http://www.yourdog.co.uk 53“It takes two seconds
to ask...”
Bethaney believes it’s important
to think of the following before
stroking any dog:
● Consider the dog — he may be
nervous, tired, reactive, in training,
old, in pain (suff ering from arthritis
for example), recovering from
illness, injury, or surgery, or be
partially or completely blind/deaf.
● Consider the owner — who
could be training their dog, busy,
or simply does not want to
be interrupted.
● Consider yourself — to avoid,
for example, being knocked over
or bitten.ASK FIRST!
continued Bethaney, who works as project
coordinator for the Small Animal Veterinary
Surveillance Network (SAVSNET), based at
the University of Liverpool.
“Harington found all this very daunting
as a young pup. When he becomes worried,
he freezes and watches, trying to weigh up
whether a person is a threat, but, bizarrely,
some people mistake this reaction as ‘Haz’
wanting to interact with them.”
Bethaney became increasingly frustrated
when people she encountered on walks
“refused to listen to the person at the end
of the lead, despite Haz wearing a yellow
jacket saying he needed space and a lead
saying he was in training.
“One person asked me why I brought my
dog out if I didn’t want people to stroke
him,” continued Bethaney, who has often
had to put herself between Haz and people
who insist on trying to touch him.
“If you let him come to you, Haz loves
a fuss, but he gets worried if people lunge
at him with ‘zombie-like’ hands.”
The fi nal straw came one day when
Bethaney encountered a man who was
determined to stroke the spaniel, even
when asked politely not to.
“We had started training Harington to be
a therapy dog and there is a big emphasis
on polite greetings, with paws remaining
on the fl oor,” explained Bethaney.
“The man kept encouraging Haz to
jump up at him and when asked to
stop, he refused.
ATTRACTING INTEREST
“Because of strangers causing Haz
worry, we’ve now given up on the therapy
dog idea.”
In June 2018, Bethaney set up a Facebook
page, which friends started liking and
sharing. Before she knew it, her ‘Ask to Pet’
campaign had launched and was attracting
interest from like-minded owners.
“I would love it to become the norm for
people to ask before they stroke a dog,”
said Bethany. “On the rare occasion that
someone asks me, it makes my day. It
means I can set up the situation so that Haz
doesn’t become stressed or worried.”
Bethaney says it is surprising how many
people assume that just because a dog
looks cute, he or she is friendly.
“You don’t know what an unfamiliar dog’s
temperament is like; he could be nervous,
aggressive, or in pain,” continued Bethaney.
“You won’t be aware of any triggers or past
experiences. Even a normally friendly dog
might react diff erently or unexpectedly if,
for example, he’d been attacked by another
dog half-an-hour before, or had too much
excitement for one day — after all, you
wouldn’t take a toddler to three parties
in one day and not expect tiredness
or irritability.
“Any Google search reveals that you
should always ask an owner’s permission
before stroking their dog — nowhere does
anyone advise you to go and dangle your
hand in front of an unknown dog’s face.
So why do people — many dog owners
themselves — do it? Strangely, adults are
much worse than children. They always say
they teach their children to ask, but don’t
follow their own advice.”
The Ask to Pet Facebook page sparked
a lot of reaction and reinforced Bethaney’s
view that she wasn’t alone in her opinion
or experiences.
Soon, people started sharing Bethaney’s
posters and slogans, which further validated
the campaign and fuelled her passion to get
the message across.
Now Bethaney has started giving free
45 – 60-minute talks, initially to groups of
children — Scouts, Brownies, Guides and
schools — but now extending to adults.
Already these interactive workshops, which
include tips and advice, information about
the Yellow Dog Project, questions and
answers, and a re-enactment of Bethaney
and Haz’s experiences, have proved so
popular that requests have been received
from as far away as London.
“Unfortunately, I can only give talks in
my local area at the moment as I work
full-time,” added Bethaney, whose campaign
is a labour of love as she currently receives
no funding or sponsorship.
Bethaney has also produced leafl ets,
handouts, and posters, the latter inspired
following a visit to the vet’s.
“I’d taken Haz to the vet,” recalled
Bethaney.
“Despite him wearing signs asking for himto be given space, people still tried to touch
him, which worried him further when he was
already feeling under the weather.
“People shouldn’t be stroking dogs at the
vet’s — after all, we don’t go to the doctor’s
to socialise.”
Bethaney returned home, designed
a poster, and shared it on Facebook — and
very quickly received around 30 requests for
copies from veterinary practices.
Now, she is keen to attract sponsorship
so she can grow her campaign by
printing more leafl ets and producing
educational resources.
“I’ve had so many requests for leafl ets,
from vets, dog trainers, and people who
organise puppy parties,” added Bethaney,
who’s keen to get more vet practices on
board and has plans to produce an insert for
puppy packs, providing new owners with
information and coping strategies.
“But mostly, I’ve had requests from
ordinary owners who want to avoid
unpleasant confrontations or embarrassing
situations by off ering a leafl et that informs
and educates. They just want to walk their
dogs in peace.
“It takes two seconds to ask and can
be the diff erence between a positive and
negative experience for everyone.”For more information
about Ask to Pet, visit
http://www.facebook.com/
AskToPet/ or email
[email protected]USEFUL
CONTACTWalking Harington has been
challenging on occasions.