Can I tell you what happens to me on the footpath?

Another dog comes along, and before either of us has said a single word, our two people have decided we’re going to be friends. The leads get short. We’re walked straight at each other, nose to nose, while they stand above us going “say hello! go on, say hello!”

Nobody asked us.

Here’s how I’d do it, if I were allowed. I’d walk a little curve rather than a straight line. I’d look away for a second — not because I’m rude, but because looking away is exactly how I say I mean no harm. Then I’d come alongside and have a polite sniff at the back end, which is where all the proper information is kept anyway. Four seconds. Maybe five. Then I’d move along, and we’d both feel grand about it.

Straight lines and staring faces are how dogs argue. They are not how we say hello. When you march us at each other, you’re asking us to open the conversation with the rudest sentence we know.

So next time? Let the leads go loose. Walk a curve. Give us three seconds, then call us away while it’s still going nicely.

Short and sweet is how friendships start.

Love, Maggie 🐾

Show less