lilmisssascha83 Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 Ok this might be a silly question. But does anyone's medium to large dogs have issues with smaller dogs ( mainly poodles or maltese dogs?). I just can't work this out. Today Sash and I were playing in an offlead area when a man came with his two smaller poodle/maltese dogs. Sasha went over to say hi and then the man started yelling at me saying that Sash was attacking his dog. His dog started making like yelping noises. The owner picked up one of his dogs and was yelling at me. Sasha was jumped by a poodle type dog before so I don't know if she remembered any of it at the time. I went to see if his dog was ok. But he just kept yelling at me saying his dog has been attacked before and to watch my dog. Yet before this happened he was saying how it was ok the dogs can say hi. Before this happened all I heard was his dog barking at Sasha. She was not barking or showing any aggressive signs. She was a rescue dog who I have had over a year. We have been doing obedience training at dog school and came second in the advance exam and now have the title of Good Companion. We now are in the transition class. She has been around poodles and small dogs before with no issues. She even played with a maltese and a toy poodle at the beach. So I just don't know. Is it possible for dogs not to like every dog? Is it possible she reacted to the other dog barking at her when she was being nice in her greeting? Unfortunately her recall isn't the best and we were working on it at the time when he came with his dogs. I have had her behaviour assessed at dog school, and by 2 behaviourists. I have been told she isn't an aggressive dog but just don't know what happened. I feel awful about it all. I did try to see if the other dog was ok and it looked ok and there was no bleeding but it was difficult when when man was yelling abusively at me then running away. I will be talking to school again this weekend about it. I practice her recall every day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weasels Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 Hi lms, sorry this happened Dogs can absolutely take a dislike to a type of dog or an individual dog, but if you didn't see it you can't really know what went on. *some* owners of little dogs that I've met are a bit over-sensitive. I once had an elderly couple freak out because my girl (16kg dripping wet) took a few steps towards them from 20m away (she just wanted to see if they might throw the ball for her). One of them grabbed their little dog and the other walked towards her shoo-ing and waving his arms. Fortunately I was watching and she is our dog with great recall so I just said her name and she came running back to me (which was actually quite satisfying after their overreaction :D). I've also seen little dogs screech just when another dog is near but not touching them, so that may not be anything solid to go on either. Point is, I wouldn't freak out just yet, especially if this hasn't happened before. Maybe just be aware it might be an issue and perhaps put your dog on a lead if you see this guy again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekhbet Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 it can be a few things. A controlled environment like a dog club can be very different to the real world. If the smaller dog exhibits erratic behaviour and bad body language it can incite larger dogs to make a beeline for it. And they tend to be real screamers hence exciting larger dogs further. In hindsight unless you know the dog I tend to stay away from other peoples dogs in uncontrolled circumstances especially the little ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty Miss Emma Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 Nekhbet's point about dog club vs real world is something to really consider. Kenzie is the perfect good citizen at dog club can meet almost any dog, however out in the real world is often reactive to almost every dog we see out on the street. She's not too bad at off lead parks, but at the moment she just can't meet any dog in the street but if she saw them at dog club it would be a totally different story. So think about environment, maybe that's playing a bigger part than you thought? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilmisssascha83 Posted October 21, 2011 Author Share Posted October 21, 2011 Thanks for your replies. I was watching her behaviour but i admittedly wasnt right next to her and she wasnt displaying and aggressive behaviour in her greeting. maybe she got to close to the dog when greeting. Maybe the other dog doesnt like others after being attacked.and displayed some kind or behaviour to her. just seems odd as when we have gone to the beach there are mainly small dogs there and we have never had an issue. she says hi and plays nice or gives her ball to them lol and comes when i call her. but ill keep her on an extra long lead so she can still play ball. thanks everyone i was so worried but your words have made sense Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
**Super_Dogs** Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 One of my dogs also have "issues" with small white dogs. She has had this issue since she was very young. At training when she was younger she was be under control in a stay then suddenly bolt to the small white dog. I spoke to my trainer about it and she said much the same as Nekhbet has said. My dog would respond to the erratic behaviour, she would then run over and the dog would bark, which is a squeeky bark, exciting my dog further. What I noticed with my dog it was an equisitive response, but to the other dog owner they interpreteted in as aggressive. Also unfortunelty the dog owners I has experiences with at the dog park did not help this situation by picking up their dog and getting in a tizz. They would response like this as soon as my dog started running over!! One day when I was at the dog park and this happen, the lady who owned the small dog was there with her brother. When she picked up her dog her brother got up her telling her she is making the situation worse. It does not help that my dog with these issues is a Rotty (a breed alot of people are unsure about). If I am at the dog park and a dog arrives that I know my dog will respond to like this I watch my dog closely and as soon as she gets that look......I just leave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiara&Heidi Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 But you didn't actually see your dog do anything wrong, did you? Chances are the people with the little dog are just wary of bigger dogs after their little one had been attacked. Personally I don't take my Stafford or Chihuahua to dog parks because if I can't be 100% sure that nothing will happen I don't think it's worth it. If you do go to dog parks there are a lot of people with strange ideas about dogs and who can't necessarily read dogs body language at all, so you just have to be careful around those people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilmisssascha83 Posted October 22, 2011 Author Share Posted October 22, 2011 One of my dogs also have "issues" with small white dogs. She has had this issue since she was very young. At training when she was younger she was be under control in a stay then suddenly bolt to the small white dog. I spoke to my trainer about it and she said much the same as Nekhbet has said. My dog would respond to the erratic behaviour, she would then run over and the dog would bark, which is a squeeky bark, exciting my dog further. What I noticed with my dog it was an equisitive response, but to the other dog owner they interpreteted in as aggressive. Also unfortunelty the dog owners I has experiences with at the dog park did not help this situation by picking up their dog and getting in a tizz. They would response like this as soon as my dog started running over!! One day when I was at the dog park and this happen, the lady who owned the small dog was there with her brother. When she picked up her dog her brother got up her telling her she is making the situation worse. It does not help that my dog with these issues is a Rotty (a breed alot of people are unsure about). If I am at the dog park and a dog arrives that I know my dog will respond to like this I watch my dog closely and as soon as she gets that look......I just leave. Thanks, I really think it was an equistive response.She is a curious dog at times and she has been around dogs like this before and there never has been an issue. She just leaves it but the owner did pick up is dog while yelling at me and I do think that made it worse. Kiara&Heidi- no I didn't see my dog do anything. She was standing near the dog and I could see she wanted to say hello and then the dog started barking ( not mine) and the owner started yelling at me. She plays quite regularly with other dogs of all sizes. Currently she is in regularly contact with a little dacshund and they play quite nicely together. I don't know if the dog just got scared or maybe the owner was wary and displayed this to his dog. I don't think I"m an expert at reading dog's behaviour but with my dog I really don't think she did anything. And I have had behaviourists check her out as she was a rescue. But I should have a better recall on her but at the time that is what we were practise. I obviously failed though this time :-(. Thanks for your advice though and I will be mindful from now on. She also has had a health check last week and the vet said she was in perfect health so I know it couldn't be something to do with her health. I love Rotty's. Grew up with them. There is a gorgeous rotty at dog school called Boss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astese Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 I have a large breed dog who by the way does obedience. But the people next door have three poodle x something (which they breed from every season). These dogs were allowed to run free and one day they came up our driveway and attacked my girl through our garden fence (which is some 50 feet inside the boundary fence). Since then my girl hates little fluffy white dogs. She is okay with my daughters Jackrussell but is so aggressive with these dogs I cant believe it is the same dog. Theres dogs next door run up and down the fence challenging my girl and are never call off. I have had to put up an electric fence some 10 feet inside my back fence to stop her going near the fence. But these dogs continue their behaviour and are never call away. So yes I can say that some dogs do take dislikes to some breeds but it is generally caused by some incident. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Crazy Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 (edited) My girl who is now 11 months old has from day one took a dislike to a friend's 2 year old Boxer girl. Every chance Stella gets to run at her, growling & telling her off, she will. Nothing has caused this to happen No event or anything. Stella just won't tolerate her. It is the only dog she is like this with. I would love to know why. The boxer girl is very friendly & used to be Sonny's BF since puppy hood. Now I choose not to hang out with her cause it just cause Stella to get upset & I don't want her to think this behaviour is OK. Little miss cranky pants. Edited October 22, 2011 by BC Crazy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuffles Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 Just be aware that people can be REALLY nervous about other dogs approaching. My dog seems to really attract aggressive dogs and every dog I see is now a potential threat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alkhe Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 I've got a screamer, here. My toy poodle used to do the most horrendous screams when intimidated by larger dogs. She's better now, but is still nervous around large dogs and/or boisterous or rough playing dogs. I'm sure other owners would react in the way that you have described, but I know enough about my dog to know that sometimes her reaction is completely disproportionate to the actual pain she has felt. Particularly when no body contact has been made... ! I don't know whether it's as simple as, like with humans, some dogs don't like each other. But I do know a handful of dogs that for whatever reason have taken instant dislikes to other dogs, which (thankfully) both owners are very savvy. Eg at one park I go to, an old English Pointer has since their first meeting, hated a black Lab. Both owners just laugh it off and avoid each other, particular as the Pointer is too old and frail to do any damage even if he tried. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trinabean Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 (edited) Lilmisssascha83 it's hard to know exactly what happened and I can understand you being upset by the incident. Without seeing what happened we can only guess at what was at play. My feelings are that a number of things could have occurred. Your dog may well have gone over out of curiosity and with no ill-intent. The little dog and it's owner may have misinterpreted or over-reacted to your dog due to a previous bad experience? I agree that the small dog's barking and it's owner's reaction probably didn't help resolve the situation calmly. It's good that you're working on your recall (I'm working on my dog's too BTW) but I would avoid letting her approach unknown dogs. Especially small ones that react like squeeky toys. ;) My experience so far with my medium-sized breed pup (boxer) is that he seems to attract undue attention from small badly behaved dogs. I always walk him on-lead and am trying to teach him to ignore other dogs and pay attention to me. We can pass other dogs without a problem for the most part, especially if they show no interest in us. He used to play-bow everything in sight, including playground equipment! All too frequently though, we cross paths with small yapping/growling/lunging dogs. It really irks me as this sort of behaviour would not be tolerated if a dog of my dogs size carried on like that! it can be a few things. A controlled environment like a dog club can be very different to the real world. If the smaller dog exhibits erratic behaviour and bad body language it can incite larger dogs to make a beeline for it. And they tend to be real screamers hence exciting larger dogs further. In hindsight unless you know the dog I tend to stay away from other peoples dogs in uncontrolled circumstances especially the little ones. Agree 100% with Nekhbet. My girl who is now 11 months old has from day one took a dislike to a friend's 2 year old Boxer girl. Every chance Stella gets to run at her, growling & telling her off, she will. Nothing has caused this to happen No event or anything. Stella just won't tolerate her. It is the only dog she is like this with. I would love to know why. The boxer girl is very friendly & used to be Sonny's BF since puppy hood. Now I choose not to hang out with her cause it just cause Stella to get upset & I don't want her to think this behaviour is OK. Little miss cranky pants. BC Crazy, I have a personal theory that may tie in with what you've said and the OP's interaction with the Poodle/Maltese. Just thinking out loud here but I often wonder if some breeds find it harder to 'read' each other? I do wonder as a boxer owner if his relatively expressionless face and upright posture is read by other dogs as potentially aggressive? Incidentally, he has never acted aggressively, even when nipped hard on the face by my in-laws mini poodle. He was play- bowing and doing helicopter tail wags at the time. Edited October 22, 2011 by trinabean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weasels Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 (edited) Trinabean I've heard a few ppl say this about their breeds, most recently a Newfie owner since the dog was so dark and shaggy. I think i've also read on here that shar pei (?) owners say their breed has its own play style. We see a boxer at our park often and Weez does act differently to him than other dogs. The boxer will come up and paw-raise/nudge Weez until he reacts, but Weez will just chase him instead of his usual game of bitey-face. I'm not sure if it's a boxer thing or just an individual dog thing tho but they both seem to enjoy it and the boxer always comes back for more Edited October 23, 2011 by Weasels Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilmisssascha83 Posted October 23, 2011 Author Share Posted October 23, 2011 Thanks for our reply. Yeah I usuall don't let her approach unknown dogs but I thought she had met this one. But I'm just going to keep working on her recall and won't let her approach an other dogs. How did you teach your dog to ignore other dogs on your walks? I always ask an owner if Sasha can say hello but if the dog is reactive I don't let them say hello because sasha becomes reactive. Sometimes she is fine ignoring them and at other times she so desperately wants to say hello ( so I won't let her). I don't want her to greet other dogs when she is in a reactive state Lilmisssascha83 it's hard to know exactly what happened and I can understand you being upset by the incident. Without seeing what happened we can only guess at what was at play. My feelings are that a number of things could have occurred. Your dog may well have gone over out of curiosity and with no ill-intent. The little dog and it's owner may have misinterpreted or over-reacted to your dog due to a previous bad experience? I agree that the small dog's barking and it's owner's reaction probably didn't help resolve the situation calmly. It's good that you're working on your recall (I'm working on my dog's too BTW) but I would avoid letting her approach unknown dogs. Especially small ones that react like squeeky toys. ;) My experience so far with my medium-sized breed pup (boxer) is that he seems to attract undue attention from small badly behaved dogs. I always walk him on-lead and am trying to teach him to ignore other dogs and pay attention to me. We can pass other dogs without a problem for the most part, especially if they show no interest in us. He used to play-bow everything in sight, including playground equipment! All too frequently though, we cross paths with small yapping/growling/lunging dogs. It really irks me as this sort of behaviour would not be tolerated if a dog of my dogs size carried on like that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weasels Posted October 24, 2011 Share Posted October 24, 2011 lilmisssascha83 - I taught Weez to ignore other dogs on command using the most super-tasty food I could find (in my case chicken/ham/bacon) and teaching a 'leave-it' or 'walk on'. If can find someone with a calm dog to help you out you could walk past and as you pass the other dog give a command and reward when they look ahead or at you. You can even lure them forward with the food. If you can't walk past calmly you could start by get close enough for your dog to show interest, then give the command and turn around/walk away and then build up to walking past. If you need to put a bit more enticement into the treats, if they are slightly warm they will release more scent. Using this method I can now even call Weez away from being in the middle of playing with another dog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
**Super_Dogs** Posted October 24, 2011 Share Posted October 24, 2011 I don't know whether it's as simple as, like with humans, some dogs don't like each other. I also wonder this. At training there is a particialr dog my girl does not like. She has no problems with the other dogs at class that are this breed - it is just this one dog. Nothing has evern happened between them, but I am pretty sure when we first started this dog barked at my dog.........so it seem my girl has never forgotten this. So I suppose this is just like humans, if you meet someone as they are rude to you, you probably will never like them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilmisssascha83 Posted October 24, 2011 Author Share Posted October 24, 2011 lilmisssascha83 - I taught Weez to ignore other dogs on command using the most super-tasty food I could find (in my case chicken/ham/bacon) and teaching a 'leave-it' or 'walk on'. If can find someone with a calm dog to help you out you could walk past and as you pass the other dog give a command and reward when they look ahead or at you. You can even lure them forward with the food. If you can't walk past calmly you could start by get close enough for your dog to show interest, then give the command and turn around/walk away and then build up to walking past. If you need to put a bit more enticement into the treats, if they are slightly warm they will release more scent. Using this method I can now even call Weez away from being in the middle of playing with another dog Thanks for your advice. I will try some bacon and ham and I will ask the vet nurse at the vet that I go to if she wouldn't mind doing some work with us in practicing this. The problem is she is fine once she says hello, she doesn't really have an interest afterwards and will listen. Anyway I'm going to contact her to try and set up some practice sessions. *sigh*. I love my dog but feel a little bit of a failure at the moment with this behaviour. This is the dog that got 2nd place in her advance obedience class. Seems I can only make her listen there and not out in the real world. Quite frusterating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weasels Posted October 24, 2011 Share Posted October 24, 2011 Good luck I understand the feeling like a failure - poor Weez has come so far since we adopted him 10 months ago, picked up herding titles and is great when he's listening, but when he's barking away at the end of a leash at a jogger or cyclist I feel like the worst dog owner in the world, especially if it upsets the person he's barking at I think we just need persistence, patience and good timing tho to get the best out of our dogs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilmisssascha83 Posted October 25, 2011 Author Share Posted October 25, 2011 Good luck I understand the feeling like a failure - poor Weez has come so far since we adopted him 10 months ago, picked up herding titles and is great when he's listening, but when he's barking away at the end of a leash at a jogger or cyclist I feel like the worst dog owner in the world, especially if it upsets the person he's barking at I think we just need persistence, patience and good timing tho to get the best out of our dogs Thanks. I reall do at the moment. She just seems to be going backwards. Took her for an hour walk just now and omg she pulled on the lead like you wouldn't believe. Soo naughty. Hopefully tommorrow will be better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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