Actually the secret is letting the dog sniff your hand first. This way you kinda introduce yourself. This makes it far more likely the dog will be ok with pets. How do I know? I am this meme.

[–] KreekyBonez@lemm.ee 16 points 2 years ago (1 children)

also works with cats. and, importantly, let them approach you. if a cat thinks it was their idea to be pat, then they will love it so much more.

[–] tdawg@lemmy.world 5 points 2 years ago

Yea was going to add that too. A lots of animals base their familiarity off of smell. Let them get comfortable with how you smell and more often then not the pets are welcome