I found a really informative article on what to do if you get threatened by an aggressive dog and how to approach dogs in general to avoid such from happening.
First things first, why might a dog seem threatened or unsure about a person approaching them? For many reasons… such as they are unsocialized, have been abused by humans in the past, protecting their young, get surprised, etc. Most of the time it's because the dog hasn't been socialized correctly. In the case of pet sitting, we always do an initial consultation to meet the dog before having the pet sitter in the home with the dog by themselves. The initial meeting helps ease the dog, but we still have to be careful on how we approach the dog when the owner isn't around. Too many times the dog will act differently when the owner is not there, so you should always approach with caution.
How to approach an unfamiliar dog:
1) Hold out your hand, fingers closed, palm down, slowly toward the dog. Allow the dog to approach your hand and sniff it.
2) Wait for the dog's "OK." If he wants your affection, he will lower his head, perk ears, or even come closer to you. If the dogs puts his ears back, flat on his head, or growls, or cowers, don't pet him!
3) Pat the dog on the top of his head, or along his back. Avoid touching his belly, tail, ears, or feet.
Also, avoid direct eye contact with the dog during the initial meeting and stay calm. The dog can sense your nervousness if you are unsure about approaching him. Don't ever walk up behind a dog because you are likely to startle him. Don't get down on his level and get close to his face immediately. Give the dog time to invite you in to love on him. Just hanging around the dog without talking or touching or making eye contact for a while will help ease the dog and let him know that you are not a threat to him.
The article also goes on about how to treat a dog bite in case you do get bitten and how to keep your own dog free from any aggression towards people and other dogs. Hope this information is helpful to other pet sitters out there.
