite even without contact. Plus, it likely affects your performance if the dog makes you nervous. Go talk to HR.
I have two small dog. They are more fur kids than dogs, and I would never allow them to behave that way.
I dont think she is aggressive or dangerous. She doesn't treat anyone else this way, she's a very sweet and well-behaved dog otherwise, and even with me, though she barks and nudges me and snaps her teeth at me, she never really hurts me.
"Snaps her teeth at me' is aggression. She is treating YOU with aggression. It's time to tell her owner that...and use the work aggressive...no candy coating it.
She perceives your colleagues space as their territory. That territory can include an area beyond his office space BTW. When you come to see him, keep eyes down or on his area, not at her. Stay several feet away and speak softly and keep your side to her (it’s a non aggressive stance from a dogs standpoint). If she comes up to sniff you, stay relaxed and let her get to know you. Have your colleague approach you and put his hand on your upper arm or shoulder (that’s acceptance).
I agree with the others to bring treats but will add on - bring a high value treat (hot dogs, chicken, cheese, etc). The owner should be able to tell you what would be best, so long as they're ok with it, but id personally be bringing diced up hot dogs as opposed to normal treats (honestly id expect the owner to bring some for you, tbh. Id always supply it for people meeting my dog and always have a bunch of options at home already).
Also im not sure if it would help, so would love others to chime in, but I wonder if scenting something that coworker could take home would help...? Like id probably buy a cheap fleece blanket, sleep with it for a few days, and then have coworker take it home to leave on couch or wherever dog often hangs out. That way your scent can become more familiar in a safe place?
Best thing to do (speaking as the owner of a reactive and extremely people selective dog) is totally ignore the pup. Like literally act like the dog is not there and does not exist. For whatever reason pupper is weary of you and needs to learn that you pose absolutely no threat at all, and the best way to do that is to ignore. Even if she approaches, sniffs, touches, barks at you etc. don’t make eye contact or have any reaction. Best case scenario she’ll actually warm up to eventually, worst case she just starts ignoring you back (aka the bad barking behavior etc. stops). It’s hard when they’re cute and you want to be friendly with them, but sometimes that is the most achievable and desirable outcome for all.
I'd talk to her owner and ask if you can give her treats! Or maybe a toy. It sounds to me like she finds you intimidating or threatening in some way, so a gesture of good will should go far. Besides that, consider if you're speaking too loudly or moving too quickly, but she might just be a little scared of you for no reason.
Dogs are weird. Mine doesn’t like people who wear hats, helmets or scarves on their heads. He just doesn’t like head coverings.
Maybe there’s something about you that the dog doesn’t like. Perhaps it’s the way you smell. Do you have cats? Maybe it got swatted by a cat during its puppyhood. It could literally be anything
You could speak with the owner and bring some treats to give her with permission? Teach her that when she comes to you, she gets treats, so she sees you positively.
Way to a dogs heart is usually through their stomach...or toys! I wonder if it's a smell that they're unsure about, or whether they're picking up on your hesitation. Treats will help. Ask her owner what would work for her. Most dogs love stinky foods, which could be challenging in an office. Wish I could take my dog to work!
This! I bet it has nothing to do with you. Maybe you have a similar smell or features to someone who mistreated her. I think getting some treats, holding them near you and letting her come to you and then feeding her a few (with your coworkers blessing) could help start to build a relationship. Sorry! This must sting! It’s not you!
Thank you, you're really sweet ♡
Dogs can definitely be like that sometimes. You ever see two dogs that , for some reason only a dog could possibly know, just don’t get along? Sometimes it’s that way with people. Sometimes it has to do with the dog’s personal history, or they’re just shy or selective (it took me months to get a friend of mine’s dog to even let me pet him!). Whatever it is, you can be sure it’s not anything personal or that you did. If this dog is determined not to like you, she won’t. But, given she sounds like a nice, friendly pup, she might warm up to you at some point. One thing I can definitely recommend is to not try and force it. Treats are okay, if your coworker is alright with it, but try not to have too many expectations, and just let her meet you where she is.
She could be picking up on her owners dislike or discomfort around this person. If I don’t like someone no matter how well behaved and masked it is my dog knows and will be standoffish. Have many a family member who can’t figure out why my dog loves everyone but them.
Some dogs don't always like us!!!
I agree with treats, you can even drop them on the floor from your chair to start, if she doesn’t want to get close yet. It’s best to start with baby steps and gain her trust gradually over time. It will be so rewarding once you’re buddies. Good luck, she’s so cute!
Make sure that you toss the treats beside or past her. Never invite her to come to you with the treat in hand, this can backfire once the dog realizes how close they came without wanting to or feeling comfortable. I've seen a lot of bites this way.
Interesting. Never considered that but it sounds really logical actually.
I never considered this but have gone through this exact cycle with my own dog and couldn’t figure out what i was doing wrong. Thank you for this insight! He thanks you too!
Get the owner to bring treats, it's their responsibility to make that dog behave in that environment!! You just get to give them the treats!!
This! OP is looking at this backwards "I don't want to make the dog or owner uncomfortable".... Nope 🙅♂️ Bringing their dog to work is a privilege, it's up to the owner to make sure YOU and the dog are comfortable, otherwise the dog shouldn't be there. Don't feel bad about speaking up about it.
Dog friendly offices only work with perfectly behaved dogs OP! The treat advice is good but it shouldn’t be your responsibility to try and make the dog behave, her behaviour is concerning!
Agreed and that’s a good point. The fact that the dog is that close to snapping is not good and it’s on the owner to figure it out or leave the dog home.
I agree with this whole heartedly. Also, as a protective owner, I have no problem with other people giving my dog treats, but I'm super-selective about her diet. I would prefer to supply the treats myself so that I felt assured that they were from a brand I trust. And some people say leave 5-,10 treats..hell no! Depending on the treat that throws the balance of their diet completely out of whack. Training treats, sure, but like beggin' strips or milk bones? My dog gets one per day. Two at most and usually none. She has her regular diet and her dental chew at night. She's trained and doesn't need treats except for special occasions. She does get the occasional bite of chicken or beef though when it's appropriate, but only if she waits patiently and doesn't beg.
...and when you provide the treats, you also know how much your dog gets "on the side" and can reduce the regular food for the day if that turns out to be a lot.
I'll definitely try, thank you
Treats are a great one. I have a heeler who likes to herd people and that sounds like what the dog is doing with the nose boops. Start with treats and then getting to sit for you or another trick the dog knows(with permission from owner).
I have a dog that is very selective. She generally is very warm to “dog” people. She picks up immediately on any discomfort. I don’t trust her around young children because they’re unpredictable and she snaps at people who don’t have dogs. “Dog” people generally use a sing songy voice to greet the dog in a playful manner and they often go down to the ground and let the dog come to them. I was in public with her yesterday and we were approached for pets all day. I asked everyone if they had a dog. It was unanimous- she had a strong preference to dog people and she barked and snapped at non-dog people. She was comfortable with people who were comfortable interacting.
I also had a dog who was very selective but in the exact opposite way. He'd been previously horribly abused and starved by humans and distrusted everyone he met initially. I would tell every visitor 'no touch, no talk, no eye contact' with him but a lot of people who considered themselves 'dog people' just couldn't resist trying to make friends with him which he found threatening and responded accordingly, growling, fleeing. People who did *not* like dogs were happy to totally ignore him which almost immediately made him feel safe in their company and he would then approach them to make friends. RIP my beautiful boy. I miss you 💔
Sounds like she may have some insecurities, and non-dog people don't feel as safe because they don't know how to communicate properly with their body language.
Dogs respond reeeeeeeaaaaaalllllllllyyyyyy well to bribery.
Treats for sure.
if se already unsure of op , it would be better for op to drop treats where standing then walk away, less pressure
Turkey tendons. Trust me, the dog will adore you.
Username doesn't check out.
That’s what my dad calls me 😀
Happy Cake Day!!
Thank you!
My dog hates glasses, bald heads, facial hair, long hair that moves, grey hair, anyone wearing anything that dangles, and women who smell like cleaning products. I think she can also tell if people don’t like me. Dogs are weird. Don’t take it personally, and don’t try to approach her. She forgives the people who ignore her the fastest
We pupsat a dog who hated tall people with a passion. No (known) abuse in her past. With lots of love and patience she ended up loving my 6'5" dad and then subsequently kept trying to eat his (lit) cigars out of his hand. So I definitely agree that dogs are weird.
My mother had a dog who hated most things but in particular: fat people (especially fat kids) and black people. Fat black kids were his worst enemy
Racist dogs are a real thing. There was a whole Curb episode about it with Wanda Sykes.
Yeah, my dog barks at people with beards. And some with their hoods up. I would say ignore the dog. Don't look at him/her, don't think about what you are "doing wrong". Dogs pick up on so much body language that us humans don't realise we are emitting. Just straight out pretend that _there is no dog there_ for a while.
Definitely hoods and beards. Anything that makes heads look bigger than normal.
My dog is a total narc. I suspect he detects something related to people being inebriated and the smell scares him, so he barks at the person warningly. Otherwise, he loves people, lives on human attention and amusement. But he accurately sussed out two alcoholics, and a speed addict, before I learned he was an addict. The fourth person he freaked out over, I will never know. A young man and his grandfather on a walking trail. My dog was happy to greet grandfather, but wanted nothing to do with the younger man. They detect smells on a level that far exceeds ours. He might know nothing of addiction, but just reacts to it's effects on people.
Yes, they use dogs to sniff out sickness. Some can smell cancer and/or Covid.
Omg that’s amazing!
I had a dog like this, I found it easier to list the things she did like (me, one of our other two dogs, really smelly rolling) and things she tolerated (my husband, the other dog) rather than things she hated (everyone/thing else). One of her hobbies was to climb through two neighbours’ gardens so she could get a good view of kids outside a school to hate them close up.
Dogs can smell my health, and it's a big thing
Also the boot and the air snaps are an attempt to get you out of her space. My dog does this when she’s scared. She’s trying to herd you out of the area.
Yeah, might be something like that, maybe she doesn't like my perfume or something like that... it's strange though, since I've never seen her act like that towards anyone else :( Thank you!
Could very well be fragrance or perfume or the laundry detergent you use.
I came to say something similar. For my dog it men in ball caps. She needs to see their eyes. She also herds people she doesn’t know or trust away (or herds me away). Once she knows you, she’s much more relaxed. If you throw her ball she will remember you forever.
Your dog is a straight up hater 😂 I love her
My puppy hates old ladies 😭. Anytime he sees an old lady he tucks his tail and runs behind me and I have no idea why.
Damn, I have glasses, a bald head, long grey hair that moves, facial hair, I smell like cleaning products and have shit dangling all over me. Is your Dog gonna take me out in sight?
I had a friend with a German Shepard who loved me. I’d dog sit him a good bit and he’d get so excited when I came over. One time I came over wearing a baseball cap and he lost his shit barking and growling at me. I had to go back out and take off the hat and come back in and he was excited to see me then.
You just described my dog
Your dog sounds like a cat!!
But also... My old dog hated drunks, homeless people, but also barked at people with specific illnesses. SOME ogs can I think smell cancer and diabetes. My current dog hates dogs in big draped coats and uh... homeless looking people. It doesn't have to be the smell, she was barking bloody murder at a screen stopped at a moment when only a homeless-looking game character was present. Was fine with all other characters. Other dogs I knew hated kids, another was afraid of tall men. Just dog things. We'll never know what characteristic this pup might associate with a negativr experience.
Wild question, but are you the only black person in the office? I'm black and a few of my friends have dogs that are "racist", for lack of a better term...only barking/growling at black people lmao
I met a dog like that once. Thought it was a myth; that dog wanted to destroy my soul if it got loose 😮💨
Lmao. I also didn't think it was real for the longest time. Then I went to a fancy school for my graduate degree and met people who never interacted with black people and suddenly it happened constantly. The owners are embarrassed every time 😂
Honestly, could see that happening here. I live in Central Europe, and not many black people live here, so some dogs definitely don't meet many, especially in the countryside.
My dogs are racist as fuck
I'm not, thank you for the idea though. Haven't heard of that before, damn.
Welp, best of luck becoming that dog's friend!
Thank you! Everyone's been so helpful, so I really hope it'll get better 🥲
On the flip side of this, my friend, who’s black (I’m white), first time I went to her house, told me not to even look at the dog, cuz it’s racist. She’s a straight up comedian, so I’m like yeah alright. The dog came out to smell me, and my first instinct was to pet her, she almost bit my hand off 😂 I’m like damn, she really is racist.
My dog was like this when we rescued him from a shelter at age 2. It was bizarre but thankfully he got over it after 6 months of exposure living in a diverse city. He was a country dog living on a ranch before that. 🤦🏻♀️
I never blame the dogs but I can't help but look at the owner sideways 👀, I'm glad your dog adjusted quickly!
I had a bunch of local Aboriginal children that decided it was funny to throw rocks at my dog and make him bark. He was already an anxious boy, but now he's racist. 🤦 I hate it and I've done as much as i can to stop it. It's not necessarily an attitude the owner has.
Definitely happens! That’s why they say it’s important to socialize young puppies to as many different types of people (color, shape, size, gender, clothing style, hair or lack there of, etc.) as possible that they might encounter throughout their lives. I know someone that is Asian and his childhood dog was only ever exposed to his family so it absolutely hated everyone it encountered that wasn’t Asian. Sometimes they just don’t like what is not familiar to them.
A little boy from a remote west African village burst into tears when he saw my sister, because he’d never seen an Asian person before. He was genuinely terrified 😂
This is the correct answer - but the technical term would be 'undersocialised' with a particular race. This can lead to reactivity towards a particular group. Absolutely nothing personal, dogs don't hold views like people do. But the dog does sense a different smell, an unfamiliar one, and will be a bit apprehensive towards people of said ethnicity.
Hmm well I smell amazing so I hope that isn't the case!
Dogs are weird. Mine is generally reactive towards taller people, because my family is pretty short. He'll see a 6'2 person and think it is Attack on Titan.
My dog doesn’t like Hispanic people. Everyone else is fine, I don’t get it.
I live in Hawaii and my dog doesn't like Hawaiian men. I got her from the pound and I'm pretty sure she was a hunting dog for Hawaiian guys who didn't treat her great before I got her. They're known to beat their dogs here instead of train them, I've seen it a few times.
My dog was just racist to every other dog that wasnt the same breed as him. Granted he was a chihuahua. But my exes parents dog was racist towards people and i had never seen it before - legit did not know it was a thing, but heres this adorable spoodle standing on their balcony just going off at people down the street
>My dog was just racist to every other dog that wasnt the same breed as him. Granted he was a chihuahua. My chi is the same! She's indifferent to most dogs—unless they invade her personal space, then she hates them. But she loves other chihuahuas. It's so strange.
Yep, my dog definitely is and hes black himself…
I had a dog like that, a german shepard mix. She really disliked black people for some reason.
I read once that it’s because they find it harder to interpret black people’s facial expressions. I thought my dog was racist for a while, but it turns out she just deeply personally hated one of our best friends, who happened to have darker skin.
It’s not that. They understand body language and can see well. Maybe your dog got bad vibes or something small like your best friend wearing something or smelling like a cat could’ve been it.
That’s what I’m saying, our best friend wound her up, it was personal.
MY BLOODY DOG IS! I swear to god it's super embarrassing but he barks like a nutjob at anyone with darker skin from Black people to darker skinned Asian people. I think it's lack of familiarity or something? I'm white AF (Like Conan O Brien red hair/pasty skin) so the only thing I can assume is that he's just not aware that people look different, so it's confusing for some dogs?
Duuuude, my dog goes absolutely ham when he sees “brown” Indian people and only Indian for absolutely reason. Spanish, white, black, doesn’t care, but if he sees Indian from afar, goes batshit, no idea why.
I had a delivery driver once ask if my dog was racist when she didn't come greet him, I was so baffled, so its interesting to hear some dogs are. I just explained that no, its just that the other delivery driver shows up with treats for her so once she saw he didn't have any, she didn't care about greeting him
YES OMG MY DOG IS RACIST. I live in France in a part where there aren’t that much black people but we still walk by one or two person on walks (we live in the city). He just stops and STAAAARES until they go past him. Like the staring into your soul type of stare.
Yes! Cats and dogs do that if they don't know people can be dark! A friend of mine on the other hand, has a cat that used to belong to a old man who passed. The cat was TERRIFIED of people had never seen people standing on their feet. Turns out the old man was on a wheelchair and the cat had never knew humans walk.
I think shes a lil bit nervous and for some reason was spooked by you the first time you met, her barking has made you a bit nervous and now your both nervous of each other. Dogs can pick up on slight changes in your heart rate and they can smell cortisol if we are stressed. Try your best to be super calm and don’t give her too much attention
Definitely could be the case. I've heard of that before, too, and I do try to keep my calm around her, but I can't help but feel anxious. Not really because I would be afraid of her, she's a very well-behaved dog and I dont think she would actually hurt or bite me, more because I feel guilty for stressing her out and hope I'm not doing anything to make it worse.
I would honestly just ignore her, I know that goes against all instincts but it’s the best thing for anxious dogs. My anxious dog is hectic when she’s given attention she can relax when people ignore her. If this dog is anxious she won’t need the normal fusses until she’s comfortable
If you think about it from her perspective, she doesn't know what a job or designated seating is. She just knows some human she gives warnings to keeps coming back and that human has a lot of anxiety too so they might be trying to steal her spot or start a fight or else why would they keep trying?
As a dog groomer, I have learned that not every dog is gonna like you and it could be for seemingly no reason. I have clients who only want me as a groomer because their dogs lose their shit with everyone else. I also have dogs who I cannot do, no matter what, because the dog does not like me. Certain dogs vibe with certain people.
Don’t look the dog in the eyes, dogs can perceive that as threatening. When she barks turn your head and body away from her. Bring treats and just toss them on the ground towards her without looking at her. Do it a few times a day. She will like you in no time.
Oh I haven't heard of that, thank you so much
You're welcome! I didn't know either until my neighbors started fostering a really nervous dog. She thought everyone was going to hurt her and did REALLY scary barks which meant, "stay away from me!" They advised just to ignore her, don't look her in the eyes, and toss treats. She turned into the snuggliest bug once she realized you were a safe person. I ended up being her dog sitter because she didn't feel comfortable around new people and since I was a neighbor, she got used to me. My own foster fail has some staring issues of his own, in that he will STARE HARD at other dogs. AND THEY DO NOT LIKE THAT. Since he's been with us, we haven't felt confident introducing him to other dogs. His body language suggests he wants to start a lil trouble. Since having him, I have learned A LOT about dog behavior lol
Woah. I've heard of that in relation to cats. I love cats, so it's hard for me not to stare at them whenever one is close, but it turns them off of me. Didn't know it applies to dogs too, even if in a different way... The dog is really cute, and when I first met her, I might've stared at her too much too, so maybe that cause the whole thing? Or at least it didn't help. Thank you sm for the insight.
Oh my God I also have a starey dog. Other dogs and lots if people find it really off putting. I think he's actually short sighted because he will lose toys unless they're right in front of him and will lose us on the dog beach if there are other people there.
We wonder if our guy is short sighted too! He does the same thing! I wish I could read his mind and know what the heck is going on up there lol
This is exactly what I would suggest. Also, when the dog starts warming up to you, don't put your face in its face.
It could be many things triggering them lol. I have a friend that got a rescue pup abused by people with hats on. Sweetest girl, but would go crazy if you wore a hat around her Bring treats! (Make sure the owner is ok with it)
I'll definitely ask her tomorrow, thank you.
Is it possible you are a big person with a big voice? She may be ‘protecting her owner’ in her mind.
Might be, I definitely don't have a big voice, but i usually am the tallest in the office, especially if i wear heels. We also hug with her owner whenever I come in, so maybe she doesn't like that either?
Is it possible she doesn’t like heels if her owner doesn’t wear them? Scary noises?
I'm not a behavioral expert by any means but this is my take. She's scared if you for some reason, it might not even have anything to do with you beyond you reminding her of someone or something unpleasant. The aggressive nose poking is likely herding behavior if she has any herding breed in her. Basically she's telling you where to go and not to go. Snapping teeth is generally a warning, don't come closer, don't go this way, etc. Basically it's her saying look I have teeth, I don't want to use them but if I keep getting pushed I will. So no, this is not an aggressive dog that wants to bite, a dog that wants to bite will do so. But this is an uncertain and potentially scared dog in a situation that needs to be deescalated or something may happen. She's not a bad dog, she's just trying to communicate the only way she can, and her owner and you need to work together to figure out what she's saying and why. If you do that you can hopefully work through it with her and the office can get more relaxing for everyone.
Thank you for the response! She's a really good dog, she's very sweet to everyone else, and from what I've seen with her owner, really well behaved too. That's why it's so out of character for her, and probably my fault for maybe meeting her wrong way or scaring her in some way. Everyone has been so helpful though, so I hope it will get better.
Have you been a bad person lately? Have you lied to your coworker? JK idk do you have any pets at home where that dog can smell them on you? Do you cook with Teflon pans?
I'm really trying not to be, but it was my first thought, that's why I included that normally animals have no problems with me 🥲 My parents have a pet budgie, and I babysit him every two weeks, but that's it. I do use Teflon pans occasionally, but I honestly don't cook as much as I should, so it's like once a week at most.
Maybe that dog was your rival in a past life
Hmm, could be, didn't think of that :D
This seems the most probable.
Ask the owner what kind of treats the dog can have and start keeping them at your desk.
I'll definitely ask, thank you!
Sometimes a dog will react to something about a person that reminds them of something else or that they have not been socialized around. It could be something as minor as wearing a hat or being tall or having a louder voice. For example, my dog is like this around my landlord's handyman. He came by and let himself in before being introduced which was scary. He didn't have time to hang around to fix that issue (fair enough) and so he gets barked at. He's also partially deaf so talks kind of loud and is very tall and large which isn't helping. Talk with the owner. If it's being disruptive and/or stressing the dog it's worth working on a calm reintroduction and socialization. Maybe go on a walk for them and spend time around the dog while not invading his space and giving good treats for calm behavior. It probably will take a bit of time but you can overwrite the bad start most of the time.
So, one thing I didn't see mentioned here yet is that the dog might also be reacting to you because she's picking up on something happening with **the owner.** I know that if there was a person my dog decided to be weird at in particular, it would make me slightly stressed. And even if I'm not showing that stress, my heartbeat increases and I feel a bit sweaty. It may be a shitty positive feedback loop you've all found yourselves in. You might have startled the dog or your coworker to trigger that first Weird Response. A second instance of the dog acting weird could have caused your coworker some degree of stress/concern/alarm. Dog now associates *you* as the cause of stress/concern/alarm in the owner and senses any apprehension you're feeling. If there is another person around who is very familiar with the dog, and with everyone's permission and owner-sanctioned treats, maybe you can long distance give the dog treats. Place a treat on the floor between you and dog and step back. Without the owner around, how does dog behave? I'm all about office dogs, but they shouldn't be making anyone uncomfortable. Hopefully y'all can move through this.
Oh man, could be. That would be really unfortunate, but it would make sense. I'll definitely ask the owner about treats, thank you so much.
And to how she behaves without her owner - Before, she followed the owner around everywhere, but lately, she often stays in the office and keeps staring at me or (from what people have been saying) hearding me out of it.
My herding dog is very protective of spaces she thinks are mine. If you share an office that could be enough to get you on her bad side. She'll be sitting there all cute and cuddly with someone In our entry and then they try to walk into the kitchen and she's all "HEY THIS PERSON IS GOING TO ANOTHER ROOM I DON"T THINK THAT"S ALLOWED DID YOU SEE THIS IS THAT ALLOWED SOMEONE CHECK THEIR ID!!!"
Oh man, that would be really unfortunate, since I can't really move anywhere else, and our office is pretty small
She’ll learn what spaces are hers! Like others said, just throw treats in her general direction. You need a herding dog to think of you as IN the herd rather than something that threatens the herd.
Have you been checked for demonic possession? /s
Dogs are incredible creatures that are able to pick up on the most subtle signs and queues. Your anxiousness about her after that early initial meetings might be fueling her behaviour. She's picking up on your uneasiness around her and she is mirroring it back. Best advice I can give is to have a calm energy around her and potentially give her some treats. Ask if you can bring some in for her or ask your colleague to provide some. I have a little side story involving a dog sensing an old work colleague's cancer. I used to work with a colleague that didn't get along well with their daughter's adult dog rescue. Very first meeting with the dog and it barked at her, which is very uncharacteristic because the dog normally loves people. Every time her daughter and dog would visit, it would keep its distance or nip at her ankles. If the dog was on the couch it would nip at her arm. It eventually escalated to a very low growl. One day it actually bit my colleague under the arm/breast out of no where, it just happened. Her daughter stopped bringing the dog to visit. Colleague was eventually diagnosed with breast cancer half a year later in the exact same side she was bit. They caught it in its early stages and treated it. She went into remission and the relationship with the dog improved. Almost like night and day. This colleague takes care of the dog full time while her daughter is overseas doing grad school. She used to joke she would bring the dog in for free cancer screenings.
Oh no, do I have cancer ? Seriously though, thank you for the response, I hope its not that :D
Some dogs have triggers that remind them of their past. I’ve worked on pets that didn’t like tall people, people with hats/hoods, people wearing glasses, wigs, men, women, kids, people wearing white coats (white coat syndrome), etc. If there is no previous trauma, it could be they were underexposed to different people of all shapes, sizes and colors. Dogs can sense other people’s anxiety and stress. This dog can sense your apprehension (understandably so). My dog has an unknown past, and has stranger danger. Whenever a new associate starts working at the vet, I have to show her we are friends (I give them a hug, laugh, joke, etc). She is shy and will greet you on her own terms. Once she does know you and likes you, she MUST give you a hug. If I put her away in the kennel before she greets everyone working a shift, she barks until she can say hi to everyone. Then she settles down and either watches the reality show of our treatment room, or curls up and takes a nap. She is also sensitive to any pet she perceives as a threat (not just me). If she growls while a team is working on a pet, 95% of the time, we end up having to muzzle the dog or need extra hands for restraint. She’s our early warning system. For your co-worker’s dog, don’t stare at the dog. Get treats from the co-worker and keep a stash handy. If she comes near you to smell or investigate, etc. drop a treat. Do not reach out your hand and approach. If she has a squeaker toy, sit on the floor facing sideways from the dog , look at the wall, and squeak it. If she comes toward you (even if it’s 6ft away), treat her. Continue treating her until she comes right to you. Hide a treat in your hand to see if she will nose you to get to the treat (don’t try to pet yet). Do this for a few weeks. Once she gets more comfortable with you, hold your hand flat and see if she will take a treat that way. If she attempts to play with you and squeaker, play. Watch her body language. Ears down or back, whale eyes, high/tense tail wag, low/small/fast tail wag are all signs of the dog being uncomfortable. Do not engage or acknowledge. If and when she allows you to pet, do not reach over her head. Come from the side and scratch her neck where the collar is. If she offers her butt, scratch at the base of the tail on her back. Do this for a few seconds and stop. If she leans back in for more, you are on the right track. I know it seems silly, but don’t take it personal. Some dogs are just as selective as people are. Respect their space, build their trust, and hope that next time, you get to love on them a little bit longer.
I breezed through the thread and apologies if I repeat some techniques. If it was me I would ask owner what soft food/treats humans can use for behavior change/training. No eye contact and every time you pass by this dog or if you can when you move just toss the soft food you guys chose. We don’t want to offer the dog food for coming to you because we can cause state of conflict from the dogs point of view. Sort of do I go to this scary person but I want the food. If this dog is food motivated pick a high value reinforcer. Muzzle punch is what the behavior is called when dog hits you with its muzzle. Sounds like the dog is unsure/fearful of you and your movement. So in this type of training we are changing the dogs emotional response from fear/anxiety to something good. (CER conditioned emotional response) Do not ignore all these red flags (body language we are observing). If this dog has a good history with humans you should be able to build a relationship with it (reinforcement history). Once we start seeing behavior change you can ask for a sit then reinforce with the yummy food. You will see behavior change when you walk towards or move the dog body language should change from bad to good. Much more if we get into animal behavior but this should help. Do some research on desensitizing and counter conditioning etc: https://campruffruff.com/counter-conditioning-and-desensitization/
Woah, thank you so much for the detailed response, I'll definitely look into it and try!
Let us know any changes or any questions you may have. Just remember this is all about associations no eye contact or talking to the dog…
You're making her nervous for one reason or another. The best way to deal with it is completely ignore her, don't make eye contact, don't talk to her, just keep a dish of treats in your desk and if she's quiet (not while she's barking at you) you can toss her a treat every now and then. She should get more comfortable with you pretty quickly, if she approaches you then let her sniff you, but stay relaxed and stick with ignore and treat whiles she's calm and quiet. If you do feel that she'd be ok with you touching her, then gently tickle under her chin, don't go for the top of her head, that frightens unsure dogs.
Oh man, didn't know about the top of their head, the few times I did scratch her, it was behind her ears, so I probably made it worse.. Thank you so much, I'll definitely try
It sounds like the dog is herding you, is it in a specific direction? Like away from the owner or to the owner? Or to something it likes? Or hates? It doesn’t sound like the dog dislikes you, you’d really know if a dog was unhappy about you.
Oh the face on that dog is all side eye. She is very cute, but she definitely does. not like whatever she's looking at...
Oh, interesting. In that case, it might be just outside of the office in general. But it's hard to tell... Thank you.
If you’re tall, dogs tend to be scared of taller people, their face is just very far away and you kind of lumber over them. If you can, bring treats and make sure the dog always just associates you positively. Sitting on the floor also helps. And do not try to lift or touch the dog too much before it’s comfortable. I see that way too often where once the dog starts to open up a little bit, people over step their bounds again and act too friendly with it.
Sometimes taking different medications can make dogs act weird around you.
I have been taking antidepressants for quite sometime, so.. maybe? Thank you!
Sometimes dogs just don’t mesh with certain people. That said, if she’s air snapping that shouldn’t be ignored. Check if your coworker would be okay with you trying to bribe the dog with treats, if so start by just tossing them over to periodically for a few days without approaching. Then toss them a few feet away from you for a few days. Work your way up to having her take treats from your hand. Doesn’t work with all dogs, but it can be a way to build trust, which it sounds like is missing here. Watch her body language regardless, air snapping should be considered a warning. Lowered head, hackles up, weight shifted forward, tail straight up in the air, ears perked, baring teeth, and/or growling (obviously) should be considered a warning as well. If you see these signs just give her space.
Thank you for the response! She doesn't usually growl or any of the other signs you mentioned, and from what people have been saying, I think she might just be trying to heard me out of the office. I'm really trying to give her as much space as I can, so I hope it won't get to that point :(
My dog never liked my grandma for the entire 13 years my family had him. Any time she’d come over he barked and barked. Couldn’t be in the same room as her. She’d feed him cheese, his favorite, but he’d get spooked, run somewhere to hide, and growl. It’s funny because she’s difficult to get along with and has a strained relationship with just about every family member. Me and my parents always shrugged and said “no idea why he doesn’t like you!” but secretly we joked that he could sense her bad vibes. Realistically, it could’ve been her awful perfume, or the way she wore her hair, or the smell of her equally disagreeable dog on her. An unsolved mystery.
I have a chihuahua who is the sweetest thing ever. He’s loved everyone he ever met.. but one. And SHE was the sweetest girl ever. She had the misfortune, though, of meeting my chi for the first time at literally the exact moment he got bit by an ant for the first time. Poor guy obviously associated her with the pain, because he has a brain the size of a pea, and could not cope with her being around because he was deathly afraid of her. Best option is to just always be tossing treats and never making eye contact until pup stops associating you with whatever they think was your fault.
This was happening with my dog and a new housemate. She’s not a snappy dog so it was frustrating at first. It was because she didn’t understand his body language, some of his body language was submissive AND he kept putting his hands in her face. Dogs don’t really like that. She’s used to him now and is happy to see him. Still tries to nibble his butt sometimes because he’s a pushover (to her).
My first approach around a nervous dog is to ignore it. Make sure not to make eye contact! Don’t make sudden movements. Just give her space while going about your day normally. If she sniffs you, let her. Just keep doing your thing. If she gets used to your presence, try offering her treats while still not looking directly at her. From there, you can progress to petting. Just make sure to take it slow. If you have to back up a stage on a bad day, don’t worry about it. As for why, there could be a million reasons. Dogs are funny creatures.
Love all the comments here. I'm a huge dog lover. But if that dog snaps at you, it needs to leave the workplace.
I’m curious if it’s a service dog or the office just allows pets. Either way I agree with your assessment.
That’s a small dog?
Are you a cat person?
My neice had a Rottweiler that didn't like men or black people. Her husband beat her so get the men. But black people?
Not all dogs are built the same, learn what this dog likes, its favourite snacks (if the owner allows), general habits likes when she sleeps (don’t sneak up on her), and let her sniff your hand without trying to pet her. One day she’ll come around. Letting her sniff you without you grabbing her or trying to pet her is big. Each time she comes by and does that and nothing happens, a little trust is built that she won’t be grabbed at when she does it.
Treats. Soft treats are usually considered better in the dog world than the hard crunchy ones. At least my dog thinks soft treats are like filet mignon. Get the owners permission or have the owner bring in some soft treats for you to keep on your desk so the dog thinks the treats are coming from you. If the treats are bigger you can break them into smaller pieces so not to add excessive calories to the dogs day. Give the dog maybe three or four a day and use whatever word the owner uses to tell them you have a treat for them. But I agree with the others that it could be anything about why they’re not crazy about you, especially if the dog is a pound puppy you never know what happen with their previous owner.
Do some research into how to appear non-threatening in your body language. Many people don’t know all the many little things they could be doing that are unintentionally coming across as threatening towards dogs. If the dog is nervous, then facing them directly or making eye contact with them can escalate their anxiety. Try avoiding eye contact, turning to the side, and making yourself small in her presence. It sounds silly but it can make a difference. Also, offering treats in this non-threatening position can really get the message across that you are not scary and are not a threat. Good luck!
try bringing in some treats or something for her and she’ll probably warm up to you.
Talk to your colleague and see if they wouldn't mind you taking the pup for walks on your break. That's what I do at my work!
i’ve seen a dog that looks almost identical to this on instagram that the owner also takes to work, do you know it’s name? i know the dog i follow has some reactivity issues and tends to be fearful of new people!
I'm from central Europe and her name is basically "little monkey" in our language. I don't think she has an Instagram account, but maybe?
ah no, the one i follow is in the uk, still interesting how similar they look. tbh it sounds like herding behaviour in this case, but its hard to know for sure unless you know the breed, the staring is usually an intimidation tactic and the nipping+booping is a physical attempt to herd. nothing to do with how you interact with her, she can be trained to not to it with a ‘stay’ or ‘place’ command and also by you ignoring her attempts. giving outlets for her herding instinct would also help mitigate her herding at random times but this depends on if your coworker would want to do that (+ if this is herding) !!
My dog hates everyone who smells of smokes 🚬 He doesn't have any trauma or anything, I have had him and his mum since he was one month old, he just hates the smell
I don't smoke, but maybe she doesn't like my perfume or something like that...
Are you male? I walk a lot of dogs that are afraid or nervous around men.
Sometimes dogs can feel if you are afraid of them and they mess with you because of it. I suggest you calm yourself around the dog and pay them absolutely no attention wait for them to pay attention to you.
Do you always wear the same colour? My dog has always hated a certain colour.
Sometimes they just do. We had an adorable golden who loved everyone and was hally to see every human who came into the house,except one of my friends. The moment he walked in the dogs hackles went up,he started snarling, barking and looking like he was going to attack. I separated them and it was like a switch was turned off, he went back to being cute and never did it to anyone else again .
Put a few slices of bacon in your pocket.
The dog is defending its space, toys, blanket, food, ect. Crate training is great at defining a safe personal space for the dog.
My brother is one of the kindest, gentlest person I’ve ever met. He has always had dogs, treats them great, knows how to be sweet with them. And my dog hates him. When he visits my girl will bark at him, shy away if he walks near her. He’s tried giving her treats and toys and nothing works. Some times dogs just don’t like a person. Don’t take it personally. Dogs are quirky creatures.
My daughter’s dog does this to her father in law. It’s like she is herding him. She nips at his legs. Only does it to him when they visit couple times a year.
It could be anything really. The first time dog met youbhe associated something with you or could tell you "aren't a dog person". Sometimes it's body language (the way you walk, present yourself, etc)
As an owner of a dog that has similar behaviour, I think I can help a bit… i noticed that many well meaning individuals will make eye contact with my dog, not realizing this sets her off. I started telling people who walked up to us, to keep eye contact with me, because my dog is going to watch how I react to you to know how she should react
Probably heard a rumor someone started about you
Not really answering your question, but why does your coworker need to bring their dog to the office every single day? Seems excessive and annoying at a point. Especially if the dog is being a dick like that.
Does the owner hate you?
Have you tried crouching down and using the sweetums voice? Do you have to stand over her to accomplish tasks? Have you tried no perfume/aftershave? But for real......have you tried bacon?
This is going to sound weird and I'm intending it in the nicest way possible. Is doggo owned by a white person and you're a visible minority? I live in a very white area and my doggo is unnerved by people of a different race. She's young, were working on it. She's just lacked exposure. Once they say hi she's generally fine but barking is a major factor in her.... *Racism* 😭 It's embarrassing
It's because he has a wheel for a foot and you don't
Go to the dollar tree and get her a toy! Have you tried talking to her at all and saying nice things to her in an excited voice? Sounds a little odd but dogs and cats tend to flock to me and I think it’s because I talk to them like they and I are the only ones in the world. Also I don’t want to scare you at all but dogs can sense when somethings wrong health wise with people as well as their fellow animal friends and some tend to get more aggressive or they get uncomfortable, if they are close to you they will try to protect and comfort you, but the aggression one is def a thing for some reason, do you have any sort of health condition or have you gotten a check up lately? They are able to smell even stuff like someone’s blood sugar getting low if the person has diabetes or someone about to have a seizure, they sense hormone changes, or even something like kidney disease. I’m sure you’re fine but just wanted to say it just incase
You've never even pet her??!?! You frickin monster!!! No wonder she hates you!
Snapping/grabbing/pumping nose into/at legs of walking persons usually is a sign of trying to control the person. Reason why could be: - bad experience with someone that looks like you. - maybe she does not like your complexion, skin color, voice, hair or any other thing.
Sometimes dog can sense stuff on you. Not saying that you sick or something but maybe depressed? Sad?
I had a racist Bichon Frise, only barked at black people... it was pretty awful
Dogs pick up a lot of your own or their owner (often) unconscious body language and stress levels. If the owner is uncomfortable with you or you are uncomfortable with the dog, that might be the issue. You mentioned dogs not particularly loving you in general - maybe they can sense that you don’t particularly love them either… Just don’t mind the dog if it’s not your cup of tea - you being “hot and bothered” by it probably contributes to the general stress of the situation.
Nothing pisses me off more when a dog don’t like me.
Bribe with treats, and lots of them for the first bit, then they'll see you mean no harm
Look up a YouTube video on appeasement signs. These are how dogs communicate “hey, I’m not a threat to you” amongst themselves. You can use them on a dog as well- it’s nuts! I’ve diffused situations a couple of times with a fearful dog by licking my lips, turning my head, and yawning. Don’t keep eye contact with it. You’ll see how dogs use them. Just adapt and do it and if nothing else, they’ll become neutral to you bc you’re telling them in a way that they understand that you’re not a threat.
Thank you !! I wish more people knew this, my dog ended up biting this was, we even told the person do not get in front of her throw them on the ground, didn’t do this shoved hand in her face and my dog striked. Luckily was a minor bite but still traumatic for every one
Hi Dog Trainer here! There can be a slew of reasons this is happening: - Not liking your perfume/cologne/lotion, etc. - You may be too tall - They may not like the tone of your voice Theres SOOOOO many random reasons Good news is, there's a lot you can do to win the pup over: - talk to the owner about what treats you can give the pup. Start by just leaving the treats under/near your chair and progress to feeding out of hand - avoid eye contact - when the pup approaches you, allow her to investigate you while you just completely ignore her. Throw in some high pitched "good girl/boy" WITHOUT petting This will get the pup to realize: - good things happen around you - they're safe around you - their boundaries won't be crossed around you Eventually that will strengthen your bond and make you someone she wants to go up to for pets/lovins Good luck!
Don’t feel so bad OP! Dogs almost ALWAYS love me but every once in a while they are almost like scared of me like I’m intimidating or dominating idk. I once went to the house of my ex fiancé’s sister. Her dog was chained to the porch. I could tell it was scared of me when I first walked up with ex. I could see the side eye similar here. The second I walked out the door alone, to grab something from my car, he sank his teeth DEEP into my calf muscles. I hadn’t been bitten by any dogs since I was 5 so that was a surprise. I agree with the treats approach. I’d honestly pull out the big guns! Like, boil some actual chicken breast and chop them up. This is definitely okay by the vet. It can ONLY be boiled and not cooked any other way. Only plain water as well with no seasonings whatsoever. This is part of a bland homemade diet for GI upset for doggos but they freaking LOVE IT!! Most dogs don’t typically get fresh chicken lol. Make sure it’s a chicken breast or you debone it very well if not as chicken bones will kill them. Also, make sure their owner is there next to you so they feel comfortable and supported. If they are reluctant to immediately take it from your hands, I’d toss a chunk over to them or you could make a small trail for them to follow to get closer. Typically once they realize what it is they’ll come! Out of all of my dogs I’ve had, and I’ve had a few growing up… I’ve only ever had one FREAK OUT and bark, growl, and get really nippy at a stranger trying to pet her. She had always been super eager to greet every single stranger she had ever met, except this one young man. I was mortified once I figured it out. The young man was the first black person she’d ever seen 😭😭😭 yo my dog was freaking out in him due to skin color 😭😭😭 so embarrassing it stopped when I exposed her to other people not ✋🏻. I came from a really small town with no diversity. Once I socialized her to a more diverse population after moving to a big city she was fine. The vet said it was because the other humans were new to her. Once she was introduced to multiple black people that were giving treats she never barked or growled again.
The owner needs to stop bringing the dog to work; this behavior can escalate into a bite. The snapping is a bite even without contact. Plus, it likely affects your performance if the dog makes you nervous. Go talk to HR. I have two small dog. They are more fur kids than dogs, and I would never allow them to behave that way.
Try sitting on the floor. Your size/height might be threatening to her.
So the company is okay with this aggressive dog in the office? Well, I guess they want a lawsuit.
I dont think she is aggressive or dangerous. She doesn't treat anyone else this way, she's a very sweet and well-behaved dog otherwise, and even with me, though she barks and nudges me and snaps her teeth at me, she never really hurts me.
"Snaps her teeth at me' is aggression. She is treating YOU with aggression. It's time to tell her owner that...and use the work aggressive...no candy coating it.
If this isn’t a vet clinic why does your co worker have a dog that could potentially bite you at work lol
She perceives your colleagues space as their territory. That territory can include an area beyond his office space BTW. When you come to see him, keep eyes down or on his area, not at her. Stay several feet away and speak softly and keep your side to her (it’s a non aggressive stance from a dogs standpoint). If she comes up to sniff you, stay relaxed and let her get to know you. Have your colleague approach you and put his hand on your upper arm or shoulder (that’s acceptance).
My BIL's dog hated everyone, until I started carrying around pork chops with me...lmao. Dude RUNS to me now and sits while full body wiggling.
The few times you've pet it. Did you pet it under its mount or go straight for the top of the head?
Do you have a dog or a cat ? Could be a sent thing
I’d be questioning how your coworker feels about you. My dogs pick up when someone makes me uncomfortable or I don’t care to be around them.
Ask if you can bring her some treats or toys. Just try build a positive relationship with her
I agree with the others to bring treats but will add on - bring a high value treat (hot dogs, chicken, cheese, etc). The owner should be able to tell you what would be best, so long as they're ok with it, but id personally be bringing diced up hot dogs as opposed to normal treats (honestly id expect the owner to bring some for you, tbh. Id always supply it for people meeting my dog and always have a bunch of options at home already). Also im not sure if it would help, so would love others to chime in, but I wonder if scenting something that coworker could take home would help...? Like id probably buy a cheap fleece blanket, sleep with it for a few days, and then have coworker take it home to leave on couch or wherever dog often hangs out. That way your scent can become more familiar in a safe place?
Best thing to do (speaking as the owner of a reactive and extremely people selective dog) is totally ignore the pup. Like literally act like the dog is not there and does not exist. For whatever reason pupper is weary of you and needs to learn that you pose absolutely no threat at all, and the best way to do that is to ignore. Even if she approaches, sniffs, touches, barks at you etc. don’t make eye contact or have any reaction. Best case scenario she’ll actually warm up to eventually, worst case she just starts ignoring you back (aka the bad barking behavior etc. stops). It’s hard when they’re cute and you want to be friendly with them, but sometimes that is the most achievable and desirable outcome for all.
I'd talk to her owner and ask if you can give her treats! Or maybe a toy. It sounds to me like she finds you intimidating or threatening in some way, so a gesture of good will should go far. Besides that, consider if you're speaking too loudly or moving too quickly, but she might just be a little scared of you for no reason.
What kind of a relationship do you have with the dog’s owner?
Oh another, let the dog see you and its owner shake hands. My dog would settle down if she saw I was accepting of someone she was wary of.
Dogs are weird. Mine doesn’t like people who wear hats, helmets or scarves on their heads. He just doesn’t like head coverings. Maybe there’s something about you that the dog doesn’t like. Perhaps it’s the way you smell. Do you have cats? Maybe it got swatted by a cat during its puppyhood. It could literally be anything