persephone Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 I keep getting teary just remembering the look on his face I still feel like I let him down. He is nothing but a gentleman when greeting other dogs so I hope that doesn't change. It's a normal part of dog behaviour .... when we have puppies here , they spend a lot of time on their backs while adults check them out /remind them of their manners ... Think of it like a little kid who visits a family of bigger, ratbag kids ... the little one is bound to be bounced a bit .. and put last in the line for games etc .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hankodie Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 I keep getting teary just remembering the look on his face I still feel like I let him down. He is nothing but a gentleman when greeting other dogs so I hope that doesn't change. It's a normal part of dog behaviour .... when we have puppies here , they spend a lot of time on their backs while adults check them out /remind them of their manners ... Do the older dogs still try to remind them of manners even if the puppy is being submissive/polite from the start? Hank wasn't trying to initiate play of any kind, they came up from behind us and right up to him, he rolled over almost immediately and then that's when they started rough housing him/the younger one nipped him on the leg and then Hank wee'd. I could tell he was scared because I could see the whites of his eyes and he looked quiet distressed. Usually when he meets a bigger/older dog he rolls over slowly so the other dog can have a sniff but never looks scared, just curious and relaxed and the other dog either walks away or Hank gets up and they have a polite nose-to-nose sniff so I was surprised that these dogs were so rough with him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 (edited) Any animal, be it 2 legged or 4 legged will show a reaction to things experienced for a first time ..or to a shock/fright :) It's normal . I love watching puppies go 'bug eyed' the first time a cat rolls them over .. or they step in a puddle that's too deep , etc ... Often they will squeal as well .. then go silly with excitement once they discover that they have survived ! :) It's a part of living .....experiencing/growing ... I believe this was not an 'attack' .... and it was not YOU 'letting hank down'.... AS to what these dogs were thinking .. it is probable they were just rushing him to see who he was .. and let him know who they were.... his instinct took over ... that's all. They were all just acting as instinct made them .. they are dogs ...... Edited October 7, 2013 by persephone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alison03 Posted October 8, 2013 Share Posted October 8, 2013 Any animal, be it 2 legged or 4 legged will show a reaction to things experienced for a first time ..or to a shock/fright :) It's normal . I love watching puppies go 'bug eyed' the first time a cat rolls them over .. or they step in a puddle that's too deep , etc ... Often they will squeal as well .. then go silly with excitement once they discover that they have survived ! :) It's a part of living .....experiencing/growing ... I believe this was not an 'attack' .... and it was not YOU 'letting hank down'.... AS to what these dogs were thinking .. it is probable they were just rushing him to see who he was .. and let him know who they were.... his instinct took over ... that's all. They were all just acting as instinct made them .. they are dogs ...... You might be right Persephone, it could have just been curiosity on the part of the rushing dogs, but its still bad doggie manners, rushing another dog is usually seen as a disrespectful or a challenge and if Hank had been a bigger dog it could have earned at least one of the rushers a bite to let them know they'd stepped over the line. Personally I have no problem with curious dogs, but I won't allow them to come at us at speed ( I made that mistake once, I won't do it again), I make them slow their roll first, by standing in front of them, if they still want to be curious then its on my terms not theirs, because I'm the human in charge. The ones who have bad intentions generally run the other way looking for another target, the curious ones lower their head for a sniff and thats fine by me. What Hank got from that interaction is to not trust a dog that rushes at him, and thats not a bad thing at all, he learnt something that might save him one day and came out the other side unharmed and thats always a good thing. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted October 8, 2013 Share Posted October 8, 2013 Alison .. bad manners , indeed - :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alison03 Posted October 8, 2013 Share Posted October 8, 2013 Alison .. bad manners , indeed - :) Thats bad doggie manners. I'm sure there is such a thing, I've just invented it if there isn't Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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