The eyes have it....

Dogs read our body language much better than we do theirs... But even more so, they look to us for help in making decisions when unsure or fearful...

Sparky at ease in a volunteer's arms

When exposed to new situations, they look to us for clues as to their need of being worried about this new thing or situation faced with... We see this happen a lot at the rescue shop when someone is doing a 'meet & greet' with their dogs and one of ours... I personally prefer to take both dogs on lead and AWAY from the owner, for dogs will look to their owner and/or can fail a 'meet & greet' test if the owner is apprehensive about how the two dogs will get along...

We humans like to be needed and wanted... For many of us, our dogs supply this feeling of self-gratification... And yes, I've seen people 'emotionally cripple' their dogs through repeated reinforcement of this need in them... To the point, that when a dog cowers and seeks shelter from meeting a new dog, the owner will reinforce this behavior... "Oh, does that other dog scare you?  I'm sorry... come here to mommie" and cuddles follow...

Or the dog approaches a strange dog with tail between their legs, ears back and a 'sad sack' attitude... Tough to make new friends this way, especially when I believe humans want their dogs to get along with other new dogs...

Sparky looking for direction from another volunteer
after the flash of the camera startled him.

There was a study done this year at the University of Michigan that involved 'social referencing' (link).  When I read it, I was reminded of 'homework' I've handed out to folks regarding training their dogs to accept strangers easier... Ask some acquaintances to meet you at a park one morning, bring your dog and spouse, have your spouse hold the dog on lead and when meeting each acquaintance, make a show to the dog of much joy and intimate contact (such as hugging) of this new stranger (to the dog)... Seem (and feel) happy to your dog and with repeated conditioning, your dog will quickly learn that meeting strangers while out on a walk is not a reason to charge them...

Same process applies to teaching a dog that new dogs are a good thing and not a bad thing... Especially if you have a few dogs that already know this behavior... At the rescue shop, we periodically pair up dogs that are suffereing from shelter shock with dogs we call 'stabilizers' - dogs that regardless of the situation faced with, will remain loving and friendly towards new humans... It doesn't take long for these shelter shocked dogs to realize that his roomie buddy looks forward to people and their interactions...

Remember, your dog looks to you for direction... If you are apprehensive about an oncoming stranger and/or their dog, your dog picks up on it right away!