Fun Questions to Ask Dog Owners
Twenty questions for the dog park, a vet waiting room or a new neighbor: how the name was chosen, the funniest thing the dog has done, the odd habits, and what makes them nervous.
The questions
Open any question for the note
What's your dog's name, and how did you land on it?
Why ask it
The name is the one thing every owner is happy to be asked, and the story behind it is usually about them rather than the dog: a band, a grandparent, a shelter card they did not want to change. It also means you can use the name for the rest of the conversation.
What's the funniest thing they've ever done?
Why ask it
Owners have this answer ready and enjoy telling it. Expect stolen food, a bark at a reflection, a stubborn refusal to walk past one particular gate. Nobody needs to justify anything, which is why it works as an early question.
How did the two of you find each other?
Why ask it
Phrased this way it covers breeders, shelters, strays and inheriting a relative's dog without implying anything about which is better. Adoption stories are often more complicated than they look, so take whatever level of detail is offered.
What's their favorite thing in the world?
Why ask it
Deliberately absolute, which produces a specific object rather than a category: one squeaky toy, the hose, a particular neighbor. It also tells you what to have in hand if you want the dog to like you.
What weird habit do they have that you've stopped noticing?
Why ask it
The second half is what makes this good. Every dog has a routine that would look bizarre to a stranger, and owners only recognize it when asked. Circling before lying down, sleeping in the bathroom, one toy carried everywhere.
Is there anything they're scared of?
Why ask it
The most practically useful question here, because the answer tells you how to behave: no sudden reaching, no umbrella, no standing over them. Ask it early if the dogs are about to interact, and act on the answer immediately.
How do they let you know what they want?
Why ask it
Every dog develops its own signals, and describing them out loud shows how much interpretation an owner does daily: a stare at the lead, a paw, a specific whine. It also shows how well they read their own dog.
What do they do that you're convinced no other dog does?
Why ask it
Invites a claim, which is more fun than a description. Half the answers turn out to be common to every dog on earth, and the owner usually discovers that mid-sentence, which is part of the pleasure of asking.
Do they have a party trick, and does it work in front of an audience?
Why ask it
The second half saves the owner from a failed demonstration and usually gets a laugh. Notice whether the trick was trained deliberately or invented by the dog, since owners are often prouder of the second kind.
Who's their favorite person, and is it you?
Why ask it
Frequently produces a rueful answer, because the favorite is often the person who feeds them or the one who visits rarely. A low-stakes way for an owner to be honest about being second choice in their own house.
What are they like on a walk compared to at home?
Why ask it
Most dogs are two different animals depending on setting, and the contrast is more interesting than either half. It is also the polite way to ask about pulling, barking or reactivity without making it sound like a complaint.
What's the strangest thing they've eaten?
Why ask it
A reliable story, and often a vet story. Socks, a whole birthday cake, a corner of a wall. Owners tell it as comedy, but listen for the moment it stopped being funny, because that detail is usually the real anecdote.
What's the most unexpected thing you've spent money on for them?
Why ask it
Better than asking about cost, which can be a sore subject. Answers range from a dog raincoat to a stair ramp to an emergency at 2am. It lets an owner be either self-mocking or serious, and they will pick.
How did they change your day-to-day life?
Why ask it
Aimed at routine rather than feelings, so it produces something concrete: earlier mornings, shorter holidays, a new set of acquaintances at the park. Owners who say nothing changed are usually the ones who reorganized everything.
What did you get wrong at the start?
Why ask it
A small confession that most owners are glad to make, and one that puts them on equal footing with anyone struggling with a new dog. Expect crate training, too much freedom too soon, or a first vet they should have left sooner.
How do they handle other dogs, and what do you do when it goes badly?
Why ask it
Asked directly and practically, this prevents most dog park incidents. The second half tells you whether the owner has a plan, and an owner with no plan is worth giving space to rather than judging.
What's the best thing about their breed, and what should nobody underestimate?
Why ask it
Works for mixed breeds too, since owners have theories about what is in there. The warning half is the useful part, because it comes from experience rather than a breed description: the shedding, the stubbornness, the need to work.
Where do they sleep, and was that the plan?
Why ask it
Almost nobody's answer matches their original intention, and admitting that is the joke. It also quietly tells you how the household negotiates rules, which is often more about the humans than the dog.
What's a moment with them you still think about?
Why ask it
Set late, because it can go somewhere quiet. A recovery, a bad night, a day they stayed close for no reason. If an owner has recently lost another dog, this is where it will come up, so leave room for it.
If they could talk for a day, what would they complain about first?
Why ask it
Ends on a joke that still requires the owner to see things from the dog's side. Bath times, the neighbor's cat, being made to wait outside a shop. Answers are funnier and more specific than the flattering version of this question.
Talking to Dog Owners, and Meeting the Dog
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Before You Talk to the Person, Deal with the Dog
Ask before touching, every time
Ask can I say hello, then wait for a spoken yes, then let the dog approach you rather than reaching over its head. Owners of nervous, reactive or working dogs spend a great deal of energy on people who skip this, and asking marks you out immediately as someone worth talking to.
Read the harness and the lead
A yellow lead or a vest reading in training, do not pet, or nervous is a request, not decoration. In those cases open with a question about the dog rather than an approach, and stay where you are.
Watch what happens at your feet
If the dog turns away, yawns, licks its lips or hides behind its owner, the conversation should move away from the dog. Keep talking to the person and stop looking at the animal, which usually resolves it.
Do not offer food without asking
Allergies, prescription diets, resource guarding and training programs are all common reasons a treat is unwelcome. Ask, and accept a no without negotiating.
Match the Question to Where You Are
In a vet waiting room, keep it to the name
Some of the people in that room have had bad news. Ask the name, say something kind, and let them decide whether to say more. The story questions on this page are for a park bench, not a waiting room.
At the dog park, ask about fears and other dogs first
The practical questions are not small talk there, they are safety. Get the answers before the dogs are off lead, and repeat them to anyone else who arrives.
With a new neighbor, ask about routine
Walk times, whether the dog barks when left, and who to call if it gets out are the questions that make you a good neighbor. Then move on to the funny ones.
Be ready for the dog who has died
Ask how long you have had them and you will sometimes get a past tense. Say you are sorry, use the dog's name, and do not immediately ask whether they will get another.
What to Leave Out
- Guessing the breed out loud, especially with a rescue dog whose history is unknown.
- Training advice nobody asked for, and any opinion on the collar, harness or method you can see.
- Asking why the dog is not neutered, trained, thinner or better behaved.
- Comments on cost, or asking how much they paid for the dog.
- Breeder versus shelter arguments, which have no good version in a first conversation.
- Asking about a limp, a scar, a missing eye or a cone. If it is relevant, they will tell you.
- Picking up, kissing, or putting your face level with a dog you have just met.