Dog Kissing Booths - Nice In Theory But Bad In Practice

In this, my second recent post about people interacting face-to-face with dogs, I have to comment on something that I'm bumping into more and more often these days: Dog Kissing Booths.

I don't want to come across as a downer or kill-joy, and would hate to be thought of as some type of internet 'hater' who is always ready and willing to disapprove of just about anything, because my goal is this: 

• To promote dog bite risk awareness.
• To promote appropriate and safe interactions with dogs.

Quite unknowingly, people (especially children) regularly put themselves in a position to be bitten by a dog, and it just so happens that interacting face-to-face with a dog is a common cause for people to get bitten. When a dog bites it will likely never be fully trusted again or perhaps it will be 'given up on' of in one way or another, so when a dog bite happens, everyone loses... including the dog.

Education Is the Best Prevention

Education is generally accepted to be the best form of dog bite prevention, and one of the important steps within that process is to promote appropriate and safe interactions with dogs. However, by doing so we also need to point out inappropriate and risky interactions... which leads me back to the topic of dog kissing booths.

For many organizations and not-for-profit societies it's an absolute necessity to fund-raise. Simply put, it's just an economic reality and there are all sorts of ways this can be done, however, somewhere along the line, the notion of changing the occupant of the old fashioned 'carnival kissing booth' from human to canine popped into someone's head.

Nice In Theory But Bad In Practice

On the surface I totally get the appeal of the "dog kissing booth" idea because it's chock-full of warm-and-fuzzy feelings and cute photo opportunities. It's a nice idea in theory but it's bad in practice.

To be clear, I'm not saying it's a "bad idea" because I think the people lining up to be smooched are in an immediate risk of being bitten (that is, assuming the dogs being chosen are exceptionally social, exceptionally tolerant of being approached face-to-face, and being closely watched for signs of stress). What I am saying is that it's a bad idea because the kissing booth promotes and perpetuates the notion that face-to-face interactions with dogs are appropriate and safe. 

Among the strongest proponents of dog bite prevention education are animal welfare groups and dog rescue organizations, so you can imagine my astonishment when I see some groups within the welfare/rescue community promoting dog kissing booths for their own fund-raising purposes. 

Is It Just Me... Or... ???

I have made efforts to contact some welfare/rescue groups to express my concern about their promotion of face-to-fact interactions through their kissing booths but I was unable to make much headway. They either couldn't understand my point or didn't want to acknowledge it. The conversations went something like this:

Me: I think that having a kissing booth sends the wrong message about face-to-face interactions with dogs.

Typical response: "Oh you don't have anything to worry about. The dogs we're using are completely bomb-proof. We're really careful about that."

Me: Yes I'm sure the dogs are wonderful and will do well, but my point is that the kissing booth sends a message to people that face-to-face interactions with dogs are appropriate and safe.

Typical response: "Well with these dogs there's really no risk. We make sure they are really social and well-adjusted, and we've never had any issues at all in the past."

You get the picture...

Most Dog Bites Come From 'Known' Dogs

I know, I know. You're probably thinking, "I've had dogs all my life and this would never happen with my dog." but there's interesting statistical evidence that should provide a well-meaning 'wake up call' for all dog guardians:

• In the majority of dog bite incidents, the dog was either the family's own dog or it was a dog that the victim knew (ie: belonging to a neighbor, friend or other family member, etc.).

In my mind, this information points to people employing a more relaxed set of rules around their own dogs (or dogs they are familiar with) thus allowing more 'liberties' to be taken when interacting with the 'known' dog as opposed to more strict rules for interacting with an 'unknown' dog.

In closing, I'm going to repeat some information from my previous post "People Going Face-to-Face With Dogs: Adorable or Dangerous" as published in the Animals and Society Institute policy paper entitled "Dog Bites: Problems and Solutions (Revised 2014)":

• Statistics indicate that the majority of dog bite victims are children.
• 67% of injurious dog bites to children have been shown to be preventable by changing the child's or the caregiver's behaviour in interacting with the dog.
• One study about dog bites to children found that there was no adult present in 69% of the cases studied.
• A study in 2008 published in Journal of the American Veterinary Association (2008) found that parents generally lacked knowledge of factors that were likely to increase the risk of dog bites to children, even when they were supervising child/dog interactions.

So, in the light of those statistics, education to promote appropriate and safe interactions with dogs is so very important, even if it means risking being labelled as the 'no fun police' when pointing out which interactions are inappropriate and risky.

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Make Sure Your Dog's Ball Isn't A Choke Risk

Lots of dogs absolutely LOVE to play ball so it's very important to make sure the ball is big enough so that it doesn't pose a choking risk.

Have a look at this quick video of "Charlie" catching an appropriately sized ball that I have tossed to him. When the ball is approaching head-on there's a lot of momentum (especially when the dog attacks the ball like Charlie does) so it's possible for a too-small ball to slip past the dog's teeth and tongue and go straight into its throat.

One of my clients told me this very thing happened to his dog. The ball was lodged too far into the dog's throat for him to remove by hand, and the only thing that saved the dog from asphyxiation was the fact that the ball had holes in it which permitted air to pass through (lucky!). This allowed my client to get his dog to the vet and have the ball removed successfully.

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People Going Face To Face With Dogs: Adorable or Dangerous?

Sometimes it feels like no matter what you say or do, there is always someone who tells you it isn't safe, it's not healthy, or it's not a good idea.

And if one of your friends or family members don't feel the need to tell you, there will certainly be scores of people on social media eager for their chance to set you straight (at least in their eyes).

A preface like that can only mean one thing, right? Yup you guessed it, because now it's my turn to step up and say:

"Hey, you people creating and sharing all of those "cute" and "adorable" photos and videos where someone is pushing their face into a dog's face... that's not safe!" 

It's a mouthful to say, I know, but it's important to say nonetheless.

The problem I have with these supposedly "cute" and "adorable" images is that they reinforce the mistaken notion that that this type of face-to-face interaction is an appropriate and safe way to interact with a dog. The more this type of interaction is seen, the more people get conditioned to view it as a normal (thus safe) thing to do with a dog. After all, look at all the social media comments saying, "Awwww... how cute!" and "That's so adorable!"

Generally speaking, face-to-face interactions with dogs is not an appropriate or safe thing to do, but I'm not trying to say that it's unsafe for all people, with all dogs, at all times. Ultimately, your safety is dependent on whether (at that specific moment in time) the dog will willingly accept that type of interaction with you... and I put heavy emphasis on the word "willingly".

All Dogs Are Different - Some Things to Consider

• Some dogs are less tolerant than others.
• Just because a dog loves your pats and strokes doesn't mean the dog will welcome other types of interaction.
• Just because a dog was okay with your face-to-face interaction previously doesn't mean he'll be okay with it the next time.
• Just because a dog lets one person have face-to-face interactions doesn't mean the dog will let others. 
• Just because a dog lets someone have a face-to-face interaction, it doesn't mean the dog enjoys it.

What I do emphatically want to say is that (A) people should not introduce themselves to a dog in this manner, and (B) children should never be allowed to interact with a dog in this manner at any time.

From my experience I have no hesitation in suggesting that, outside of obvious growling and menacing-sounding barking, the vast majority of people don't recognize or understand the 'warning signs' dogs communicate when they are stressed, anxious or fearful. So if you do not understand canine body language yet you want a close encounter of the face-to-face kind; in my opinion you are rolling the dice when it comes to having a safe interaction. 

"Much of the exposure to dog bite injury risk can be mitigated by providing appropriate education to well-intentioned but misinformed guardians and to the general public at large." ~ Janis Bradley (Animals and Society Institute - "Dog Bites: Problems and Solutions" Policy Paper - revised 2014). 

What's That Dog Trying To Tell You?

Examples of dog body-language that say "I'm not comfortable with what you're doing" include:

• Attempting to move away from you. 
• Turns it's head away.
• Avoids direct eye contact.
• Wide eyes (showing the whites around the outside edges).
• Yawns.
• Licks its lips.
• Panting.

Examples of dog body-language that say "I'm very uncomfortable with what you're doing - please stop now!" include:

• Raised lip.
• Shows teeth.
• Snarl or growl.
• Air-snapping of jaws.
• Freezes (a bite is imminent).
• Bite.

Keeping Children Safe When Interacting With Dogs

Statistics indicate that more children are bitten by dogs than adults and, in the majority of dog bite incidents, the dog was either the family's own dog or it was a dog that the victim knew (belonging to a neighbour, friend, other family member, etc.). 

The importance of this information cannot be over-stated, because it dispels any notion that parents can employ a more relaxed set of rules (thus allowing children to take more 'liberties') when interacting with a 'known' dog as opposed to a 'strange' dog.

As published in the Animals and Society Institute policy paper entitled "Dog Bites: Problems and Solutions (Revised 2014)": 

• 67% of injurious dog bites to children have been shown to be preventable by changing the child's or the caregiver's behaviour in interacting with the dog.
• One study about dog bites to children found that there was no adult present in 69% of the cases studied.
• A study in 2008 published in Journal of the American Veterinary Association (2008) found that parents generally lacked knowledge of factors that were likely to increase the risk of dog bites to children, even when they were supervising child/dog interactions.
  
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