The trick to get a shy, but friendly, dog to like you is eye contact. Dogs looks for eye contact as a sign of trust and safety.

Unlike cats. Dont ever look a stranger cat in the eye if you want them to let you pet them. Cats use eye contact as a sign of aggression between them.

Little dogs are very wary of me but with any contact soon calm down. Large dogs however are all really nice from the start.

Dogs can smell people’s emotional states. They smell the adrenaline in people who are afraid and infer danger. They smell oxytocin and whatever else when people are in love. They read body language, well. They know. When you love dogs, they will love you.

When I go to the dog park, all the dogs hang out with me, sometimes even more than with their owner, and the owners comment on it with a mix of humour and jealousy. They go back to playing for a bit then come back to me for more affection. My wife calls me DoggyJesus because I have so many apostles.