Lying down when meeting other dogs.

Hi just a couple of questions regarding my 3 year old Boxer Oscar that I wondered if someone could offer suggestions to? He is a rescue and I got him when he was 1.

Firstly when out, usually on street walks, if another dog approaches he will either drop his head down low and almost stalk until we meet the dog or will drop down onto his stomach and refuse to move until the other dog has either passed or come up and said hello. He's quite happy to say hello and loves to play with any dog that wants to but just seems to wait for them to make the first move. This doesn't really happen when off lead as he is quite happy with his toy. He has always been like this even with dogs he knows well or ones he has met 5 minutes previously. I just wondered if this behaviour is worrying and how I should stop this?

This leads onto my second question; if off lead and playing with his frisbee he's quite happy to say hello and have a bit of a play with other dogs and then go back to playing with me; however sometimes the other dogs won't leave him alone and will continue trying to play with him or attempt to steal his toy at which point he will have a bit of a grumble and chase them off, he is never what I would call aggressive and has never started a fight it's almost as if he is saying leave me alone.

I always make sure I only throw his frisbee when there are no near dogs however there are some that make a beeline across the field or will follow us as we move off. Again should I be concerned about him doing this and if so how should I solve this?

Many thanks for reading this long post and any ideas would be gratefully received.

No doubt I will be corrected if I am wrong, but it seems to be normal behavior to chase off a dog who is trying to take his toy. As long as he just runs after them and then stops before he reaches them, and comes back to you. As for lying down when he sees another dog, the problem here would be that it could take you several hours to cover a couple of miles. Maybe he was attacked by a small dog who jumped at him and even maybe bit his belly or worse!. So he is protecting himself. It does sound like submissive behavior to drop his head as he approaches. Could you not try to get him to sit, instead of lying down. My thought would be to get him to do it on command, every time you see another dog coming. Then move on to only telling him to sit sometimes. Then you could also offer a treat, if he is interested. Just change things around a bit. Just my thoughts. At the end of the day, I would not be worrying about any of it.

Aww he sounds like a nice friendly boy
I would be more trying to stop him staring when he sees other dogs as many can find this rude
Lying down can be a couple of things
Either trying to not look threatining to the other dogs - he has to be fairly confident to lie down

or
Hes waiting for friends to get close so he can pounce and play

as for the frisbee
Sounds like he is fairl polite there - but - if other dogs keep nicking his toys he might learn to be guardy

It is the other owners fault for having no control over their dogs
but
I would say the best thing is to put toy away and try and make you both as boring as possible till the other dog gets bored and goes away

He sounds lovely

My Lab is a rescue and I got him when he was one too. When off leash in the park, if another dog approaches Dexter will lie down and wait, then sort of get up and slink forward, then lie down again.

Then he'll pounce and play

So the lying down can be submission OR just playfulness. Either way, I really wouldn't worry. Sounds like your lad has pretty good social skills to me.

Thanks to both of you for your comments they really make sense and have put my mind at ease!

Will definitely attempt to get him to sit and stop staring instead of lying down and break what is probably now routine behaviour, if nothing else will keep him on his toes. I also think you're right about wanting to pounce on friends

And with regards to the frisbee sounds like I will just have to be more vigilant and boring, which shouldn't be too difficult!

Hi, thank-you yes that does sound exactly like Oscar, it's good to hear that other dogs do it as well!

I think i'm just a bit of a worry wart

My old flatcoat sometimes used to go down when he was off the lead and a strange dog approached. He would wait laying quietly watching and then when the dog was close he would stand up and meet the other dog in his normal friendly fashion. I thought it was something to do with him wanting to weigh up a situation before committing himself - a sort of calming action. By doing this he also seemed to gain an advantage because the other dog was not always aware of what or who he was and seemed surprised, almost wrong-footed when he stood up. He never did it on-lead and he was always friendly with other dogs, but not submissive, once the dogs actually met. I found it quite an endearing part of his nature.

Tilly does exactly this too with dogs she doesn't know! and it's quite funny when she meets another dog who does the same as the commando crawl towards each other
I have noticed though that since she has been back from boarding on Wednesday she is not doing it. Although it's only been 2 days since she's been home I wonder if she has a new found confidence from living & walking with a pack for a week!

Your Boxer is perfectly normal, you should be delighted he lies down submissively to greet other dogs! If you try to change his behaviour you will only confuse him, he is doing the correct thing. The other dog will know hes no threat & happy days all round

He is also normal if another dog tries to take his toy to tell them off - he is non aggressive, just lets them know to leave him alone

I think you have a lovely very well adjusted dog. Enjoy him.

Good post.