Paws-itive Perspectives: Avoidance

By Angel Dumoulin on December 18, 2025.

In my free time, meaning when I’m not playing with a dog, I am forced to hang around with humans.

Because I spend so much of my time analyzing and changing behaviour with dogs, I tend to carry this skill over to my life with humans too. I love watching people! Humans exhibit some very interesting body language, just like dogs do.

Recently, I worked at the exit door of a large business, handing out free flyers, advertising upcoming holiday sales. Some people walked right up to me to see what I had to offer and were quite friendly and approachable. Others were a bit standoffish but with some coaxing, I convinced them to take my flyer home to take a look. Most people though, avoided me like I forgot to wear deodorant on a hot summer day! Looking the opposite direction and pretending I wasn’t there was the most popular move but there were many who veered off to avoid any contact with me. Some scrounged through their purses like they had lost something, some looked intently at their feet. Many just looked at the opposite wall. All of them were avoiding having to speak to me and say those three little words, “No thank you”. I was smiling, friendly, and giving them the option of saying yes or no to what I was offering. The pressure of having to speak to a stranger, speak to just one more person in general after being over stimulated by being in a busy, crowded store at the beginning of the holiday shopping season, having to pause even for a second when they could see how close they were to being out of the store, just plain exhaustion at the prospect of what they still had to do the rest of the day, are likely just a few of countless reasons they avoided me so intensely.

What does all of this have to do with dogs, you ask? Put your dog in this position. You can see the “friendly” dog at daycare or the dog park. They try their best to get the attention of any of the other dogs. Some dogs will approach to see what he has to offer, some others will eventually approach, with some coaxing from the over-friendly dog. But so many dogs show all the most obvious avoidance behaviours they know, they avert their eyes, sniff something super interesting for too long, back themselves into a corner in an attempt to avoid conflict or conversation, hide, just to avoid saying those three little words, “No thank you.”

What inspires us to force our dogs into social situations that we would never put ourselves into? What if, instead of forcing your dog to interact with every dog they encounter, you show them that it’s okay to acknowledge the presence of others but it’s not necessary to make contact with them.

I have yet to greet a stranger walking down the sidewalk with a hug and kiss, but I have nodded and said hi as I pass them by or ignored them completely. Perhaps we could allow our dogs the same respectful greetings or even lack of greetings.

Angel Dumoulin of Funny Farm Canine is a positive reinforcement trainer with 20+ years of experience, dedicated to humane, science-based methods that build trust, cooperation, and joy.

Emphasizing compassion and respect, she fosters a partnership between dogs and owners without fear or force-only motivation, play, and clear communication. Her philosophy, “dominion over domination,” champions empathy and understanding, allowing each dog’s unique personality to shine. Play. Learn. Wag!

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