It's not always safe to assume that every dog you meet is going to be friendly and welcome you with all four paws. Remember that dogs are like people — some are friendly and some are not!

We'd like to give a big thank you to Healthy Pets who inspired this article; common sense approaches but not something every dog lover understands. Take a look and don’t forget to give Spot his space!

Greet the Human First
As much as you may be taken with a cute little pup or handsome canine, focus first on the human the dog is with.
Dogs seem to be able to zero in on their owners' emotional well-being, as well as body language. If the dog is OK with your interaction with his owner, perhaps he'll be more open to (later) interacting with you.

Avoid Eye Contact
It's different for humans, particularly in the U.S. where people often pass others on the street with a smile, or even stop and converse while looking them straight in the eye.
Dogs have their own code. Dominant dogs may see your eye contact with them as a challenge or desire for dominance. Remembering this may circumvent an unpleasant situation.

Avoid a Head-On Approach
If you can, position yourself so that you're walking or standing beside the dog rather than coming at him directly from the front. If the dog and his owner are approaching you, turning your body sideways conveys a decreased threat, from the dog's perspective.

At the same time, however, it's always good to keep your peripheral vision peeled to ascertain the dog's body posture. If he seems stiff and is facing you, you may want to keep moving along.

Let Them Come to You
When advancing toward an unknown dog and his owner and a “meet and greet” is imminent, walk slowly. Walking directly toward them quickly may make a dog react out of instinct, which may not have a good outcome. Dogs are usually relaxed and even friendly if they're familiar and comfortable with the person approaching them. If yours isn't a familiar face, allowing the dog to approach you first is a good rule of thumb.

Offer Your Closed Fist, Palm Down
After you've spent enough time for the dog to feel comfortable in your presence, bring your slightly balled fist toward the dog's nose for him to smell rather than your open hand, fingers extended. Your fist is smaller, so it seems less threatening.

When a Dog is Done Interacting, Respect That
When a dog allows you to step into his orbit, let him decide how long the “close encounter” should last. If he moves away, let him, and don't keep reaching toward him. He's allowed you to say hello, so let that suffice for your first introduction. Never reach toward a dog that has backed away from you.

You may have experienced petting a dog who suddenly whipped his head toward your hand and bumped it with his nose. That's not likely a “keep petting me” signal but just the opposite. If this ever happens, stop doing whatever it is you're doing that the dog may not be appreciating.

We recently had a worker over to our house and one of the first things he did was bend over and try to pet our Chihuahua. Max snapped and growled at him, unprepared for this tall man making a move into his space. Even for a Chihuahua the dog was very leery of the worker after this and barked excessively.

Just goes to show a person needs to respect a dog’s boundaries. Later, when they get to know each other better, it would not surprise me if these two became best friends!