This morning I delivered a farm tractor to a, well, farm. I pulled up and stopped at the place, climbed out of my truck, and immediately heard ferocious barking a little way from me and moving closer, fast.
It was a medium sized black dog. There was a larger dog loping along behind her but he wasn't barking, just running along for the hell of it. I stood my ground and waited for the barking dog to get closer. I was watching her the whole way.
She was barking madly but her tail was wagging the whole time. Ok, I know dogs and this is the type that can go either way on you depending upon how you react. She ran right up to me, barking the whole way. I locked eyes with her just before she stopped, and spoke to her in a semi-firm voice "Well, hello to you too. Good dog, behave yourself!"
She stopped and looked at me, growling now. I presented the back of my hand to her muzzle so she could smell it, a canine version of an introduction. She was confused and all in one motion she sniffed my hand and bumped her teeth against it. She couldn't decide whether to bite or back down. I kept my eyes locked on hers the whole time, which told her I consider myself superior to her and I wasn't afraid.
It worked. While she continued to stay very close to me and bark once in a while she let me move around. Every time I felt she was moving in a little too close I would stop and look her in the eye again and tell her to behave herself. The other dog, the larger male, was very friendly and just wanted to play.
I would pet him and scratch his ears, all the while looking the female in the eye as if to say "This would be you if you behaved better".
I walked to the farm house just to find no-one was home. I walked back to my truck, with my two canine escorts, and called the farmer's cell phone to let him know I was there. When he answered I let him know I was parked out front. He warned me about the female dog and I let him know we had already met and both dogs were keeping me company.
By the time he got back to the farm from town I was playing fetch with both dogs, at the suggestion of the formerly aggressive female. She had carried the big stick over to me and, after we played tug of war with it for a couple of minutes, I took it from her and tossed it. Both dogs raced each other for it and then fought with each other to see who would carry it back to me so I could toss it again.
The farmer climbed out of his pickup and just shook his head. He told me he figured I would be sitting up in my truck to get away from the bitch because she didn't like most people. I just shrugged and told him I have a way with dogs and understand them. He agreed I must have and repeated she doesn't like most people at all. I think he was a little unhappy that I had managed to make friends with her.
The entire time I was working around the trailer unchaining the tractor so it could be unloaded she kept coming up and nudging my legs with the stick, wanting to play some more. I just kept telling her "Not now, I'm busy". When I finally finished and was ready to leave I took another couple of minutes to toss the stick for her again before I climbed into my truck to leave.