How to Greet a Dog

Dogs and humans have very different ideas of what constitutes a “polite” greeting, so people often greet dogs improperly without even realizing it.

 A polite greeting between people generally involves approaching directly with eye contact and extending a hand for a handshake. So when people greet dogs, they often approach directly with eye contact and extend their hand over the dog’s head.

Man and woman greet each other.
Example of a polite human greeting

Dogs use body language during greetings to communicate whether their intentions are friendly or not. So do people if you think about it. The difference is that dogs consider it threatening to begin a greeting by approaching directly with eye contact. And it’s particularly threatening for one dog to immediately put a paw over the other dog. It makes sense, then, that dogs would sometimes react badly to this standard human greeting. 

Of course, greeting a dog you know well is very different from meeting a new dog. You might throw your arms around a good friend the moment you see him, but if a stranger did that to you it would likely terrify you.

Similarly, dogs that are comfortable with us already know that our intentions are friendly, so they let us get away with all kinds of behavior that would otherwise be considered threatening. But when meeting a new dog, people should default to a more dog-friendly greeting.

Two dogs greet each other politely.
Example of a polite dog greeting

In dog body language, a polite greeting consists of indirect approaches, averted eyes and heads, curved body lines, and no attempt to put paws or heads over top of one another. To communicate your friendly intentions, you should greet a new dog in a similar way. 

Specifically, a proper greeting would involve turning your body to the side, avoiding direct lingering eye contact, crouching down to the dog’s level, and offering your hand below the dog’s head for the dog to sniff. 

Two dogs greet each other politely.
Example of a polite dog greeting

In dog body language, a polite greeting consists of indirect approaches, averted eyes and heads, curved body lines, and no attempt to put paws or heads over top of one another. To communicate your friendly intentions, you should greet a new dog in a similar way. 

Specifically, a proper greeting would involve turning your body to the side, avoiding direct lingering eye contact, crouching down to the dog’s level, and offering your hand below the dog’s head for the dog to sniff. 

In dog body language, a polite greeting consists of indirect approaches, averted eyes and heads, curved body lines, and no attempt to put paws or heads over top of one another. To communicate your friendly intentions, you should greet a new dog in a similar way.  

Two dogs greet each other politely.
Example of a polite dog greeting

Specifically, a proper greeting would involve turning your body to the side, avoiding direct lingering eye contact, crouching down to the dog’s level, and offering your hand below the dog’s head for the dog to sniff. 

To be particularly polite, you should allow the dog to come to you. If the dog doesn’t come to you, she probably isn’t interested in greeting you. It’s also a good idea to pet a dog you just met on the chest rather than the head.

If the dog you are greeting is acting fearful, you should give her more space. It is important to avoid overwhelming a dog that is wary of your presence, both for your own safety (fearful dogs are likely to show defensive aggression) and for the dog’s training.

Have you been greeting dogs with the proper technique? If not, what do you think you need to work on?

Much of this information can be found in:

McConnell, Patricia B. Ph.D. The Other End of the Leash. New York: Ballantine Books, 2002.

Much of this information can be found in:

McConnell, Patricia B. Ph.D. 

The Other End of the Leash.

New York: Ballantine Books, 2002.