aussielover Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 The other day at the park a young dog (a bit smaller than Mindy) came running up my puppy and initiated a game of chaseys. They then started playing bitey faces together but the owner got all stressed and thought Mindy was being aggressive The other pup looked to be enjoying itself and wasn't squealing or anything. Neither of the dogs were making any noise at all. I tried to explain that they were just playing, but the woman did not believe me. So I called mindy away and started playing with her elsewhere. The other pup kept trying to come back and play, but the owner kept shouting at me to keep my aggressive puppy away. Really I think she should have taken her dog away, seeing as she was the one who was uncomfortable with the situation, she shouldn't have let her dog keep running back to mine, especially when I had made an effort to move away from her. Her dog had no recall at all either. I usually call Mindy back to me when I see another dog enter the park, but she was already playing with another friend and the other puppy ran up to her before I could do anything. my question: Can a puppy of 15 weeks be truly aggressive toward another dog? Should I have apologised to the other owner because she felt my dog was aggressive? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loraine Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 I do not think you did anything wrong. It is obvious that the other owner has no clue as to dog behaviour. The dogs were not being aggresive, only playing puppy games. There are many people who own dogs, and care for them well, but have no damned idea about what socialisation means, no idea about puppies playing. I'd be avoiding the silly woman in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meea Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 I do not think you did anything wrong. x2. You will hear alsorts of things about peoples preference on doggy behaviour but dogs is dogs. If they are both happy...no harm no foul! Meea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brennan's Mum Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 I think it sounds like the other woman over-reacted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W Sibs Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 Nah.. the owner doesn't understand dogs playing behaviour. You did the right thing of leaving them... it's the lady's fault for not taking her pup away! In puppy school, a lady was scared of letting her puppy play with Emmy because Emmy is very passionate (growling, barking and launching herself on other puppies) about playing with other dogs sometimes. So, we don't let the pups play together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussielover Posted July 22, 2010 Author Share Posted July 22, 2010 Thanks, i feel a bit better now, i don't like the idea of someone trying to avoid me in the park though because they think my puppy is aggressive though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilypoo Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 I think you did the right thing... You took your dog out of the situation to make the other owner feel better. Its not your fault that they cant control their dog.. Im gonna hijack the thread abit here... We had a situation last night at obedience training that put us in an awkward situation... My Great dane was doing everything perfectly. We were in the middle of class and she had only eyes for me, next minute a ladies Bull Mastiff can hurtling towards Bella at full pelt... It obviuosly took Bella by suprise and scared her a little.. She ran behind me and was trying to get away from the other dog... I asked the lady to control her dog and she just mosied on upto us in no real hurry and said they were only playing.. What got my goat up was that Bellas body langauge was deffinatley not a playing one.. Her heckles were up, teeth were bared, tail in between her legs and a small growl was coming from her, all the while trying to hide behind me... I am all for dog socialisation but in a controlled manner.. Obviuosly if 2 huge dogs like a Dane and a Mastiff (he was huge, larger than standard, definatly pure as he is in the ring... 8months and 70kilos) were to go each other, there would be very little a group of women in a playing feild could do... Needless to say the rest of training was a shambles.. Bella was always looking over her shoulder to see where the other dog was.. Sorry to over take, but like I said I think you did the right thing.. If only all owners would do that.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussielover Posted July 22, 2010 Author Share Posted July 22, 2010 Poor bella! I thought they were meant to be on leash for obedience sessions (unless you are very advanced, therefore dog would not be runniing away uncontrollably). I would have thought it was up to one of the instructors to tell them off. Sounds like a potentially dangerous situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diva Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 (edited) Im gonna hijack the thread abit here... We had a situation last night at obedience training that put us in an awkward situation...My Great dane was doing everything perfectly. We were in the middle of class and she had only eyes for me, next minute a ladies Bull Mastiff can hurtling towards Bella at full pelt... It obviuosly took Bella by suprise and scared her a little.. She ran behind me and was trying to get away from the other dog... I asked the lady to control her dog and she just mosied on upto us in no real hurry and said they were only playing.. In that situation I'd tell her you were in the middle of an exercise that she had just ruined and that you decide when your dog plays, not her. Doesn't matter if he is friendly or not, I'd be very grumpy that a good training session had been ruined and your dog's attention spoilt. Aussielover it doesn't sound like you or your pup did anything wrong, you tried to move away and her dog followed. Her problem was having no recall. Edited July 22, 2010 by Diva Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilypoo Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 Poor bella!I thought they were meant to be on leash for obedience sessions (unless you are very advanced, therefore dog would not be runniing away uncontrollably). I would have thought it was up to one of the instructors to tell them off. Sounds like a potentially dangerous situation. No definatley not advanced... My dog most of the time has spagehetti for brains ... We are in the puppy group and some how the mastff got loose from his lead... I think he may have broken it because the lady was holding it different for the rest of the class... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilypoo Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 Im gonna hijack the thread abit here... We had a situation last night at obedience training that put us in an awkward situation...My Great dane was doing everything perfectly. We were in the middle of class and she had only eyes for me, next minute a ladies Bull Mastiff can hurtling towards Bella at full pelt... It obviuosly took Bella by suprise and scared her a little.. She ran behind me and was trying to get away from the other dog... I asked the lady to control her dog and she just mosied on upto us in no real hurry and said they were only playing.. In that situation I'd tell her you were in the middle of an exercise that she had just ruined and that you decide when your dog plays, not her. Doesn't matter if he is friendly or not, I'd be very grumpy that a good training session had been ruined and your dog's attention spoilt. I was extremly pissed to say the least... She headed our way after class and asked if he could play... I promptly told her no as her dog had upset bella (and she was still scared of the dog) , and walked away... I will not put my dog in a situation that she is uncomforatble with and one that I couldnt control if it went bad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tilly Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 I definately think the owner was over-reacting and you did the right think by taking your dog away. Unfortunately you can't get through to some people and it is best to walk way. Many years ago I tried to explain to an owner of a very small young dog that it wasn't a good idea to turn up to an ofleash park and drop the dog over then fence while he chatted on his phone (with his back to the yard) ... particularly when there was a large breed dog that he didn't know already in the yard. His view was that if the dog wasn't friendly it shouldn't be in the park. I tried to explain my boy was friendly but as he was over 40kg (and a very much rough and tumble pup) and still a young puppy and his was such a small pup could easierly be hurt accidentally - and it would be a good idea just to check with the dogs owner (given it was an unknown dog) before dropping the pup in the yard. His view didn't change - that the dog shouldn't be there if it wasn't friendly. I couldn't get him to understand that for his pup's safety it would be better to double check first - I put my pup on his lead and left. Our off-leash area is a smallish area that is generally empty during the day - except for a regular afternoon session which a number of doggy owners attend. Outside of the regularly afternoon session you can use the off-leash area by yourself a majority of the time - which is great for owners who don't want their dogs playing with others but still want them to have some off-leash time. It is normal practice during the day that if you take your dog to the off-leash park and there is someone already in there to talk to them over the fence first to see if it is ok to bring your dog in - otherwise you can go for a walk and then come back later to use the park. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dee lee Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 I dont think that any real harm was done and the woman overreacted by saying your dog was aggressive BUT... in a dog park I believe that you need to be respectful of the other owner's wishes. It doesnt really matter whether you thought the playing was ok, if the other owner doesn't think so then you both should take your respective pups/dogs away. We all have different thresholds of what we find acceptable play but I have owned a DA dog who I believe learnt to be aggressive from overly rough playing as a pup. Of course there were other issues with her, but I wish I had taken my pup away when my gut instinct told me to, instead of listening to other owners saying "dont worry, they are just playing!". The woman sounds like she is just being cautious. Pups dont need to rumble to be socialised. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pikespooches Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 I do not think you did anything wrong. It is obvious that the other owner has no clue as to dog behaviour. The dogs were not being aggresive, only playing puppy games. There are many people who own dogs, and care for them well, but have no damned idea about what socialisation means, no idea about puppies playing. I'd be avoiding the silly woman in the future. One can also relate that to children Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirawee Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 my question:Can a puppy of 15 weeks be truly aggressive toward another dog? Should I have apologised to the other owner because she felt my dog was aggressive? To the first question - yes a 15 week old pup can be truly dog aggressive. My kelpie learnt to be DA when contained after a young pup owned by a friend ripped into my girl when she was tied up. The pup was only about 3-4 months old and my girl was about a year old! And it was definitely the pup that started it as we were there to quickly break it up just too far away to stop it occuring. From what you are saying though it sounds like your girl was playing like a typical pup not being DA. To the second question - not necessarily. You did the right thing by stopping your dog playing. I probably would have been quite vocal to the other person if they didn't then control their own dog, rather than feeling a need to apologise ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavik Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 In this scenario, since her dog kept coming up to yours to play, it is not your fault. You did the right thing by moving away when she asked (it is nice to move away when someone doesn't want their dog to play with yours), but after that it is her responsibility. She should have control of her own dog and a better recall if she does not want her dog coming up to yours. I understand the other lady's fears, as sometimes play does look rough, and I am now careful not to allow rough play with strange dogs, but if I am worried, I move away. I do get annoyed if the other dog has no recall and keeps annoying us or coming up to us after we have gone the other direction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 Some dog owners don't have a clue.. they think any growling or mouthing from a pup is "aggression". Right or wrong, the owner sounds best avoided. I feel sorry for her pup though. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesP Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 If I had walked away and the other dog followed me I would have been less then polite if the other owner had yelled at me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adnil444 Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 Silly woman - if her puppy didn't like it, it wouldn't have come back for more! Simple as that. The woman probably hasn't been to puppy school etc to find out what is normal play behaviour and what is not. You did the right thing and I would just ignore that woman in future. Take your puppy away to play with other dogs/pups at the park. The more your pup meets and plays with the better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adnil444 Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 I dont think that any real harm was done and the woman overreacted by saying your dog was aggressive BUT... in a dog park I believe that you need to be respectful of the other owner's wishes.It doesnt really matter whether you thought the playing was ok, if the other owner doesn't think so then you both should take your respective pups/dogs away. We all have different thresholds of what we find acceptable play but I have owned a DA dog who I believe learnt to be aggressive from overly rough playing as a pup. Of course there were other issues with her, but I wish I had taken my pup away when my gut instinct told me to, instead of listening to other owners saying "dont worry, they are just playing!". The woman sounds like she is just being cautious. Pups dont need to rumble to be socialised. Agree, but the other dog kept coming back for more - to me that would mean that the dog enjoyed playing with the OP puppy. If the other dog didn't like it, he wouldn't keep going back for more. The OP did do the right thing and move away, but the other woman was over reacting in my opinion as her dog obviously was enjoying the game but she wasn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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