I don’t know if it’s just me, but every time I take my 12 lb small dog out for a walk and we come across another small dog, the other owner discourages the dog from socializing and keeps on walking. I can understand if their dog is intimidating, big, or dangerous. But surely, you can let your chihuahua or pug and my dog sniff each other for 30 seconds just to say hello.
I don’t want to misunderstand anything, so I’m hoping there’s a good reason for this. I do take him to our local dog parks to socialize with other dogs, but there’s something neighborly about letting our dogs say hi, and it makes me sad that it’s not a thing anymore.
Any thoughts on this are welcome. Thanks!
I would always ask. You can just say “hey would it be okay if I let my dog say hi?”
Some dogs have baggage or bad behaviors, or maybe it’s also the owner who has some anxiety or social reason for it.