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Your dog may exhibit body language that shows how they’re feeling. However, they can’t flat-out tell someone to back off — but you can.
It’s OK to voice your dog’s comforts and discomforts to people around you, whether they’re your loved ones or people on the street, Flynn said.
All dogs have their own personality; some are social, while others are introverted, she said. If you end up with a shy dog, it’s important to advocate for them by letting people know your pet’s preferences. For example, you might ask strangers not to pet your dog or tell friends to leave your dog alone when they come over.
“It can be hard to try to manage the social pressure from the human side and make sure that your dog is comfortable,” Flynn said. “I think sometimes I’ve inadvertently let my dog be in a position where he wasn’t as comfortable as maybe he could have been.”
This isn’t something that’s learned right away, but Flynn said it would be nice, overall, if folks could give each other’s dogs a little more space.
“People have good intentions, but actually giving dogs space and just respecting their boundaries, I think, is important,” she said.
Just as humans are allowed to have preferences, dogs are too. And if you force your pet to go against their natural instincts or their one-of-a-kind personality, you’ll be taking away from their joy — and who in the world would want to do that?
This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
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