Always ask first and be polite / safe!

There is a wide spread epidemic among dog enthusiasts worldwide...
Is it wrong to love dogs?
OF COURSE NOT! We love dogs too 🙂 .
Then what is the problem?
There is an alarmingly high level of inappropriate behavior and reactions in today's society when it comes to dogs in public. Behavior that is not only discourteous to owners / handlers out with their canine companions, but at times can be rude or even dangerous. We need to improve our level of communication and education of how and when it is appropriate to interact with someone else's dog.
So what is right and what is wrong?
If we can get more people to learn and spread good information about what to do when you see a dog during an outing and the urge strikes to interact with them, we can make a difference!
The very first thing we always recommend (which is important for everyone, but especially for children to learn early on), is to ASK FIRST! Ask before you reach your hand out, ask before you walk into the dogs space, ask before you try to talk to or interact with the dog. Keep a safe and respectful distance and inquire politely if it is ok to interact with or pet the dog.
There are many reasons this is the very FIRST thing you should do. The owner / handler of the dog may be working very hard on training or behavior and your actions could off set their session or the progress they have made in training if the dog gets nervous, over excited or reactive from you talking to them, trying to pet them or get their attention.
In some cases, a dog may not be comfortable with strangers (approaching them or petting them). Some dogs are very fearful and having someone come loudly into their space cooing or trying to reach for them may cause them to panic and have a traumatic experience. Some dogs may display an aggressive or defensive response to being startled or pressured by a stranger, which could result in them lashing out or trying to bite you.
Some dogs are simply working hard on self control and manners. Having a new person goad a dog into coming toward them or interacting with them may be the opposite of what their owner is trying to teach for polite behavior with their dog. Your actions may get the dog over excited toward you and cause them to jump up (a behavior many owners try very hard to not have their dog practice) or stop listening, start pulling hard on leash and become a challenge to get back under control.
All of these situations could be avoided if we can all begin to give safe and respectful space to dogs and their owners / handlers out in public, while politely inquiring if you can interact with the dog directly via the HUMAN.
After asking someone politely if you can interact with their dog, the answer at times may be "NO".
Although it should be common place that if someone says "NO" to accept this and leave them be, many will continue to pester the dog and/or handler with questions or even harassment (why not? is he/she aggressive? don't you want to socialize them? etc).
Please do not be this person. If someone declines your request, there is typically a reason and it is their choice to permit you to pet their dog or decline you.
Now if you are given permission to interact with and pet someone's dog, do your part to promote appropriate greetings and manners. Be calm, be gentle and be respectful. Do not encourage the dog to act crazy, jump up on you, nip at you, etc. when you are given permission to love up on someone's dog this should be an obvious courtesy.
Unfortunately, many overly enthusiastic folks act on impulse and do not approach someone and their dog in public with this polite manner.
Please, do not make high pitched kissy noises or baby talk toward someones dog. Do not try to distract a dog from its owner / handler and get its attention. Do not rush up toward or into a dogs space. Do not reach your hand out to attempt to pet any dog without having asked first and received permission from the owner/handler. This includes DURING your inquiry to pet the dog (ask first, PET AFTER)! Sadly we often see folks asking to pet or greet a dog and sometimes unknowingly also reaching out at the same exact time before even being given a response.
Remember, this can be as much for your safety as anything else. Just keep a safe distance and ASK FIRST!
All we are asking is that you be appropriate, remain polite and help spread the word to dog lovers worldwide on how to improve the way we approach someone and their dog in public.
We want the dogs (and everyone involved) to have a good experience and not cause unnecessary pressure, negative reactions or a dangerous outcome. You don't know a dogs comfort level, what they may be struggling with or working on or the owners wishes until you ASK.
So many of us LOVE dogs, so lets help make the world a better place for them by sharing and spreading this message to help educate and increase appropriate behaviors and interactions around dogs in public.