There’s a new trend it seems.  Dogs are now welcome in breweries, pubs, restaurants, ball games, and are invited to events all over the place! Seems like a great thing – right? Wrong.  Possibly dead wrong.

I consider myself a dog body language expert. I have studied their language for years. I have touched tens of thousands of shelter dogs, literally. I watch them, I watch videos, I go to trainings, I can’t get enough because it’s so fascinating and if you know what they are saying their messages are so very clear!  As I have watched more and more dogs be brought to public places, I have found myself having to leave early and then avoid those places in the future. I can’t take it. I watch dogs speaking so loudly and no one is listening. I am, but at times when I have in a very friendly way approached people to try to explain how unhappy their dog is with the current situation – the conversation eight times out of 10 doesn’t go well no matter how non-judgmental my delivery may be.   Licking lips, yawning, tails tucked, Pilo erections, (hackles up) genitalia check-ins (licking genitalia) shivering, shaking, tense bodies, pink eyes, ears, gums and much much more behaviors that scream “I’M NOT COMFORTABLE!”  The graphic shows SOME of the signs of fear. 

In this country, we don’t always socialize our dogs at an early age in order to make them comfortable enough to be able to deal with a social situation that includes drinking,  the smell of food (dogs love food!!) children who make sudden movements and loud noises which scares most dogs, loud music – remember their hearing is much more keen than ours  and what sounds normal to us may sound very loud to a dog. There are other dogs— not all dogs like other dogs and some more selective about the dogs that they like or dislike.  Lots of people, we loves dogs and we want to pet them, but they don’t always want to be petted especially in a situation where they are very uncomfortable.  We also have the temperature to consider now that it is summertime and how hard it is for dogs to cool down when they are overheated. There’s also something called fight or flight that is instinctive to a dog.  If it’s a dog is on a leash in a public place — as they should be—it’s the law—and there is something about a person that is making them fearful, they realize they cannot get away (flight), they are left with their fight instinct which may result in a bite.

Some of you may say what if that was a child that was attacked? I’m going to say “if” but it’s going to be “when” a child is attacked, it’s only a matter of time.  Let’s think about TRUE service dogs.  Not the ones you can order online, but the real dogs who “perform a task” for their disabled owner.  By the way, it’s not against the law to “fake” your dog as a service dog in PA.  The folks who I know who have service dogs are now not able to go to places that at times they need to go.  Their dogs are becoming apprehensive to go outside, they are lunged at, barked at places that are pet friendly and that’s just not fair.  My local Home Depot has an employee in a wheel chair.  Service dogs are HIGHLY trained to deal with all sorts of situations including medical equipment and it costs a lot of money to get them to where they are–giving a disabled person the ability to do things they would never have been able to do alone.  The other 100+ dogs on a Saturday morning are not.  I have spoken to their manager who told me I have made the best arugment of anyone and he would “take it up the chain.”  If  YOUR dog attacks a service dog in PA it’s an M3.  No joke.  

I KNOW business owners, event planners, dog owners and lovers have the very best of intentions, I am sure of it. I have reached out to a few and asked if I could educate them on stress signals of dogs.  I have tried to encourage them that it’s not always a good idea to have a policy that your place is “pet friendly.” My attempts have not been met with enthusiasm-and I realize that the pet friendly ship has sailed and it may take some work to reverse the direction.

There was a situation over the weekend involving a dog who was attacked by another dog at a local establishment. I can only hope that the dog that was attacked is OK, and the dog that did the attacking does not have to pay with its life. These dogs were put into situations where they never should have been.  I am begging business owners and event planners to reverse this trend of bringing dogs to your establishments/events. I don’t think you’ll be met with angry customers, not after a good explanation and possibly by having signage explaining that you are actually reversing your policy because of your love of dogs.  What customer would be angry about that?

I did not witness this incident, however I did witness one where two dogs got into a fight in a bar, which resulted in their owners getting into a fight, one dog took off, the police came, I don’t know if the dog took off was ever found and the image of the dog low to the ground, tail tucked scampering up the street will forever be in my head.

I am happy to help any business owner or event planner in educating people on how much their dogs can handle in a social situation. I also understand that most people are not the dog body language geek that I am and they just don’t know and that’s okay!

Let’s work together in keeping our dogs safe. In being open to understanding what their limits are, and understanding that if you go out for a beer or with friends for a while and your dog is at home-it’s okay!! It is safe there and your dog might like a break from you! Dogs want to be dogs, that’s what they’re best at and it’s also all they know how to be!

Thank you for reading, understanding my intent, And hopefully keeping an open mind. I love dogs so much that I have dedicated my life to protecting them, saving as many as I can, and creating laws that protect them from cruelty and punishing those who commit crimes against precious animals.  In a very dark time in my own life working with dogs is what saved me and gave me a new purpose in life.  I owe them so much and will always be an advocate for their happiness and safety.  🐾❤️