Pets

By Mrs Nwoke

My name is Ukwuoma Nwoke and am Munachiso’s mom. Pets are wonderful additions to any family. They teach children how to be responsible for another living creature, are wonderful companions, and an integral part of any family. While a pet that has lived with you knows you and vice versa the same is not true about a strange pet. For example, your dog may understand what you mean when you whistle in a certain way, snap your fingers or slap your thighs but a strange dog may have no clue what you are communicating when you do those things. On the flip side, you are able to easily understand and interpret your dog’s vocal and non-vocal languages that others may not easily understand. Therefore it is necessary to take certain precautions when meeting a strange pet for the first time. 

When you meet a strange dog for the first time please do not pet or communicate with the pet except the owner indicates that it is safe to do so. If the owner gives the go-ahead then gently pet the dog. Please don’t poke the dog with sharp objects and don’t throw stones or other harmful objects at the pet. As you pet the dog it will sniff around you to memorize your signature scent and then you will be registered under the ‘friend’ column in the pet’s mind.

When entering a dog’s ‘territory and the dog starts barking please this is not necessarily a sign of aggression. The dog could be alerting its owners to the presence of an intruder and or warning the intruder that the territory is already taken. So when a dog starts to bark please don’t run. 

Dogs always run after running objects. This is instinctive and not necessarily a sign of aggression. Wait calmly for the owner to reassure the dog and let it know you are a friend. Please don’t attempt to calm the dog yourself as the dog may not understand what you are trying to do. Let the dog sniff you so it registers you as a friend 

Thirdly when meeting a strange dog for the first time you must speak in a calm and gentle manner. While the dog may not understand languages the dog recognizes tone and sound. For example, if you say I Love You in a harsh tone, the dog will react to that harsh tone because it does not understand language. Well-trained dogs are able to associate certain sounds with certain actions which is how they learn to sit, shake, rollover etc. So let your tone be very mild and gentle when talking to an unfamiliar dog. The dog would react well.

Pets are an amazing part of any family. For your safety and the safety of family and friends, it is best to train your dog formerly. For family dogs, you can easily go on YouTube to find videos that will help. However, if you have a dog you intend to be a guard dog or you have a dog whose natural temperament is aggressive (these usually make better guard dogs) then it is best to have such dogs trained specially by experts. The Nigerian Police has a very good K9 department and they train non-police dogs. There are also expert trainers all over the place. Just ensure that wherever you take your dog to, beating is not part of the curriculum.

These simple steps will keep you safe when you encounter a strange pet.