This week, I had the plumber out to fix the leak and some other jobs. On Tuesday, he came alone and went back and forth between the upstairs bath and the access hatch in the kitchen downstairs to fix the leak. The dogs stayed out back for the duration. Then he worked on the downstairs bathroom. The drains were not draining properly. While the dogs were outside, he snaked the drains to no avail. So he went out the front and around to the back while I brought the dogs inside from the back. He then replaced the drain assembly from under the house. Then he looked at the toilet (that wobbles) and realized he needed another person to assist in that repair. Through it all, the dogs were good. Cat-dog had no issues. Tornado-dog barked on and off but was his happy self. We scheduled the toilet repair for Thursday. As one person would be in the house and the other would be out back, I decided that I would keep Tornado-dog on a leash with me. I knew I could keep Cat-dog from pestering them, so it was just keeping him from trying to play ball with the plumber while he worked. So, with that plan, when they arrived at the house, I brought Tornado-dog out front on the leash to meet the plumber and assistant. The plumber said hello to him and all was good. Then the assistant came to say hello. She did everything right. She let him sniff her hand and she was very nice to him. Suddenly, out of nowhere, he snapped, growled, and ran away from her. He has never done anything like this before. She did nothing to him. But something seriously scared him. He exuded that fear scent afterwards. After that incident, she went under the house and Tornado-dog sat on the couch with me while the plumber worked from inside. Once they finished, she drove off, and the plumber did the paperwork (all electronic). Tornado-dog was his usual self and showed the plumber his hedgehog toy and invited him to play. He showed no signs of any fear or hesitation. But something DID happen. It might have been a smell, or maybe static electricity when he touched her, or maybe even something totally unrelated (like a bee buzzing past at that moment). Whatever it was, it turned my happy friendly dog into a scared dog who snapped. She was very understanding and didn't take offense or anything. I still felt very bad about it. She did everything right and was very nice to him. He wasn't a bad dog or a problem dog. But it still happened. And for that I think it is worth telling. No matter how friendly your dog is. No matter that your dog has never growled or snapped at anyone before. No matter that you do everything right. Sometimes your dog will react in an unexpected manner for some unknown reason. Years ago, I stopped using the phrase "he's friendly" when introducing my dogs to others. I noticed that too often when that phrase is used, people tend to jump past the introductions with the dog. And that sometimes results in the dog getting scared. Instead I say something like "he's a good boy". It doesn't present the same "it's OK to skip the introduction and jump right into getting in the dog's space" assurance that the other does. And if something DOES happen, like yesterday, I don't feel that I mislead anyone or lied about my dog.
Very important lesson. Thank you for sharing. A couple of times in the past, another dog owner has walked up to me and my dog(s) [at the time], and basically shoved their dog at mine, while saying "He's/She's friendly!" Another thing: Children, or even adults, who walk up to you and ask "Can I pet your dog?", but don't wait for an answer. Their hand is on your dog before they finish the question.
