[Jorski]

My son was out running an errand in the neighbourhood a few months ago. Outside of the building there was cop with a police K9 German Shepherd. He was just waiting for his partner, not working at the time. My son struck up a conversation with him, asking about the dog. He then asked if it was ok to pat the dog. The policeman asked him if he knew about working dogs. He explained that we had a working line shepherd at home, and they started talking about igp, and K9 training and our pup's lineage. The policeman said, well, you understand that he may grab your arm or hand, that he won't bite, but he wants to put everything in his mouth, and that may include you. He then said it would be fine to pat the dog. The K9 had perfect manners and stability and he got a good chin scratch out of it.
The K9 handler, basically screened my son before allowing contact. I should point out that my son is a twenty year old, not a young child who might move suddenly or scream and panic if the dog did something.
It all comes down to knowing your dog and judging who is asking to pat your dog.