Few dog introduction pointers needed..
Bell met some Yorkies last week that were yipping and barking their heads off and when they came up to meet her the larger of the 2 lunges and snapped at her.. she of corse snapped back but didnt connect cause when the yorkie lunged I pulled back on Bell instictivly.. that was the first dog Bell has met that tried to have a go at her and its thrown her off a bit.. Of course my first clue as to not letting her meet them was when the guy said " my guys love everyone".. but I was dumb and didnt say no thanks.. what should I have said.. your dogs are too loud.. maybe when they calm down.. perhaps? Not sure what to say at that point.. But I wondered if you all had some "dogs not to meet" rules or tips? Things I should be looking for.. If a dog is a yipper/ barker do you all avoid them? Just a few tips.. Bell loves meeting dogs, cats, kids, people, bugs.. everything.. which might get her into trouble.. so i wondered who i should be wary of. |
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| Hi,
Hard to tell with our furkids but the best indicator is the way the tail is positioned. There are other body clues too, the way the ears point, the fur , and overall body postions. Tails up means I'm the dominant dog and I want to be boss. Two dogs meet for example and both have tails up - this could be an indicator of trouble if one doesn't lower the tail - indicating he/she acknowledges the other is dominant. If neither lowers their tail they may fight. Belly roll - Submissive dogs and pups do this in the presence of dominant dogs. A very well socialized dog will never attack another of it's kind when it shows the belly up as the dog is indicating it's submissive and acknowledges the other is dominant over he/she. Back end lowered, tail down, ears flat - this dog is experiencing submissivness or may be a fear biter. Fear biters usually don't give indications they are about to bite unlike other dogs that growl to warn other dogs or people to back off. Fear biters are very fearful dogs that have not been properly socialized and often miss the doggie social cues if they have not been socialized around other dogs/people. When the hand comes down to pat them or another dog approaches they try to make themselves as small as possible. Aggressive dogs or very dominant dogs on the other hand will try to make themselves as big as possible..ears perked up, hackles may be up - fur sticking straight up much like a cat when it hisses, tails straight up, slow paces and they may try to stare down their opponents. Dogs naturally never stare at another dog as in their life this is a sign of a challenge. They also normally never meet face to face - much like people have them meet on a leash. In their life and what is natural to them - side to side greetings (the butt sniff). If one has their dog meet another on leash walks it's better to actually loosen the leash a little for the side to side greeting. A barking, growling dog is socialized but they are giving off warning signs..back off, get away, don't bother me. It's better to respect the wish. A tail wag or the bow (when dogs lower the front paws and rump is up in the air) means I wannna play!!! Do you want to be the chaser or the runner? Sometimes they take turns who does the chasing and who does the running. The play bow and tail wag means they are friendly and interested in playing. Hope that helped! The more you can read dogs body language and understand life from their perspective the easier it is to avoid confrontations with your dog when you're out and they have the possibility of meeting others. It's why it's so important for new pup owners to socialize their pups as much as possible with others (after all innoculations are done) so that the dog is knowlegeble about good doggie behavior. So in a nutshell, watch the other dogs tail for the best indicator of when they approach your dog. I avoid dogs that have the tail up as they will probably challenge mine. In my case Panda would be the submissive one so no problem, but Merlin is dominant and to avoid any problems I cross the street in those cases. Some dogs are very territorial too so a dog that is loose outside his yard may not be the best one to meet yours compared to neutral territory where dogs don't feel they have to defend their property. The tail wagging dogs are probably the only ones I would stop and allow my dogs to meet. Otherwise I keep walking and talk to my dogs to distract them while walking past or move aside until they pass. Last thing just to be clear a dominant dog and aggressive dog are different. A dominant dog wants to be the alpha (boss) dog and their body language will indicate that to other dogs. They are well socialized but dominant. While an aggressive dog doesn't play by the rules and may not care if the other dog shows belly up, play bow and tail wagging. They charge at others and the experience is frightening. Don't run but stand your ground but also don't stare at them. NO! In a loud voice and slowly back away. Marianne and the boys |
| thanks for that.. but when people have their dogs on a leash.. sometimes those signals arent displayed as they are kept in the standing position..
I know all about the natural display tatics of dogs.. its the ones they give off while leashed I was asking about.. the subtler ones.. hence why i was asking if you all generally avoid the dogs that wont shut up with the barking n yipping? Little tips like that.. i know about which postures to avoid.. these showed none of those postures.. just yipped like buggers then snapped.. as for the tail up thing.. doesnt that put OES at a disadvantage cause their tails are removed for cosmetic reasons? How do you get around this.. if a dog uses that as a "signal" and cant judge an OES response due to lack of tail.. isnt that a bad thing for them? |
| Hi,
The hair in the eyes sometimes is a disadvantage to our furkids as it's been said that this may confuse other dogs. I wouldn't worry about our lack of tails on our furkids as their are other body language signs that dogs are aware of..the ears, body position..ect. Avoid the barking , yapping dogs as they are telling others to back off. Marianne |
My pup is (or was) rather afraid of other, larger, dogs...and on our walks I have tried to make sure to introduce him to as many other dogs as possible to help with this. A trick we learned that might be useful for you, is we never actually let the dogs "meet" nose to nose at first...we ask the people if they would be willing to walk WITH us for a few minutes first. Not only do you get a good indication of the dogs behavior, but also both dogs seem to feel much more relaxed at that point.."oh, we are all walking! cool!"  |
| I take a clue from both the owner and the dog when they are approaching. If the owner shortens the leash to make sure they have more control over the dog, I tend to do the same and hold Barney closer to me than usual.
I think it'd be hard to tell with yorkies or other small dogs with the yapping because (at least to me) those dogs yap all the time, so I'd just avoid them because they are annoying! 
I know the guy said they love everyone (and they obviously didn't), I still take them into account if they say that and we're passing. |
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