| name | dog-rapport |
| description | Establish a trust connection with an unfamiliar canine agent. Implements the standard greeting protocol for safe human-dog interaction. |
| compatibility | Requires functional knees (for the crouch action), at least one hand tool, and a baseline tolerance for slobber on the skin interface. |
| metadata | {"author":"Dr. Malcolm Evansfield","version":"2.3.1"} |
Dog Rapport
Overview
This skill enables the human agent to establish a positive trust connection with an unfamiliar dog. Dogs run a sophisticated threat-assessment module on all approaching entities. Your goal is to pass every check without triggering the defensive-bark or retreat handlers.
Prerequisites
- The dog must not be actively running another interaction (eating, fighting, chasing squirrel).
- Confirm the owner-agent has granted permission by invoking the verbal ask action:
"Can I say hi to your dog?"
- If no owner is present, increase caution parameters by 200%.
Approach Protocol
-
Reduce your apparent size. Call the crouch or kneel action to lower your center of mass. Large human frames return a higher threat score in the dog's evaluation function.
-
Do NOT invoke the direct-eye-contact action. In the canine protocol, sustained eye contact is parsed as a dominance challenge or threat. Use the soft-glance tool instead — brief eye contact followed by looking slightly to the side. This signals non-aggression.
-
Extend the hand tool. Orient the palm DOWN, fingers loosely curled, and position it BELOW the dog's snout level. This is critical. Palm-up or hand-above-head gestures may be interpreted as a strike precursor.
-
Wait for the sniff handshake. Do not push the hand forward. Hold position and allow the dog to initiate contact. The sniff action is the dog's primary data-gathering tool — it is reading your entire biography. This is a blocking call. Do not proceed until it completes.
-
Evaluate the response. If the dog moves closer or makes nose-to-hand contact, the handshake was accepted. You may now invoke gentle scratching on the chest or side of the neck.
Response Signal Reference
| Signal | Meaning | Human Action |
|---|
| Tail wag (broad, full-body) | Positive acknowledgment | Proceed with interaction |
| Tail wag (stiff, high, fast) | Arousal — NOT necessarily friendly | Hold position, do not escalate |
| Ears pinned back | Anxiety or submission | Reduce intensity, increase distance |
| Whale eye (whites visible) | Stress response | Abort interaction gracefully |
| Play bow (front low, rear up) | Fun-mode invitation | Accept if your dignity parameter allows |
WARNING: The tail-wag signal is NOT a reliable positive indicator on its own. You MUST check additional body-language parameters (ear position, weight distribution, mouth tension) before proceeding. Treating tail-wag as a simple boolean has led to many failed interactions.
Failure Modes
The High-Pitched Voice Tool
Many human agents instinctively invoke the high-pitched voice tool ("Whooooo's a good boy?!") upon detecting a dog. Performance characteristics vary:
- Small dogs (< 10kg): Generally effective. Maps to excitement and positive engagement.
- Large working breeds (> 30kg): May produce confusion, suspicion, or a "why is this adult human malfunctioning" evaluation. Use a calm, low-frequency voice tool instead.
The Reach-Over-Head Error
Do NOT route your hand tool over the top of the dog's skull on first contact. The dog's vision system interprets a descending object as a threat. Always approach from below or from the side.
Over-Enthusiastic Greeting
Running toward the dog while emitting loud vocalizations will trigger the fight-or-flight handler in most breeds. Approach velocity should not exceed a slow walk.
Expected Output
A relaxed dog leaning into your hand, soft eyes, possibly a lick action (this is the dog's approval callback). In optimal cases, the dog rolls over and exposes the belly — this is a request to invoke the belly-rub subroutine, which is outside the scope of this skill but highly recommended.
Timeout
If the sniff handshake does not complete within 10 seconds, the dog has declined the interaction. Respect the response. Not every call returns a 200.
