In June of 2022 I was fortunate enough to join my daughter in her travels in Europe (she’s going to school there for two years), and I got to see some differences in how dogs live there. The most amazing thing to me was how much dogs and people ignored each other. It was just understood that strangers and on-leash dogs are not going to interact. This meant that I saw zero instances of dogs over-reacting to the sight of strangers, either in fear or in anticipation of getting to meet them. Dogs are also not expected to meet other dogs, though I still saw two instances of “leash reactivity” while there.
While this was difficult for me, personally – why wouldn’t the dogs come greet me‽ – I also could see how much easier it was for the dogs: they didn’t have to get worked up over seeing strangers.
What does this mean for American dogs and their owners?
Italian mastiff in Italy – they were waiting to get a table at our café
I have long advocated avoiding dog-dog greetings when both or even one dog is on a leash.
Keep in mind that for many dogs, briefly greeting another dog while both are on-leash is at best, uninteresting (in which case, why bother?), worse frustrating (because the dogs would like to play, but won’t be able to), and at worst scary (because the dogs might be intimidating and the situation unpredictable). Most greetings are filled with suspicion or caution rather than good-natured, polite friendliness. It’s common in American culture to let dogs meet, but there’s not really a good purpose for it. In most of Europe, dogs are used to just passing other people and dogs without any expectation of an interaction.
How do European dog-owners do it? Well, from what I saw, they just gently prevented puppies from approaching strangers the same way they’d gently prevent them from stepping into a busy street or picking up something dangerous or gross – they just tightened the leash and redirected the puppy somewhere else. I saw this a few times, without any reprimands, commands/cues, or concerns. It was just matter-of-fact.
What About Socialization?
An owner reaches down to pet his dog at an outdoor pizza place in Rome
You might be thinking, but aren’t we supposed to have our dogs greet people and dogs, as part of socialization? The short answer is “No”. Socialization in dogs is really just teaching them about what is “normal” and “harmless” in the world. You want to expose your dog to the variety of things that they are likely to encounter during their life in a human world – and that includes the presence of different types of people, other dogs, different animals, and more (noises, surfaces to walk on, smells, environments, the unexpected, and more), and you want that exposure to be positive – your puppy associates it with love and attention from you, play, games, good chew projects, and food treats. If you don’t want your dog to have the expectation that strangers are always going to greet, pet, and treat them, don’t start off your puppy’s socialization by having that happen.
Of course, all dogs are different, and dogs’ interest in meeting new humans varies on a scale, from “completely uninterested in or annoyed at meeting new people” (sometimes described as “aloof” or “loyal”) to “everybody is my friend but they don’t know it yet!” (sometimes described as “golden retriever”!), and most dogs are somewhere in between. If your dog genuinely enjoys having strangers touch and interact with them, be sure to occasionally give them that opportunity – but don’t make your dog guess which humans are open to that.
Dog-Dog Greetings on leash
I generally recommend against letting unknown on-leash dogs greet each other – just walk on by! Remember, the best outcome for on-leash greetings is likely to be that neither dog is particularly interested.
If you are thinking of allowing your dog to greet another dog, always ask the other owner if your dog can say “Hi”; when I’m walking a puppy I always specify “Can this puppy say hi?”. Try to read the body language of the other dog and the other owner – both should be interested but relaxed (if a dog is VERY interested it might be too much for your dog, even if it’s just friendly interest). If the other dog or the other owner look tense, just smile at your dog and if necessary move in a way so that you’ll avoid the other dog. (In dogs, look for active interest but not pulling too much on the leash to come greet; the dog should be able to take his eyes off yours to sniff or focus on his owner. In owners, look for them tightening their grip on the leash, wrapping the leash around their hands a few times, bracing themselves, etc. If you see this, move on!). If you do decide to allow the dogs to meet, I recommend giving them a chance for a brief sniff, and then move on. During the brief sniff you should try to make sure that your dog’s leash is loose, so she doesn’t feel restricted or cornered (and so that if you are nervous, it is less obvious to her!). I would praise your dog during the meeting, and reward her with a few treats immediately afterwards (after you’ve put a little distance between you and the other dog – you don’t want to incite any aggression over the treat!). If it went well, you can return for another round of quick sniffing and greeting (Chad Culp and others call this “the three-second rule”).
But maybe instead you should just wish a cheerful bonjour or buona giornata and move on!
Some dog owner responsibilities are universal!
Notes:
- I only saw on-leash, owned dogs in a limited number of places – Istanbul, Athens, Hydra, Rome, Buonconvento, Sienna, Florence, and Paris. I also saw a few off-leash dogs who were following their people around – again, ignoring all the strangers in their path. I’m not implying that every culture in Europe is like this – but I’m happy to research this further!
- If you were following my Instagram or Facebook page at the time, you’d have seen a lot of photos of dogs in art – ancient, medieval, renaissance, and modern. Sometimes it was hard to capture the image of the dog without also catching the painted version of something that is not appropriate for a PG/family feed! Check out some of the art pieces starting here.
- I also saw a LOT of free-ranging or “stray” dogs in Istanbul. Large, Anatolian mastiff-type dogs were lying all over the place in Istanbul. They didn’t bother people – locals or tourists – for food, and I almost never saw them interacting directly with each other. I did see a simple vending machine that you could put in a few Turkish Liras and dispense some dry food that appeared to be geared towards both the stray cats and the stray dogs – and I didn’t see any animals crowded around it, even though it had a small pile available. I also saw a pair of people who were clearly catching, treating and releasing stray kittens. You can see some pictures and videos here!
