"Doug Kanter" wrote
This is a serious question: What's the most effective, yet socially
acceptable way to get SOMEONE ELSE'S dog to stop jumping on you,


John Gaquin wrote:
Dogs don't understand English. At best, they have a tenuous, rudimentary
grasp of a few English words, but they're really just unintelligible sounds
that sometimes produce a desired result. You have to speak dog. Widen your
eyes, stare directly into his eyes, bare your teeth way back, and growl deep
in your throat, loud. If he's smaller than you and thinks you're highly
****ed, he'll back off. Works for me.


Risky and time consuming. I'd suggest taking the dog by the
loose fur on his back just before the shoulderblades (it is
a little further back than "the scruff of the neck" but if
you get a handfull of scruff of the neck, that'll work too)
and hold the dog away from you, with his front feet off the
ground momentarily, then set him down and push him down just
a little further.

This is dog language for "I'm bigger & stronger & smarter
than you, not to mention the advanage of opposable thumbs."
It also engages the reflex of all puppies when carried by
their mothers... to go limp and be submissive.

I would not bare my teeth & growl at a dog unless I was
either very sure he was going to submit, or was holding a
machete. Even a medium dog can tear holes in your hide if he
decides it's time to throw down. Many dogs will not back
down for a strange human, especially if they have any chow
genes.

FWIW I agree that dogs don't speak English, but if you raise
them to be oriented towards human speech, and pay attention
the their signals, you can communicate amazingly well with them.

Regards
Doug King