I work in a store and tried to bend down to be friendly to a dog and he growled and stared at me. Why?

[Girlr59]

I was staring in his eyes

[FunkyMonkee]

First thing you should probably do is hold your hand out towards his//her nose to let them smell it and get your scent.
Dogs tend to just love me on site! Somebody walks their dog past me and the dog spots me and stares at me excitedly the entire time as it passes me like it wants to play with me. I tend to treat them kinda like little kids. Wave to them with my fingers and cheerfully say, "Hi!" Act like I want to play with THEM! They mostly just KNOW that I'm someone they can have a good time with.

[Girlr59]

Thxx

[FunkyMonkee]

No problem, hope it helps.
After it smells the back of your hand, you SHOULD be able to gently move it towards its head and start petting without issue.
Another way to try to win them over is to have a box of dog treats on hand so, when they come in, you can offer them one to make friends with them.

[Sparkie460]

You're supposed to squat down and slowly put your hand out for the dog to smell before you try to pet it. The dog felt threatened by you bending down like that.

[mandyfire98]

Some dogs feel you're invading their space if you stare into their eyes

[boggboss]

Because he didn't like u doing it probobly worried meh

[hyperben]

like humans, some dogs are affable and friendly, also like humans, some dogs are just jerks!

[MikeInHawaii]

About 95% of dogs like me. There are exceptions, though. Some, like chow chows, tend to like their owners and no one else.

[Imsmurter1]

Cause dogs are stupid. I hate dogs. People who like dogs are idiots

[KrakenAttackin]

He wants you to leave him the fuck alone.

[Anonymous]

Don't stare in his eyes, duh.

[Anonymous]

Dogs can sense things, or it’s just a mean dog.

[Brad951]

He was mad