Why are other dogs snapping at my friendly 8month old Puppy?

[Edtheaussiesmum]

Hi All,

Seeking some advice here please  (long story sorry)
 

I have an 8month old Australian Shepherd boy who is very friendly, polite and well socialised.

He is great with all dogs and has a lovely temperament but we're finding as he is getting older, quite a lot of unknown dogs are starting to snap at him, always quite an aggressive snap too that we experience, never a little "please leave me alone" kind of snap. This is only occurring at off lead areas such as our local dog beach, on lead walks and meeting dogs at cafes etc are completely fine. 
It's not all dogs as he has plays really well with friendly dogs and other puppys, it's only a selected few that target him in a way.
When this happens, at first he gets quite scared and will try and hide behind me but then shakes it off and moves on (he is pretty resilient).

Most of the time it's unknown dogs running up to us first and snapping at our boy pretty much straight away, we watch our boys body language closely and he is not doing anything wrong that we can notice? always polite and friendly.

I'm wondering why this is happening so often to us? I feel like we can't have a positive play at the beach or practice recall now without being snapped at.
Some things that we have been thinking are:
- Not desexed yet (we are waiting for 12 months old) could this play a part in these incidents? 
- Can unknown dogs be intimidated by a confident & friendly dog?
- Maybe because he's just a silly/playful puppy?
OR have we just been unlucky to meet so many non friendly dogs at off lead areas where these dogs should be ON lead instead? 

 

I am starting to think we should avoid the off lead areas until he is desexed and a little more mature?
Thank you for reading and taking the time to help.

 

Thank you!!
Jamie  

 

[Rebanne]

does he have a tail? I believe other dogs can have a hard time reading dogs without tails.  It's a bit strange that it's only other dogs running up to him, I have to wonder what they have seen in the few seconds before hand. What do those dogs do after yours retreats?

[_PL_]

I know you said they approach you, but are you letting him run up to other dogs? Some dogs get very annoyed at being approached by an uninvited dog no matter how friendly. 

Edited September 10, 2021 by Powerlegs

[Edtheaussiesmum]

35 minutes ago, Rebanne said:

does he have a tail? I believe other dogs can have a hard time reading dogs without tails.  It's a bit strange that it's only other dogs running up to him, I have to wonder what they have seen in the few seconds before hand. What do those dogs do after yours retreats?

Yes he does have a full tail.
We have had 2different  dogs at separate times come straight to us as soon as we have arrived at the beach and snap after the first sniff but on other occasions it has been my boy saying hello in a very friendly way and he yet again gets snapped at. 
The dogs tend to hang around close until their owner collects them and usually involves me trying to shoo them away.
 

[Edtheaussiesmum]

6 minutes ago, Powerlegs said:

I know you said they approach you, but are you letting him run up to other dogs? Some dogs get very annoyed at being approached by an uninvited dog no matter how friendly. 

Hello!
We don't let him roam the beach without being near us or approach other dogs, we usually tend to stick to a secluded area away from all the dogs to practice recall (on a long lead) and at these times the dogs have spotted us and approached,  it has also happened to us as soon as we have arrived to the beach.
We do allow him off lead when he is with his fur friend as they stick together in the one area but as they are off lead they do come in contact with other dogs which again ends in him being snapped at.

[persephone]

4 hours ago, Edtheaussiesmum said:

This is only occurring at off lead areas such as our local dog beach,

Just a suggestion - perhaps folks are using this beach to exercise their dogs off-lead as their dogs have not many manners . nd it's easier to just let them run? 

[Rebanne]

15 minutes ago, Edtheaussiesmum said:

Yes he does have a full tail.
We have had 2different  dogs at separate times come straight to us as soon as we have arrived at the beach and snap after the first sniff but on other occasions it has been my boy saying hello in a very friendly way and he yet again gets snapped at. 
The dogs tend to hang around close until their owner collects them and usually involves me trying to shoo them away.
 

ok the first 2 occasions it could be dogs that consider the beach their territory as they were there first, or not, maybe they just want to put the whipper snapper back in his box before he gets out of it. The other occasions with him saying hello in "a very friendly way" might be too friendly. At 8 months old he has out grown his puppy license. My adult male does not tolerate dogs in his face, he'll warn them but that's it, he also wouldn't bother going up to other dogs though. One of my bitches anything could be going on and all would be well. My other bitch would be scared with a dog greeting her in a very friendly manner. I suspect the other dogs that your youngster is running up to are saying Hey! settle down, trying to educate him in proper doggy greetings between strangers. Could be totally wrong of course.

[Edtheaussiesmum]

4 hours ago, Rebanne said:

ok the first 2 occasions it could be dogs that consider the beach their territory as they were there first, or not, maybe they just want to put the whipper snapper back in his box before he gets out of it. The other occasions with him saying hello in "a very friendly way" might be too friendly. At 8 months old he has out grown his puppy license. My adult male does not tolerate dogs in his face, he'll warn them but that's it, he also wouldn't bother going up to other dogs though. One of my bitches anything could be going on and all would be well. My other bitch would be scared with a dog greeting her in a very friendly manner. I suspect the other dogs that your youngster is running up to are saying Hey! settle down, trying to educate him in proper doggy greetings between strangers. Could be totally wrong of course.

Ah thanks so much, this is very helpful! 
I do agree, some we have met almost seemed territorial so that could also be a part of it! 

[Edtheaussiesmum]

4 hours ago, persephone said:

Just a suggestion - perhaps folks are using this beach to exercise their dogs off-lead as their dogs have not many manners . nd it's easier to just let them run? 

Possibly! that is something to think about!

thank you. 

[Dogsfevr]

Welcome to offleash crazy the best way  to ruin a dog .

 

People need to think realistically

20 adults in a room and you will always get a range off personalities,egos and plain awful.

 

20 dogs running offleash are no different ,it’s a risk game .

[Juliejoyful]

Hi Jamie,

I’m unable to give you any answers to your concern for your puppy - only some support for the difficulties that some dog owners face from uncontrolled dogs.

 

I live in a remote seaside village in Tasmania and I’m absolutely sick of some dog owners thinking they have a ‘god given right’ to allow their dogs off leash regardless of whether they’re actually in an on-lead area; or whether their dog is well-behaved; or whether they have any recall control over them; or whether their dog is from a known aggressive breed or whether they are around a toddler’s playground.

 

I no longer feel safe walking by myself or with my old doggie.  People just pull up at toddlers playground and open the car door and three or four dogs jump out and race around without leads around toddlers and some owners don’t even get out of their cars.  My old doggie who is always on lead in public, gets frighten and barks at the dogs which worries me in case she provokes them into attacking.  I was recently bent over tying my shoelace and a German Shepherd came racing up and knocked me over.  The owner laughed and told me not to worry as he’s friendly.  I’m 71 and could easily have broken a hip.  It gave me such a fright that I thought I was going to end up in A&E as my heart was racing.  No apology, no effort to help me back on my feet.

 

My daughter was recently with her small dog in an off lead park and a large dog came racing up to her, jumped up with its wet dirty feet on her chest (my daughter is 5’8” and has a terminal illness) which ruined the new dress she had on.  Again, no apology, no offer to replace or dry clean her dress and no effort to control the dog forcing her to leave the park.

 

I won’t even mention the large, disgusting messes that are left on the shoreline polluting the foreshore and the pristine water!!

 

 I don’t really know why I’ve written all that except to have a rant about badly behaved dogs and thoughtless owners making it miserable for people who do train and manage their dogs to respect other dogs and their owners - including Jaime’s.

 

 

[Diva]

One of my entire males is a target too.  He’s never off leash away from my property or dog club and doesn’t go to off lead areas but even on lead he attracts hostile attention. It’s a bit sad as he has gone from being very social to hating loose dogs running towards him. He’ll stay entire as he is shown and will be bred from. But for your boy maybe desexing will help. I practice avoidance mostly. 

[Deeds]

This has always happened with my entire males.  They become a target for other entire males.  It seems to start when the pups are between 8 and 12 months old that they get pounced on.

[Adrienne]

This seems like a young dog being told to pull its head in by another dog. Off leash areas are the pits for most dogs and their owners and I never go to them. I do run my dogs off leash ... very early in the morning or at night at select spots. But really, a dog loves a good walk on leash with its person!

 

If young pups are not exposed to normal adult dogs unrelated to them they can fail to learn boundaries and respect lessons which are communicated as a matter of course between canines. I watch with my heart in my mouth when one of my mother dogs free ranges with pups unrelated to her, having only been around their mother and litter mates they run with open hearts (and mouths) towards the new big dog with their tails wagging thinking its a free for all and they get a rude surprise! They learn pretty quick to approach with respect and deference - which is appropriate. The dog does play with them, but on her terms and on her invitation and they love it. The invitation to approach her and play with her is unmistakable, she wags her tail, she play bows and she lays on the ground and and gives them soft open throated breathing and gruffs. She lets them "dominate" her after she has "dominated" them. Its all very structured and bounded and its over when she has had enough and then it's back to "Okay, leave me alone I am not interested anymore." and Lo! the pup who thinks they want more - they get a very short sharp growl and some teeth flashing. 

 

People need to understand that "friendly" behaviour is actually often completely disrespectful to other dogs. My other mother dog is the friendliest dog I have ever owned, she is honestly a friend to all she meets, and her behaviour with other dogs is completely appropriate - deferential and appeasing until she gets acceptance and then she is full of joy and play. She knows how to get what she wants by displaying all the right behaviours at the right time.