English with Ronnie · EnglishLessons4U with engVid

How to Approach a Dog (Without Getting Bitten)

Dogs are everywhere in Canada, but a lot of people don’t actually know how to behave around them. I will tell you what you should and shouldn’t do when you see a dog. I talk about common mistakes people make, like running away, staring directly into a dog’s eyes, or trying to hug a dog they just met. I also show you safer ways to approach a dog, such as asking the owner for permission, offering a closed fist so the dog can smell you, and letting the dog decide if it wants to come closer. We will also learn useful English vocabulary such as leash, paws, pet, and more. By the end of this lesson, you’ll understand how to behave calmly and respectfully around dogs so both you and the dog stay happy and safe. https://www.engvid.com/how-to-approach-a-dog-without-getting-bitten/ Take lessons with me! https://EnglishWithRonnie.com Next, watch these animal-themed lessons: https://youtu.be/toMAcahh0A4 https://youtu.be/zY6bMOmsApM In this lesson: 0:00 How to behave with dogs 1:20 no fingers 2:21 eye contact with dogs 3:02 sudden movements 4:12 hugging & petting 5:41 giving food to dogs 6:09 "Is your dog friendly?" Transcript: Hey, guys. This is my new best friend. It's a pet. It's my pet. [Barks] His name's Roger, and he's kind of like a dog, except he's not a dog and he's made out of clay. But he's cute, right? I love him. Hey, Roger. This is my new mascot. And today's lesson is a bit of a culture vulture for you. If you come to Canada—welcome—you're going to see a lot of dogs. Now, dogs in Canada are usually 100% always on leash. They should be. It's the law, unless you're at an off-leash park. And if you're afraid of dogs, please don't go to an off-leash park. Please don't bring your children to an off-leash park. And we don't have, like, street dogs or stray dogs walking around like a lot of countries do. Dogs must be on the leash. But I see a lot of people who are s--t-scared of dogs. Now, I have an adorable little dog. He would not bite anyone unless you give him a snack, but I see a lot of people doing the wrong things when they're afraid of dogs, and I'm going to walk you through what you should and shouldn't do. So, the first one and the most important is if you want to say hi to the dog, that's great, but don't put your little fingers, all sticky peanut butter fingers in front of the dog's nose because the dog thinks, "Oh, peanut butter fingers, going to give those a lick, a bite." Rule number one, don't put your fingers out to the dog. What you should do... We call this a fist. So, you're going to put a closed hand or a fist to the dog's nose. Why? Because dogs think of things by smell, so if they're like, "Oh, smells like peanut butter. Yum, yum", then the dog knows not to bite. So if I see a dog, the first thing I do... The first thing I do is I say, "Hi. Is your dog friendly?" The person will say yes or no. If they say no, you move on. If they say yes, the way you approach the dog is make sure that your hand is closed. Closed fist, not the fingers out. Second one, don't do this, don't make direct eye contact with the dog because that means you want to bite. I know dogs are like, "Pfft, I'll take you on, Ronnie", but some dogs could kick my a--, really. Apparently, making direct contact with a dog is wrong. Opposite with humans. If you want to engage a human in conversation, look in the eyes. Don't look around the eyes, look in the eyes. Don't make direct eye contact. A thing that you can do is avoid eye contact, so you don't want to look at the sky. "Can I pet your dog?" But just kind of... I don't know, look at his tail or something. I was like... Look at his little paws. Paws are the feet of dogs. Next one. This is probably the thing that I see the most, and I know it's an immediate human reaction to run, but especially if your child is afraid of dogs, please tell the kid to stand still. Why? If I'm a dog, I like to chase things. I'm like, "Oh, look at that. Yeah." So if you're a little kid with these little peanut butter fingers and running around, the dog's going to be like, "Woohoo, let's go. Let's chase that little peanut butter monster." So please, stay still. The dog's not just going to come and bite your ankle. If you stay still and you're calm, the dog will be like, "No, I don't care about this guy. Let's go over and smell some pee." If you move around, you make sudden movements, the dog's like, "Oh, yeah. This person wants to play." Stand still. And then another thing is don't go in front of the dog, kind of go beside him, because the dog's like, "Oh, if you're beside me, you're kind of my mate, but if you're in front of me, that means fight." Or peanut butter. Yeah. I know dogs are adorable, and I know you want to hug them. Right? […]