Please can I stroke your dog?

I was out with Polo yesterday, just giving him a quick break to stretch his legs and have a wee.

A group of young people were heading in my direction and a young man approached and asked if he could stroke Polo. I explained that Polo can be nervous. Polo has never snapped or bitten anyone but being reactive I cannot 100% trust how he will be with any stranger approaching him to touch him.

From the group behind I heard a lady tell the man to stop where he was and stand still, so I guess she overheard me saying about Polo being nervous and it was becoming apparent that the fellow possibly had some sort of learning disability.

I asked him if he would like to give Polo a biscuit and he said he would. So I handed him a treat from my pocket asked Polo to sit and told the man to say Polo's name and throw the treat. He did exactly as I instructed and Polo caught it.

This guy went back to the group grinning from ear to ear and Polo had a positive experience from a stranger without being made to feel uncomfortable. A nice compromise, I felt.

Good out come for all.

It's so nice for everyone when it goes right isn't it

Thats a lovely, positive story for all concerned.

Nice one, good thinking on your part.

Awww that is nice to hear. Animals can be amazing to sense when someone has learning difficulties.

Yes, I didn't want to disappoint the man, as he obviously likes dogs and wanted to interact. This way he was able to, without any risk of it going badly and Polo was perfectly happy with the situation too.

A lovely solution

That is a really nice story to read with a really good positive outcome

Harry

Fantastic, and good thinking on your part