I’m especially proud of my boxer mix Lally today. We were out for a walk and she let three little girls pet her.
Why is this a big deal? Lally isn’t as easygoing as my other dog Moose is. Moose loves everybody. When we’re out walking, Moose will gravitate towards any person he sees, hoping for some attention and affection.
Lally is far more skittish. She gets nervous around strangers. She gets very agitated when children are running towards her. Other things that frighten her include bikes, skateboards, scooters, motorcycles, bouncing balls… let’s just say that a walk with Lally is full of potential obstacles.
When we left the apartment for a walk this morning, we found three of our neighbors outside playing together. I’m not the best judge of ages, but I’d put them under ten. Maybe eight or so? The dogs and I have encountered and interacted with the girls before, but usually only briefly. (One of them will loudly tell anybody she sees that I’m her neighbor and that she’s met my dogs before. The other one stopped me one day to ask what types of dogs Moose and Lally were. So cute!)
“Can I pet your dogs?” One of the little girls asked. I’m SO happy when people ask first! Moose was already waddling towards her, so I said yes. I watched Lally carefully to see what she’d do.
Lally went right up to the girls, lifting her head to sniff their faces. (Lally is a breath checker. She likes to know what you’ve been eating.) The little girls gave both dogs pats and rubs, and then one bent over to hug Lally around the neck. Lally just stood there, tail slowly waving. I was SO PROUD!
If Lally had been agitated or frightened, I would have kept her close to me and asked the girls to only pet Moose — nothing bothers him and he loves the attention. But she seemed to be okay when the kids approached, and my trust in her paid off!