What do you think of this?

People are putting a yellow ribbon on their dog leashes or collars to let people know their dog needs it space. I never heard of this I got an email about it.
 
My dog doesn't like strangers to pet her without introducing in the first place. I should add yellow ribbon on her leash or collar.
 
authentic said:
My dog doesn't like strangers to pet her without introducing in the first place. I should add yellow ribbon on her leash or collar.
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Would people know what the yellow ribbon meant? I never heard about this until I got an email about it a few days ago.
 
Good idea...even some Horse owners tie a ribbon on horse's tail to warn people that the horse "kicks or bites"....Don't remmy what colors they use.
 
rockin'robin said:
Good idea...even some Horse owners tie a ribbon on horse's tail to warn people that the horse "kicks or bites"....Don't remmy what colors they use.
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I looked it up and it's a red ribbon, I was thinking it would be red . But I bet there are people that think it just to be cute . I would had thought that.
 
whatdidyousay! said:
Would people know what the yellow ribbon meant? I never heard about this until I got an email about it a few days ago.
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It is time to educate them. I find it disgusting when strangers pet my dog in public area. Would it be ok if someone sit on your car? :hmm:
 
Various kennel and dog training clubs have been using the yellow bandanna system for some years and the idea has spread out to things like the DINO's website <Dogs in Need of Space> and things like the ribbons and vests for shy or reactive dogs. Yellow is a typical "caution" signal as people in the U.S. anyway tend to associate "yellow" with the yellow traffic light.
When my Labrador was alive some years back and we trained at some different clubs I had a yellow bandanna on him there and at dog training seminars, where I would take him with me. He came to us at 1 year and 1/2 as a shy dog and was attacked on leash the first summer with us. He was attacked by a smaller dog that ran out of a house at us when we were out walking. So he became defensive about other dogs.

One of my current dogs is dog-reactive.

When I'm out with my dogs, I do not allow on-leash greetings between my dog and a strange dog. I also don't let people randomly come up and pet my dog or approach in a way that from a canine perspective - is rude <direct approach, eye contact, pat on head - all rude to a dog>. I have and will - put myself between an approaching person and my own dog.
That said - most people cross the street or go around, when they see us.
 
I agree, i dont like the idea of people petting my own dog if i have one. i m afraid what if dog would bite then i ll be sued. Putting the yelllow on dog is a great idea. i would buy one.
 
It's only useful if everyone understands its meaning.

Also, how much "space" does the dog need? Is it a warning just not to pet, or does it mean cross over to the other side of the street if you value your life?
 
Frisky Feline said:
I agree, i dont like the idea of people petting my own dog if i have one. i m afraid what if dog would bite then i ll be sued. Putting the yelllow on dog is a great idea. i would buy one.
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According to the article, having a yellow ribbon might make it more likely you would be sued. By putting the ribbon on your dog it indicates that you know that your dog is dangerous to others.
 
Blows my mind that people need this, but I'm sure they do. If I see someone with a dog and I want to pet it, first I pay attention and see if the person and the dog seem friendly/receptive. If they do, I ask the person if it's ok. If they say yes, then I put my hand where the dog can sniff it and get a sense of me first, and I can see how he/she reacts to me. That people think it's ok to just start petting a dog they don't know sounds really frustrating. But in general, it seems that alot of people don't have a good sense of boundary, so I guess this is no exception.

At the same time, if a person has gone through life never learning any manners, I'd think there's a good chance they've also never heard about the idea of "yellow ribbon on dog" = "don't pet me". And I agree with Reba: it can only work if people understand the meaning. (She's smart about these sorts of things because she was an interpreter;))

Anyway, there's still alot I don't know. Dogmom, you mentioned behaviors that are rude to a dog. (Eye contact, direct approach, pat on the head.) Can you describe (in detail) what a good approach looks like? Where do you cast your eyes if you're not making eye contact? What does an indirect approach look like? If you do make physical contact with a dog, which parts of the dog's body are ok? Where do you start?
 
:wave:tuatara,

when socialized- that is, dogs who have learned about the rules of canine social interactions and use them appropriately - greet each other, they tend to:

approach on any variation of a curve - as opposed to what you may be accustomed to see in many situations where people greet each other/shake hands in a very direct, linear fashion, a 'straight line' from one greeter to another.

avoid eye contact.
in many human cultures, direct and sustained eye contact upon greeting and discussing is expected; eye contact between unknown adult dogs is considered 'strange' at best, and extremely provocative and threatening at most.

Head pats - tolerated by some dogs, but generally NOT preferred at all and many dogs would actively show you how "disliked" that gesture is.

Head patting, direct and sustained eye contact and linear, frontal interaction are all very "primate" ways of doing things- chimps and orangutans do the same things. They reach out with their hands, they hold hands, they pat each other. They hug. Dogs as a group dislike hugs. Some dogs have learned to tolerate or even enjoy a hug from a trusted human family member.
But it is not a natural activity for the majority of dogs.

The ideal way to approach a dog- and what I do - is, approach from a curvy angle; I literally bend a bit on approach. Not looking at dog. I approach from the side and may have a slightly open mouth , blinking <in dogs - closed mouth -can- equal tension; blinking can be a calming gesture>. I have my hand down and let the dog approach to smell. I try to approach from the side and with my back more toward the dog as opposed to my front body, and may even back up a bit to come in toward the dog's side. I crouch down alongside and let the dog investigate me from that angle. I always have one eye peeking over to see what the dog is telling me, without actually staring - so I can be ready to change what I'm doing, since canine body language is VERY fast and often VERY subtle. Once I got all those steps, then I move my hand toward the dog's chest and usually start any contact there. Always watching - a dog who had her mouth open and then she closes it - that's a change I need to be aware of.
That's a dog who I was told I could approach - or, in the case of the shelter dogs I work with - that I think I can approach. Upon seeing a dog, I usually make a quick decision based on the whole of the body language- should I even approach at all. Most times dogs are giving out small "distance-increasing" signals - don't come here, I'm worried- but people miss them because they are subtle.
 
Reba, I do see what you're saying there in terms of the legal, with the ribbon. Our realtor had told a similar thing in regard to dogs and posted property signs.

I my experience as a dog trainer and personal experience with reactive dogs - the yellow ribbon/bandanna thing means not to pet or ask to pet the dog and to give some space, not crowd the dog or handler - but you don't have to cross the street.
Can't tell you in math since units of measurement mean nothing to me.

I've been around this kind of thing for some years so am used to it but I know it's newer to many.
 
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDX-440n3H0]Polite Dog Greeting Behavior - YouTube[/ame]
appropriate dog-dog greetings between multiple dogs
<remember - dog body language can be both very subtle and very fast>

opposite: classic video of "uh oh" video in dog training community
a dog intro that not so great...[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSRQ9o22KG8]One Great Snark! (slow motion dog to dog meeting) - YouTube[/ame]
 
Reba said:
It's only useful if everyone understands its meaning.

Also, how much "space" does the dog need? Is it a warning just not to pet, or does it mean cross over to the other side of the street if you value your life?
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I had to take Finlay everywhere because there was a jackass living upstairs that complained my dog barked the whole time I was gone. He was the only person in my condo that said this. So I took Finlay to a Dr. appointment and was in the waiting room, Finlay was laying down like he was trained to do and out of way of foot traffic . There was woman with a baby sitting across from us. She put her baby on the floor and he started to crawl over to Finlay and I told the mother that her baby should not be getting into a strange dog space or face. I said " My dog has a lot of training but some other dog may not " The mother looked at me as if I had two heads. I saw a mother with no brain. She finally picked her baby after I made it clear how dangerous that was. I had to raise my voice to get it through the woman thick skull.
If I had moved it would not had helped , the mother saw nothing wrong with her baby putting it face right up a strange dog mouth full of sharp teeth.
A yellow ribbon would been totally useless with the idiotic mother , she needed a brain. I really think the yellow ribbon is a bad idea , there so many crazy people around some damn idiot could actually let a dog bite them so they can sues the owner.
 
Thanks Dogmom! Very helpful explanation. Sometimes I need things spelled out like that. And I'm still watching the videos:)
 
I think the yellow ribbon is a good idea in some cases, not so helpful in others.

You're right about how clueless so many people are, WDYS!
 
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