Why Is My Girl A Target?

[Poodle Mum]

Try taking a black std poodle in continental trim to the dog park!!...lol...lol...that usually causes lots of attraction from other dogs!....like " what the hell is that dog doing"...lol

[wuffles]

My girl seemed to be a target when she was younger, but not anymore. The only thing I can think of that has changed in her personality is that she is less submissive now than when she was young.

The most serious times my dog has been attacked were both at dog club when other dogs slipped their collars.

[persephone]

Snoopy .. has it started recently ? or has this happened the whole time you've had her? Maybe her attitude has changed since having a 'brother' ?..and she does look a bit different?

[twodoggies2001]

I have encountered this problem twice, but not with my own. There was an entire French Bulldog, who was constantly being bullied by the neutered boys at the park and another time it was an American Staffy puppy, who for some reason, every dog he came across put him in his place even though he didn't need to be admonished.

[Guest Ams]

If you want the dogs to have a play why not try to find a really good day care where they assess the dogs and only allow suitable dogs to mix?

Seriously? The whole point of having a dog is to spend time with it, what's the point if instead of spending time with it you just billet it out to someone else. I understand some people using day care for during their work hours, etc but what's the point of having a dog if you just send it away when you otherwise would have been spending time enjoying life together?

Apart from that I'd much rather be in a one on one/two situation with my own dog where I can properly supervise than leave my dog with a stranger and hope they have enough sense to read their body language!

Day care can be an option where trained professionals can assess the behaviour in a controlled environment which then allows the owner to either work to rectify or to realise integration in dog parks is not an option. I understand this is not an option for a lot of people but it is a valid option if the right centre / staff/ combo is available. I have highlighted the points that are most important to make this work. You can't just dump a dog into any daycare and expect it to happen. Everything involves research. I have had rescue dogs go into day care to give them controlled interaction and it has helped.

[kelpiecuddles]

Yes but this isn't a nervous dog that is causing problems, this is a happy, well adjusted dog that others are having a go at, doesn't really work that way around unless there is an issue that Snoopy21 isn't seeing.

[Snoopy21]

She is less submissive than she was when she was younger. And I think it has gotten worse this year since the pup moved in. She is a lot less excitable than she used to be and we have worked quite hard on her leash manners and greeting behaviour. She used to rudely shove herself into other dog's faces. She is starting to look a bit older, greying a little, and has maybe lost a little weight. She is a large dog though, and can afford those couple of kgs.

She has always been a target though. It is interesting. She was attacked by another dog in the ring at obedience when moving into place for a stay. The other owner was shocked and said her dog "never does that".

I understand that Snook. Se is an active girl who needs exercise and stimulation. How do I do that when I can't even walk down the street? As I said, I'm trying to be responsible in every way I can. Its a balancing act.

I might try and see if I can get some video. It is very likely that she is doing something I'm not seeing.

Poodle mum - I can picture the looks on my own dogs faces if they came across your boy at the park.

[DobieMum]

I'm a Teachers Aide and so don't abide by it at all and soon as I know it's happening, I will step I'm to stop it. But there are some children who just seem to get attacked for bullying all of the time. Sometimes they have a disability (which NASTY kids seem to like) but sometimes they appear to be a normal kid. My friend's son, is one of these children who seems to cop it from all directions and to look at both in looks and mannerisms, you can't see why. It's not until you listen to him, when he runs his mouth off, sometimes with silly childish dribble, sometimes with lies (that other children see through) and other times talking so fast you can't understand him. In trying to help him, when asked why he does it, he answers he's trying to look cool and knowledgable in front of the other kids???

Maybe it's the same with dogs, maybe there are just some dogs at the bottom of the pecking order and hopefully they grow out of it??

[animals]

mine isn"t so much my dogs but me :D for some reason I put people off

I own 5 dogs plus foster so we just hang in a place all to ourselves .Im sorry this is happening and I really don"t have any answers .One of our pound dogs a dane is super friendly with other dogs but afraid of people so to save her from becoming a total mess in public we have to choose our spots early morning later arvo work best limited amount of people .

I really wish I had an answer But at least you get to enjoy love and play with your dog and I bet she loves that most :D

[indigirl]

I don't get the whole dog park attraction. Train your dog to have a good recall and walk it on an oval., a beach whatever. Why would anyone want to evn go to a dog park? I don't get it. If you have a breed where recall is impossible to teach then find a secluded fenced area or go to the dog park at night.

To me dog parks are an accident waiting to happen and if another dog attacked one of mine on leaf iI'd kick the shit out of the attacking dog .. Just saying :)

[Dame Aussie]

I don't get the whole dog park attraction. Train your dog to have a good recall and walk it on an oval., a beach whatever. Why would anyone want to evn go to a dog park? I don't get it. If you have a breed where recall is impossible to teach then find a secluded fenced area or go to the dog park at night.

To me dog parks are an accident waiting to happen and if another dog attacked one of mine on leaf iI'd kick the shit out of the attacking dog .. Just saying :)

I dont get it either.

OP, it could be a heap of different reasons, from the way she acts or plays, to the fact she is on lead and the others aren't, very hard to say what the cause could be.

[Alison03]

Willow is a 6 year old great Dane cross that I adopted from a rescue at 5 months old. She is a sweet girl who loves her people and everyone in general. We adopted another pup in February this year, and Willow has adapted well to sharing her house and yard. We have been going to the dog park more often now that we have two dogs. Willow stays on lead always - her recall is not strong enough for my liking and I know if she got chasing something she would blow me off. Obviously she is often approached by off lead dogs at the park. She is fine with it. I give her plenty of lead length to circle and sniff the approaching dog etc. The problem is that she seems to be a target for attacks from other dogs. I can't see anything in her body language that invites it. She is generally relaxed, her ears may come forward if she is interested, her tail wags at a medium pace neither tense nor tucked. There are a couple of dogs that hate her - and will fly at her snarling and snapping from metres away. Another couple come over, sniff, circle, then snarl and snap. She will have a go back if they start it.

She has many positive interactions at the park, and our little dog loves going. I know off lead parks aren't ideal and I can always choose not to go. I keep on driving if I pull up and the dogs I know are a problem are already there. I don't want her hurt.

What I really want to know is why? Why do other dogs see her as a target? Is it because she is on lead? Or because she is big and black? Or is it her attitude/body language? What should I be looking for?

My dogs behavior is very different off leash, she is more natural, not aggressive but assertive, she's only small but stands her ground if she needs too, I only take her to small dog off leash areas, she has never had a problem, she is more than happy to repel any aggressive small dog. She has never been the aggressor. She isn't aggressive about toys or food with other dogs either.

When she's on leash, she is super non reactive, I think that makes her a target, I've done that to her I know. I've never allowed her to be out of control on leash as a puppy, mainly because I can't stand small dogs that carry on like loonies when they see another dog, desperately trying to get at them. That whole extender leash fiasco with small dogs drives me nuts.

The consequence of me making my dog behave herself while on a walk has painted a target on her I think, other dogs see her as very submissive. If we get rushed by other dogs while walking, which happens more often than I'd like, she just stands next to me or behind me silently. Other dog walkers comment on how non reactive she is, no matter what the loose dog is doing.

Have I made a rod for my own back???

I'm not suggesting you let your dog off leash in a dog park, that's up to you, I'm just pointing out that some dogs are very different on and off leash. If your dogs recall is not good, the dog park may not be for her, however you could be pleasantly surprised like I was if you try it. Perhaps go early when there aren't many dogs about. Good luck. : )

Edited October 27, 2013 by Alison03

[Tassie]

I don't get the whole dog park attraction. Train your dog to have a good recall and walk it on an oval., a beach whatever. Why would anyone want to evn go to a dog park? I don't get it. If you have a breed where recall is impossible to teach then find a secluded fenced area or go to the dog park at night.

To me dog parks are an accident waiting to happen and if another dog attacked one of mine on leaf iI'd kick the shit out of the attacking dog .. Just saying :)

I dont get it either.

OP, it could be a heap of different reasons, from the way she acts or plays, to the fact she is on lead and the others aren't, very hard to say what the cause could be.

I get the attraction because I used them all the time when I first got Justice. From a personal perspective, he is my first dog since childhood and absolutely loves running and playing with other dogs and was submissive and never had any conflicts with dogs he met, so I thought dog parks were a great idea. I didn't know anything about dog behaviour and found that most people who complained about their dog being hurt had smaller dogs so with Justice being a solid staffy cross, I felt he was pretty safe from being accidentally hurt by dogs at the dog park and that if a dog did decide to have a go at him, that he could hold his own until I could separate them (which he did and was never injured). As an inexperienced and ignorant dog owner what I saw was my dog having a raging good time for an hour or so most days and doing what he loved most. What I didn't see was his behaviour slowly slipping as a result of what I later realised (after intentionally learning as much as I could about dog behaviour and body language) was bullying, dominant or aggressive behaviour from other dogs. My happy, well adjusted, submissive, dog loving, friendly boy became afraid and insecure and as a result highly reactive, putting on big displays of barking, snarling and lunging as a "get in first and scare them off" tactic because he could no longer tell which dogs were friendly and which weren't. I have now spent over a year seeing a behaviourist weekly to fortnightly to rehabilitate him and while he is dramatically improved he still cannot meet new dogs unless I know them and that they have good doggy manners and it is a planned, controlled, slow series of meetings until he is confident the other dog doesn't want to hurt him and then he's happy to play like they're best buddies. I will never, never take another dog to a dog park and let it run with unknown dogs ever again, now that I know what the outcome can be even if your dog never gets physically injured, but I definitely understand the appeal they hold and it regularly breaks my heart that he misses out on playing with other dogs the majority of the time because I know that it's one of his most favourite things in the world.

Just wanted to say - great post, Snook.

[sandgrubber]

Could be chemical. Dogs (and many other animals) have a second olfactory organ called the vomeronasal (or Jacobson's) organ. This is particularly important in hormonal / pheremonal communication. I often suspect there's something going on with this organ when a dog seems to react strongly and I can't see or hear anything.

[Sares]

I don't get the whole dog park attraction. Train your dog to have a good recall and walk it on an oval., a beach whatever. Why would anyone want to evn go to a dog park? I don't get it. If you have a breed where recall is impossible to teach then find a secluded fenced area or go to the dog park at night.

To me dog parks are an accident waiting to happen and if another dog attacked one of mine on leaf iI'd kick the shit out of the attacking dog .. Just saying :)

As people have said previously, dog parks are not for all dogs. I take my girl to the dog park because she is a well behaved dog who loves socialising with other dogs.

We dont live near friends who have dogs she can play with so we take her to the dog park and she has the best time playing with the other dogs.

99% of the time its all good experiences. There has been the odd occasion where there have been an minor incident but these are quickly dealt with by the owners and if I call her away, she follows me.

So it just depends on the dog... For us, dog parks are great.

[Rebanne]

what do the owners of the aggressive dogs do when they have a go at your dog?

[alpha bet]

This is a very good question and often a topic that is not treated with enough importance. It is not uncommon to see how some dogs (and also kids or even adults) seem to become targets of particularly rough play or bullying. Trying to understand why can allow owners to avoid problems and to thus build social skills to overcome the bullying. When I started running classes nearly 20 years ago there were no off-lead dog parks (well not officially anyway) but then there was not really the need for them. However as our suburban areas became more compressed dog owners have limited opportunities to give dogs the chance to do what many dogs love best - run, swim and play and generally more fun if they have four legged friends.

We have been running social classes for years to help families learn how to socialise there dogs under different situations - In fact what we have is a private off-lead dog park, the only difference is - I set the rules..... In fact I always say that I'm the biggest bitch in the class - this allows us to control the environment to keep things safe. Over the years have learnt a great deal and perhaps can offer some insight - excuse a long post.

First - we have to accept that some breeds have different ways of playing which can be too strong for other breeds (remember there are always individuals within breeds who don't fit the mould - so please do not take offence). Rough play is common with breeds such as staffies, huskies and many of the bull breeds..... e.g. Watch how a male husky tends to lean his head over the wither of other breeds, the husky is pushing to see what goes and if there is any fuss from the other dog then he is ready to react and often can over-react.... the same is often seen in the staffy where they love to run and charge and being such little bricks they can easily hurt another dog just by running into them. These types of interactions are likely to cause problems this does not mean they are vicious it just means that these dogs need to learn how to play with softer breeds of dogs.

Second - Just as we have rough house breeds, we also have softer breeds. They are easily fussed and ready to panic, thus they tend to over-react.... these guys need to toughen up somewhat - and learn not to be the princesses.

Both of these points boil down to the fact that many humans do not understand their own dogs..... or else don't see that this is their problem as they think their dog is in the right.... just as we see with parents in the playground...... If the human doesn't have understanding of dog social skills then how can we expect the dog to.

Third - some dogs are not built to deal with the rough and tumble of the dog park.... they are just too soft physically or mentally.

Personally - at times I come across dogs who seem to be pretty easy going and happy to play with many dogs and yet will be victimised by some individual dogs for no apparent reason. When we look deeper we need to understand how dogs see things.... I have my own opinions built from years of experience and some of the research coming out now seems to support some of my observations.

e.g. Research coming out from the Hungarian Family Dog Project has shown how dogs have the ability to read even a slight change in the humans eye direction even if the face is kept still. Roger Abrantes has also mentioned how facial expression is important to the dogs - consider how foxes have almost no face changes, they have little need for it as they are solitary creatures, whereas the wolf who is a social pack animal has an abundance of expression. The same applies with our domestic dogs. However some breeds have limited facial expressions due to the exaggerations of body features. The sharpei with abundance of wrinkles is hard to read, the short nose breeds who huff and puff can give a false impression of high stress energy. Dogs with all black faces or thick wavy hair will be hard for other dogs to interprete.

Have also found that dogs who stand up tall on their toes (danes, huskies, standard poodles and the like) will often bring out nervous energy from some dogs and hence can seem to be targeted..... a bit like the aggressor hopes to get in first before that big dog scares me...... Remember behind every bully you will always find a bit of a coward.

Not all dogs should go to public dog parks - but dog owners should - if you have a dog who has social problems you can learn a great deal by going and sitting and watching the other dogs play and yet maintain an emotional distance from the play. Or try and find a school that offers the chance to learn hands on.

[Alison03]

This is a very good question and often a topic that is not treated with enough importance. It is not uncommon to see how some dogs (and also kids or even adults) seem to become targets of particularly rough play or bullying. Trying to understand why can allow owners to avoid problems and to thus build social skills to overcome the bullying. When I started running classes nearly 20 years ago there were no off-lead dog parks (well not officially anyway) but then there was not really the need for them. However as our suburban areas became more compressed dog owners have limited opportunities to give dogs the chance to do what many dogs love best - run, swim and play and generally more fun if they have four legged friends.

We have been running social classes for years to help families learn how to socialise there dogs under different situations - In fact what we have is a private off-lead dog park, the only difference is - I set the rules..... In fact I always say that I'm the biggest bitch in the class - this allows us to control the environment to keep things safe. Over the years have learnt a great deal and perhaps can offer some insight - excuse a long post.

First - we have to accept that some breeds have different ways of playing which can be too strong for other breeds (remember there are always individuals within breeds who don't fit the mould - so please do not take offence). Rough play is common with breeds such as staffies, huskies and many of the bull breeds..... e.g. Watch how a male husky tends to lean his head over the wither of other breeds, the husky is pushing to see what goes and if there is any fuss from the other dog then he is ready to react and often can over-react.... the same is often seen in the staffy where they love to run and charge and being such little bricks they can easily hurt another dog just by running into them. These types of interactions are likely to cause problems this does not mean they are vicious it just means that these dogs need to learn how to play with softer breeds of dogs.

Second - Just as we have rough house breeds, we also have softer breeds. They are easily fussed and ready to panic, thus they tend to over-react.... these guys need to toughen up somewhat - and learn not to be the princesses.

Both of these points boil down to the fact that many humans do not understand their own dogs..... or else don't see that this is their problem as they think their dog is in the right.... just as we see with parents in the playground...... If the human doesn't have understanding of dog social skills then how can we expect the dog to.

Third - some dogs are not built to deal with the rough and tumble of the dog park.... they are just too soft physically or mentally.

Personally - at times I come across dogs who seem to be pretty easy going and happy to play with many dogs and yet will be victimised by some individual dogs for no apparent reason. When we look deeper we need to understand how dogs see things.... I have my own opinions built from years of experience and some of the research coming out now seems to support some of my observations.

e.g. Research coming out from the Hungarian Family Dog Project has shown how dogs have the ability to read even a slight change in the humans eye direction even if the face is kept still. Roger Abrantes has also mentioned how facial expression is important to the dogs - consider how foxes have almost no face changes, they have little need for it as they are solitary creatures, whereas the wolf who is a social pack animal has an abundance of expression. The same applies with our domestic dogs. However some breeds have limited facial expressions due to the exaggerations of body features. The sharpei with abundance of wrinkles is hard to read, the short nose breeds who huff and puff can give a false impression of high stress energy. Dogs with all black faces or thick wavy hair will be hard for other dogs to interprete.

Have also found that dogs who stand up tall on their toes (danes, huskies, standard poodles and the like) will often bring out nervous energy from some dogs and hence can seem to be targeted..... a bit like the aggressor hopes to get in first before that big dog scares me...... Remember behind every bully you will always find a bit of a coward.

Not all dogs should go to public dog parks - but dog owners should - if you have a dog who has social problems you can learn a great deal by going and sitting and watching the other dogs play and yet maintain an emotional distance from the play. Or try and find a school that offers the chance to learn hands on.

"Short nose breeds that huff and puff" I've got a Shihtzu cross, she seems to be a target, I thought it was because she just stands next to me in silence when another dog approaches but it also could be because other dogs can't read her expression. I never thought of that. Food for thought. Thanks : )

[The Spotted Devil]

alpha bet - I've often thought "standing tall" was why my Dally gets targeted - just his natural stance. That and the white probably stands out like the proverbial!

[Snoopy21]

Great post Alpha Bet - thanks so much for taking the time to type it out.

Lots of people tell me their dogs hate big dogs or black dogs or whatever, so maybe there is something in that. I normally view it as a bit of an excuse My standard response is "maybe you should keep them on lead then?" Willow definitely has the up on toes style you are talking about, and a black face, so maybe she is hard to read.

Rebanne - it varies. One lady comes to the park with her baby in a pram and two large dogs. Her male is the one that will fly at us immediately. She said nothing, but waited until someone broke up the fight, grabbed her dogs and left. She did the same the second time. I haven't entered the park with them there again. The owner of the small dog made excuses, like "he's a bulldog at heart" and " he'll take on anything". I pointed out to her that Willow could easily kill her dog ( ) and I haven't seen her at the park again. I feel bad, but her dog is nasty and i have seen him growl, roll, bite, snap and rush many dogs there. She had a pup too but this dog terrorised it until she gave it away. Another owner who was too busy on his phone to watch, grabbed his dog and apologised, but then just let it go again and got back on his phone. We left.