Quote Originally Posted by skipper View Post
If I were to bump a dog it would be to know were he stands maturity wise. You don't even need contact to be honest. Just face him and you'll most often know. If not A quick bump will let you.
Of course you need contact, it's all about the contact.

Allowing your dogs a back yard barkoff is telling you nothing about those dogs, other than they'll show aggression when faced with other dogs; although usually a good indication, it's not a clear indication that he's on, actually going over and taking hold is, and that's why you need contact because you'd be a fool to judge a dog on how it acts.