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I'm trying to understand my dog! If my shih tzu had raised hackles I never saw 'em...my new dog (1.5 years old) has them...
Can you help interpret? I'm trying to figure out how she is with other dogs we meet on walks. I am told she's fantastic in doggie day camp, where they are placed in groups by size and temperament.
So this morning we were walking and we saw another dog some distance away - the other dog (leashed) showed up suddenly so my dog kind of froze with her hackles up when she saw him and her tail was not straight up but kind of diagonal. The other dog was nonaggressive in stance with tail wagging, so then my dog started wagging her tail too and crying to seemingly go play with him.
I'm really confused by these signals! At one point I thought my dog was dog-aggressive, but her trainer said she's not, she just plays inappropriately for now (gets in their face too much, which has stopped at day camp). Every time we meet another dog on our walks her hackles go up and the trainer thinks it's because I'm at the other end of the leash (she's in protective mode).
How to handle? What do you think is going on in her mind? Usually the owners ignore my words to stay away, to be honest with you. I want her socialized on walks but when I see what I saw this morning I'm hesitant to let her meet the other dog. I can't figure her out, except that I think she tries to protect me - in her former home she was roaming outside with her two puppies.
I did let her meet another dog I knew recently and they just sniffed, but then hackles went up and I left. The other owner thought they would be fine but I wasn't so sure ...
That is a great site. Also, I think dogs, especially new ones, don't necessarily think as much as they react. What you see may not be interpreted the same in your dog (that's called anthropomorphizing). He's going by smell, environment, mannerisms of the other dog's people, bird noises... and adding them to form a prejudice. The raised hair makes him look bigger and less likely to be bothered.
I was told that when a dog raises its hackles in the neck/shoulders and maybe a small section near the tail it is aggression : however if the hackles run the length of the body ( looks like a mowhawk running down the body) it is due to fear. So keep that in mind hackles can mean fear and that a dog is uncertain. Most people just think aggression when they see hackles but fear is another reason and probably the more common reason we see hackles. When we suddenly pull our animal away because we do see hackles it may cause that fear to get worse as the dogs thinks the Boss must think this dog is bad as I was suddenly yanked away from it. If your the pack leader the dog is going to be looking to you to see how you deal with the fearful situation.
My dog always puts up her hackles with a new dog. It's a stance they take when meeting another dog on mutual territory. I would not call it aggression or fear. It's more of a communication between dogs, like two soldiers walking up to each other, and eyeing each other cautiously before extending hands for a handshake. You can have dogs that approach each other with their hackles up and then suddenly break into play. It's a way of sorting each other out.
How to handle? What do you think is going on in her mind? Usually the owners ignore my words to stay away, to be honest with you. I want her socialized on walks but when I see what I saw this morning I'm hesitant to let her meet the other dog. I can't figure her out, except that I think she tries to protect me - in her former home she was roaming outside with her two puppies.
I did let her meet another dog I knew recently and they just sniffed, but then hackles went up and I left. The other owner thought they would be fine but I wasn't so sure ...
They should be fine. It's important to let your dog socialize with the other dogs and you do not need to be overprotective. Your dog needs to learn from the other dogs. I've often seen new dog owners who are nervous about how their dogs will interact.
One example: my friend had a new lab puppy that was full of crazy energy. My dog is old and they were afraid the pup would hurt my dog. I said, "No, my dog will tell the puppy when to settle down." Sure enough they let the puppy off leash. They puppy started bouncing around and getting crazy and my dog snapped and barked at the puppy. The owners got all afraid. I said, "No, this is what is supposed to happen." Suddenly, the puppy started behaving itself and approaching my dog with gentleness and caution. It was adapting its behavior to the other animal.
This is the role that an older dog plays with a puppy. It tells the pup when it needs to calm down. A pup is submissive and responds immediately.
Thanks! We just had a pretty good encounter with another dog. I know the other dog really well - he's just a few months older than mine and just as active, but is a great dog so I felt ok about them meeting. They did the other night and I saw hackles, so I told the owner what my trainer said, that they could sniff but I shouldn't linger.
Well they sniffed, no hackles at all, and they both jumped around on each other a bit - I did pull her back from that but there was no aggression at all! Still I didn't want to push my luck, especially since it was pretty dark where we were.
Good thing it went ok because the other owner totally ignored me when I said I didn't want them to meet. I know the owner pretty well so didn't want to growl at her myself. Anyway I'll let these two meet again. My dog is definitely getting better on leash! she's good off leash - supervised at day camp.
Woof Woof Woof - they've been putting her in with older dogs at day camp for just that reason! She's learning from them.
Thanks
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