How to Interact with a Dog – Respecting Personal Space

While many people recognize and address the physical health of their pets, the same cannot always be said for their pets’ mental well-being. Sadly, I’m not surprised, as some people fail to recognize the importance of mental health in humans, believing behavioral issues are character flaws rather than symptoms of illness or distress.

Behavior problems with pets are on the rise. Often, they occur due to an aspect of a pet’s mental health and emotional well-being.

Feeling Safe

Every dog, like every person, has a personal space bubble. Each person defines their “personal space bubble” at any given moment, and every dog typically does the same.

I’ve modified a definition of personal space found at Oxford Languages to:

“Personal Space is the physical space immediately surrounding an individual, into which any encroachment feels threatening to or uncomfortable for them. An individual’s personal space may vary depending on several factors; the environment, the individual(s) encroaching on their space, the emotional status and behavior of either party, or many other factors.”

When a person invades the space of another; for example, hugging or kissing someone without first asking permission, they may, in some legal jurisdictions, be charged with criminal assault. Ignorance is not an excuse for human-to-human misconduct, nor should it be an excuse for human-to-dog conduct. It is the responsibility of others to recognize the signals a dog or human is giving and to respect the other individual’s space.

In other words, you are responsible for always asking for and receiving consent from a person or dog before encroaching into their physical space. Unfortunately, many people are unaware  of how a dog expresses consent or believe that a dog does not have the right to give (or withhold) that consent. This gap in understanding dog body language  and respect for a dog’s personal space is likely responsible for some dog bite  incidents.

Canine Communication

Canine body language is all about saying “Yes, you may come closer” (a distance-decreasing signal) or “Stop, you are making me feel uncomfortable” (a distance-increasing signal). A dog consenting to interact with you will approach you with a loose and wiggly body and an open mouth with the tongue hanging out to the side. Those are some of the visual cues  dogs often use to say, “You’re safe; let’s interact.”

If a dog chooses not to approach you, that is one way of saying, “Please stop; you make me feel uncomfortable.”

Other visual cues that communicate “Stop! Stay away!” include avoiding eye contact, blinking excessively, cringing, groveling, lifting one paw, lip licking, slinking away, rolling over, walking away, and yawning. If you see those signals, you must immediately stop your approach; if you fail to do so, the dog may bark, growl , lunge, snap, and bite.

The illustration above indicates how a dog’s personal space may vary. The dog at the top is happy and relaxed, with a much smaller space bubble (red and yellow areas) and a much larger safe space (green area) versus the frightened dog in the middle and the angry dog at the bottom.

The higher a dog’s level of arousal, the more space they may require. Please show empathy in this situation. You may not see something as a threat, but if your dog does, that fear is genuine to them.