Petting Pets: Understanding and Requesting Consent

In general, we humans tend to really take touching pets for granted, just petting all willy nilly where and when we want. No doubt you have seen the pictures of dogs with eyes begging for relief from encroaching children on Facebook or perhaps the Insta videos of stressed out dogs enduring hugs and kisses. It’s enough to drive any of us insane and of course we as professionals would never do such things….or would we? Take a closer look at the images on social media. Of course, you will see more stress and avoidance when certain methodology is employed, but I put my money on you noticing avoidance even from R+ trainers. I want to make it clear, however, that I am not pointing fingers. In fact, I started paying closer attention to my own dog only to realize she didn’t like the way we were petting her. No one is immune, we just have to become more aware, especially in cases involving body handling, fear, or trust building. My goal for this webinar is to share my experience with my own dog as an illustration of the far-reaching impact of consent to touch, look closely at subtle behaviors, and also to help attendees become more self-aware.