Colin the lowchen cross knows what life is like for a dog in a human’s world. With a little help from Geoff at Kuri, he opens up about why he and his doggy mates don’t always want their ears rubbed or your hand stuck in their face.

Have you ever wondered what it's like to live in a world of humans when you're a dog? How I feel, why I do what I do and what my amazing senses allow me to process through my eyes, nose, mouth and ears?

One of the biggest myths is that all dogs are sociable all the time, or should be. Is every human sociable? No. Does that make them bad humans? Of course not. It may mean they like their own company, they like to do other things or that they're happy in their own world.

For our humans, that means reading the signs for when we are not feeling sociable and don't want to be pushed into groups of humans or other dogs. We will do that with body language or our voice, or we will try to run away, look scared or pull on the lead.

So don't take me to a dog park if I growl at the other dogs or bark at them, or I walk around the fence and ignore them. It may be I'm not sociable, or I'm tired, sore, scared, have a headache or not feeling well. It could be that I'm older and can't keep up with the other dogs, or that I'm getting picked on.

Please don't be angry if I'm quite happy hanging at home with my humans and generally enjoying life. Just like the people that love reading books, lying on the beach, hanging out on their own, climbing mountains – it’s about having a choice. We dogs rely on our humans to ensure we get to choose what we like to do.

Don’t force me to greet humans either. In my world, humans are angry bears. What else in nature stands on two legs, has arms dangling by its side and is very tall? A grizzly or black bear. When they're angry, they stand on two legs too. So it's no wonder when some humans approach me I feel scared. I'm trapped on a lead or I’m in my house and can't run away. That’s when I revert to my natural instincts.

Just like humans, I have three options: fight, run away or freeze. My instincts tell me the best form of defence is attack. Then my humans and I get in serious trouble, all because someone thought I liked my ears being pressed against the side of my head and rubbed frantically. Imagine if I ran up to a human and did that to them? They would not be impressed.

What humans don't understand is that I can tell by taste and scent exactly how you are feeling. With the right wind direction I will know from 3km away. So here's a tip: never approach a dog. Always let us approach you. The abilities nature gave us mean we will know how you're feeling – be it angry, sad or friendly.

Please don't put your hand out for me to smell it. My nose can detect two cells of a virus inside the human body, so I know what you smell like. Sometimes your fingers will look like sausages, and I love sausages, so don't offer them to me if you don't want me to taste them. If I want to meet you I will come to you, I promise.

So please try to understand how I feel. I understand how you feel. The more you know about me, the happier we will both be.

Geoff manages Kuri, which offers daycare and other specialist canine services from its central-city base. Colin loves hanging there with his doggy mates and the team of friendly humans.

kuri.co.nz