My Dog Is Not Agressive Some Advice Please

[sallyandtex]

My staffy has one particular canine buddy we see regularly, and they race up to each other & play boistrously. This is a relationship they have developed over time. Their familiarity with one another allows for behaviour which would be seen as very rude between strange dogs.

If a strange dog raced up to my boy like that, he would like nothing more than to flatten in (and I'm not talking playing!!!).

What I'm trying to say is boistrous greetings might be appreciated by some dogs....dogs who are familiar with each other, or dogs with a similar style of play, but to a lot of dogs, it's like a total stranger charging up to you in the shopping centre & grabbing you in a big bear hug & planting a kiss on the mouth.....you would be taken aback, shocked & maybe totally freaked out, and might well sock them in the face.....whereas if your best mate did that it would probably be totally acceptable! ;)

It's etiqiette really....not all dogs play the same or like being approached by a "friendly" dog that to them appears overbearing & rude.

Ditto for us. If you are familiar with the people and dogs then Ok to play off-lead.

If in doubt, lead up until the unknown dog passes.

[lilypily]

I just simply do not take my girl off lead anymore. She is only 4kg and a few years ago two large cross breed dogs came rushing up out of nowhere and she ended up with two puncture wounds on her back

I did kick and yell and boy did the owner (well it was the owners sister who was looking after the dogs) cop an earful.

Just not worth the risk for a small dog owner. I would of reacted in the same way as the woman did.

[TrinaJ]

A and G, try looking at this from a different angle....

You are walking with your dog happily minding your own business and a larger dog 'rushes or charges' (as it is sometimes called) up to your dog with his hackles raised.

A) You dont know if this dog rushing up toward you and your dog (you also may have a child) is friendly.

B) Importantly your DOG doesn't know if this dog is friendly.

C) Your dog may not like other dogs.

D) What if the dog your lab is rushing at is dog aggressive? You are doing your dog an injustice by allowing this behaviour.

For the benefit of your dog I would recommend a long line until your dog understands that its unacceptable behaviour to just rush up to another dog or person, its bad manners.

I can almost guarantee that if this dog were black and tan you'd probably be posting today about THAT dog on this website and about how he charged at your dog ;)

All I am saying is to look at this from the other dog owners perspective

[RallyValley]

Can someone put up a link to "He only wants to say hi!' It's an excellent article and probably gets the point across much better than we can.

http://flyingdogpress.com/content/view/42/97/

Excellent, excellent article!!! Toby is a bit of a manners police and will be grumpy if another dog jumps on him, I have always told him off but will cease to after reading this (saying that I very rarely put him in situations where this could happen anymore).

Two people have said now about lab's and dog-dog manners. Out of curiosity, what do the labs do (or do wrong! ;))?

They barrel up and get right in other dog's faces.. not good dog ettiquette for meeting strangers. They also tend to be fairly physical with other dogs - a Lab putting the shoulder into or a foot on a smaller dog can do a fair bit of damage with not one ounce of aggression intended.

And their owners often seem to think that their dogs' "friendliness" to other dogs should be appreciated by everyone. Ah, nope. Not any more than I appreciated being jumped on by a friendly Lab that "just wants to say hi".

I have to take issue with this - THEY implies all Labs and that is NOT the case. It shits me that people make comments that imply all Labs are "in your face rude dogs and/or rough" with small dogs or other dogs. This is simply NOT the case and it infuriates me that ALL Labs youngsters particularly, are made out to be out of control, in your face, rude dogs. ;) BULLSH*T is what I say

Labsrule- The worst offenders I have met have been labs, this is probably a combination of the quantity of labs out there, the general view of labs as a beginners dog/family pet (normally = uneducated/inexpirenced owner) and people in generals attitude of 'oh x is just being a lab, it's what labs do'.

I know I should flame-suit up for that but I have a dog that is now wary whenever he sees a Lab and gets anxious, because of a few incidents when he was younger. Although on the flipside a calm, mature 10yo lab is my fav dog to socialize him with. :D

[Kelly_Louise]

This is the sole reason that i don't take Sash to offlead areas. I'm realistic and her recall is not trustworthy... and I will not endanger her or other dogs or frighten them when they see a large gangly legged mutt running up to them (even though she's mostly friendly to all dogs, unless they react negatively towards her). I would LOVE her to be able to play offlead with other dogs and I know how much she would LOVE it (she would love it so much it breaks my heart to say no), but I don't want to chance it - same goes for if another dog reacts badly to her, I'm afraid I won't have enough control to get her out in time. Plus, she plays rough... which is not nice for little dogs. I know that I don't like it when offlead dogs rush at Sasha, so I would never do it to someone else.

Sasha's best friends are all labs. ;) When she sees a lab, she just assumes that it's a new friend for her.

So if she wants to play offlead, she goes into a backyard of a dog she knows and has a play... but no offlead with unknown people/dogs.

Chloe on the other hand is a different kettle of fish and is a very reliable offlead dog... however, in her old age she's either going a bit deaf/defiant/selective hearing and sometimes you have to grab her before she approaches another. Lucky she doesn't move very fast

[daisygirl]

.

Labradors are notorious for not respecting other dogs personal space by the way.

Out of 13 years of owning dogs the most problems we have encountered have been with labradors attacking my poor dogs. We have medium size dogs but they still dont like having a big bouncy boofhead in the their face, especially when they first enter the park. All other dogs seem to be able to keep away from the gate but there always seems to be a couple of labradors hanging around waiting to pounce on any newcomers. The first time I took my five month old puppy but spat the dummy at them and put them in their place and they now keep pretty clear but could have turned ugly pretty quickly.

[Kavik]

Imagine a Great Dane barreling up to your Lab full pelt with hackles up gives you an idea of what the other owner may be feeling. Labs do tend to play very physically and do tend to get in other dogs faces when greeting. I avoid Labs as my dogs don't like that style of play. Mine will sniff and then go on their way and don't seek other dogs out to play or wrestle and don't like it when another dog continually gets in their face.

[Staff'n'Toller]

Two people have said now about lab's and dog-dog manners. Out of curiosity, what do the labs do (or do wrong! ;))?

They barrel up and get right in other dog's faces.. not good dog ettiquette for meeting strangers. They also tend to be fairly physical with other dogs - a Lab putting the shoulder into or a foot on a smaller dog can do a fair bit of damage with not one ounce of aggression intended.

And their owners often seem to think that their dogs' "friendliness" to other dogs should be appreciated by everyone. Ah, nope. Not any more than I appreciated being jumped on by a friendly Lab that "just wants to say hi".

I have to take issue with this - THEY implies all Labs and that is NOT the case. It shits me that people make comments that imply all Labs are "in your face rude dogs and/or rough" with small dogs or other dogs. This is simply NOT the case and it infuriates me that ALL Labs youngsters particularly, are made out to be out of control, in your face, rude dogs. ;) BULLSH*T is what I say

Some Labs are awesome but IME it takes quite a bit of work on the owners behalf to ensure they learn nice approaches etc.

I had an episode only yesterday on a training walk where the Lagotto with me was giving extremely clear signals like a neon sign that it was unhappy with the approach of a young Lab and it was me who managed to grab the dog before the owner.

Unfortunately it's the rule rather than the exception that Labs don't read other dogs very well because they're just over joyed with life, but the responsibility lies more with the owners to learn to read other dogs and their own dogs.

My dog is ruined from a Lab that rushed him out of nowhere, encroached on his personal space, put his head over my dog's shoulders - he gave my dog NO WHERE TO GO and now my dog generalises to all dogs larger than him. Until you have an experience like that and have to deal with a lifelong issue you'll never understand - I certainly didn't.

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

labsrule, we all need to acknowledge that as much as we love our chosen breeds, there may be issues with them.

In our local dog park, I was pretty surprised to learn that a Labrador had killed an old lady's poodle that I'd met a number of times, it was a harmless and sweet little old dog that certainly never bothered my dogs in any way so I can't imagine what happened.

I was almost knocked over by 3 rampaging labs in another local dog park, I have bad knees so it was a pretty painful encounter, owners nowhere in sight so I haven't been back there since.

On the other hand I grew up with a labrador which was a lovely dog although he did knock me flying on several occasions.

I have terriers now - if I let them near a cat they'd kill it, not a problem as I don't own one but I certainly don't let them get too close to my neighbours' cats.

Responsible ownership is about knowing your dog(s) well and understanding how their behaviour may affect others. It IS an offence in NSW to allow your dog to rush at people or other dogs, wherever you are. And for the person being rushed at, it can be terrifying, not knowing if your dog is about to be attacked - it happens.

Don't stick your head in the sand, grow up.

[Cosmolo]

EVERY breed has traits and tendencies we need to be awrae of. Why is it okay to say positive things about certain breed traits but not okay to say negative traits about the same breed?

Labradors typically have quite a physical style of play that doesn't suit all other dogs. I could say the same about other breeds or choose other traits about other breeds that are not considered great traits. Its not attacking a breed- its being realistic!! Doesn't always mean the dog that gets frightened has poor nerve/ temperament either. My JRT has an exceptional temperament- but he has never had to deal with strange dogs playing roughly with him (as i have not allowed it) and i have no doubt it would affect him in some way.

Remember also that sometimes a negative trait is also tied in with a positive one. On this forum i asked the question of those with am staffs and staffords about the propensity for dog aggression and whether or not this should be more of a focus for some breeders. There were some interesting answers from knowledgable breeders who suggested that some of the very traits that make these breeds "game" with other dogs, are the same qualities that can make them very good with children- high pain threshold and confidence for example. I respect people who are aware of the good and not so good qualities of their chosen breed.

[fainty_girl]

labsrule, no need to be so OTT with your last post (ETA: that has been deleted). Different breeds and dogs have different ways of playing, it is not a criticism of the breed. Not everyone would like the way my dogs play either, so if my dogs want to run around and play with another dog then I ask the owner if that is alright.

I love labradors, I think they are beautiful, but my dogs don't tend to get along with the more boisterous labs that they have met over the years...i'm not saying that every lab is boisterous. Probably in my first year of owning Jessie (stumpy tail cattle dog X) she got really spooked by two labradors who wanted to chase her and when they chased her she ended up running onto a (quiet) road.

Then my other dog Tilly (kelpie X) doesn't like dogs that gets in her face (regardless of their breed) so if she was charged by a boisterous dog who didn't give her space she would not be impressed.

My dogs like friendly, playful dogs who will run with them, but also give them space too. The only dog Tilly will play fight with is my brother's dog, but she obviously knows him well!

Edited December 20, 2010 by fainty_girl

[ozjen]

Personally I get very upset with anyone who lets their dog rush up to mine at an off lead park and did loose it with someone who continuously let her two German Sheperds rush my dogs numerous times at a park after me placing mine on lead and moving away to the other side of the park each time. Doesn't matter how nice a temperment you think your dog has, if it rushes another dog then you don't know how that dog will react and if that dog reacts negatively your dog may then attack. Is it really worth the risk to either dog. An offlead area needs owners to be more responsiable with how their dog responds to other dogs it is not an area where you just let your dog loose to do whatever it likes, owners are still mean't to maintain control at all times and this includes respecting others rights to not have their dogs rushed or bothered by other dogs. If you wish your dog to play with others then I would suggest that you put on the dogs leash to begin with and ask the other owner if you can introduce the dogs (ONLEAD TO START WITH). Even normally friendly dogs can be nervous of dogs that rush them especially if they are bigger or there is more than one. It only takes seconds for things to get out of hand sometimes with devestating results so please be a responsiable owner and think about others when you have your dog at an of lead area that way we can all enjoy giving our dogs a bit of freedom.

As a footnote, the lady with the two German Shepherds insisted that they were friendly too so much so that she was miles away from them and not in control, I was there to see that her dogs hackles where indeed up and that their body language was very dominant. My dog who I had put on lead as they approached each time was very intimidaited by them and would have reacted if I had not seen their approach and prepared her. She saw it as me having a go at the breed but it had nothing to do with the breed although two dogs twice the size of my own dogs rushing us was intimidaiting even for me as I new I could not control the situation if they did attack.

[Guest Willow]

EVERY breed has traits and tendencies we need to be awrae of. Why is it okay to say positive things about certain breed traits but not okay to say negative traits about the same breed?

Labradors typically have quite a physical style of play that doesn't suit all other dogs. I could say the same about other breeds or choose other traits about other breeds that are not considered great traits. Its not attacking a breed- its being realistic!! Doesn't always mean the dog that gets frightened has poor nerve/ temperament either. My JRT has an exceptional temperament- but he has never had to deal with strange dogs playing roughly with him (as i have not allowed it) and i have no doubt it would affect him in some way.

Remember also that sometimes a negative trait is also tied in with a positive one. On this forum i asked the question of those with am staffs and staffords about the propensity for dog aggression and whether or not this should be more of a focus for some breeders. There were some interesting answers from knowledgable breeders who suggested that some of the very traits that make these breeds "game" with other dogs, are the same qualities that can make them very good with children- high pain threshold and confidence for example. I respect people who are aware of the good and not so good qualities of their chosen breed.

I can certainly confirm that bit I was once politely nudged by my Staffy only to turn around to find him with a bitey cat completely wrapped around his head, while he patiently waited for me to untangle it ;)

Very patient also with my 8 month old, who is still at the stage of "pat pat pat GRAB"....he barely notices, bless him (disclaimer, in case it's needed...no, I don;t allow my cats or my child to torment my dog....but these things can happen when different species are learning how to interact with one another)

[OSoSwift]

I agree that any breed of dog rushing at mine would put me on the defense.

I have Whippets and if a large or solid dog managed to body slam them they could be badly injured. Not only that if my bitch feels threatened and cornered she will react and snap. I have a real problem if the aggressor then retaliates and bites my dog injuring her or killing her. She is 11 kgs so not very big.

If a large dog rushed at mine I would kick at them if I thought in any way there was a worry of an attack. I have caught a border Collie X GR that launched at my Whippets as the owner didn't even try and call the dog as it wouldn't come back. They were coming up a pathway that lead from the beach to their car which was parked on the side of the road??????? Yep really good that one!

He was oh sorry. I had the leads of my two in one hand and caught the collar of this dog before it got to my dogs in the other hand and hurt my wrist while i was at it. The dog ahd no hackles up but if it had of hit my dogs with the velocity that hit my wrist when I grabbed it my dogs would have been hurt.

Don't let your dog run up to other dogs. Please. To many dogs get hurt because people allow them to. If it were my dogs you would have copped a mouthful as well.

[MissMaddy]

Ironically, my female GSD, who I used to take to offlead parks regularly as a puppy, developed the habit of rushing up to dogs with hackles up (unsure, she didn't ever attack, and I stopped it very quickly) because of the dog park, and the other dogs she met there. Although she is now trained enough to take, I don't take her as I find them just too stressful (and I now live on 12 acres so they self exercise). In the majority of them, the people don't read the bit about "under reasonable control".

My younger 2 dogs (an entire male GSD and female rotty), are both great with other dogs, and I would purposely avoid dog parks with them, as the idea of getting rushed (or attacked) I just don't want to deal with (and given the rotty's age, I imagine a bad experience could be very damaging). The ones I'd go to near my mum's have big regular groups, so the dogs develop a pack, and the people don't give a stuff if their dogs are rude, rush, hump yours, or have no recall.

Neither of my younger dogs have ever been to an offlead park (aside from KCC park with known dogs), and they are the most balanced, easy to manage dogs with others.

[Dxenion]

Over here in WA, the dog act states that a dog running towards you can be considered as an attack.

One of our dogs has been attacked three times in a public area by dogs not on a leash (twice as we walking on lead down the middle of a quiet street). The attacking dogs in each incident were off leash and not under effective control of the owner and in every case, the owner said to us afterwards that their dog had never acted that way before. It's no consolation considering that in each event, the actions of the irresponsible owner (not keeping their dog on a leash and under effective control), left me standing with a bleeding dog that got such a fright he evacuated his anal glands.

As a result, our dog is now fearful when other dogs run up to him and only intensive positive reinforcement behaviour training over 4 years has lessened the chances of a fear aggression response (ie get the other dog before it gets me). Our dog is nearly 5 and we will have to deal with this for the rest of his life. One of our other dogs was also attacked by an off leash dog when she was 6 months old. She's 11 years old today and still has issues. I now have to make a split second judgement call about the possible intent of every off leash dog heading in our direction whilst controlling our own dog's response. It seems that so many people are ignoring the leash signs or the law stating that the dog must be under effective control that we have resorted to one of us playing at the park with the dogs (on lead) whilst the other acts as a lookout for any other dogs in the area. It's a stressful way to live and deprives us of the joy of being together with our dogs.

Whilst it frustrates me how restrictive dog access now is in public spaces, I respect the leash laws as my dog has been physically and psychologically injured three times because the other dog's owner didn't keep their dog on a leash.

I think that the best environment for happy natured dogs to enjoy greeting and playing with other dogs is in a doggy day care centre. Everyone who attends the centre is fully aware of the rules and in general, only well socialised dogs are allowed in the group play sessions.

Edited December 20, 2010 by Dxenion

[Mason_Gibbs]

I have a lab, he greets other dogs and has a sniff, he does not body slam or play roughly with other dogs ( he will only do the wrestling thing with his best mate, another lab). I think many people who know him will agree that he is very well mannered and knows his size. Not all labs are evil creatures risen from the depths of hell. There are good and bad examples of every breed out there. Labs always get the bad end of the stick, my lab has been attacked 2x on lead by German Shepherds but I dont generalize and say that all GSD's are aggressive. He has also been chased by 5 chihuahua's but I dont post every 5 minutes about how rude and yappy that breed can be.

[geo]

Owning 2 larger bull breed dogs we try hard to make sure the dogs play with other dogs in a controlled environment. This was especially important for our male as he's 18months now and we didn't want him becoming DA just because some random dog rushed him at a park.

Lucky for us he's turned out great and is dog friendly, he even had a big ridgeback come and pee all over his lawn without any dramas ;) though he made up for that!!

However they will run up to other dogs, they won't go near the dogs if they're on lead but if they're off they may have a sniff... So we do not let them off around strange dogs nor do we let them off where we may encounter other dogs... we've had the odd occasion where they've seen other dogs and it's been fine but it is not exceptable for them to do this.

[Aussienot]

Labradors often have a play style that is "crash and bash". They are very physical in their play, and not sensitive about personal space. This style of play often earns them a label of 'bully' in puppy preschools, which is unfair. They are not the only breed that plays this way, but probably the most popular breed. I love Labs, but because they are friendly, happy and playful (and big) they come across as massive and clueless and possibly threatening to more soft and sensitive types of dogs.

So it's just a matter of style of approach. It doesn't mean your dog is aggressive, or bad, or a bully, she's just misunderstood by some other dogs and their owners. Your Lab has no intention of causing offense, but that doesn't mean she doesn't offend some dogs. Responsible dog owners do not let their dogs rush up to unknown dogs under any circumstances. If you don't have a recall that allows you to stop your dog charging, she shouldn't be off lead.

Edited December 20, 2010 by Aussienot

[raz]

I just spoke to the council as well and I don't have anything to worry about in an off leash park as she has not actually done anything.

ummm i guess thanks!

Hmmm that's interesting - check your council website. If the woman is as upset as she comes across in your OP I'd suggest you watch your back and cover all bases (infact I'd be staying out of the park unless it's empty). This is what it says on my council website

Using off-leash areas

To ensure off-leash areas are safe and enjoyable for everyone, please consider other users.

Keep your dog in sight

Your dog must be under control by voice

Pick up and dispose of all waste correctly

Do not let your dog rush at or harass other dogs and people

Keep your dog on a lead until it is inside the fenced area and put it back on a lead before leaving