Raised hackles...

what can raised hackles mean?

i always thought it was a sign of aggression, but i have noticed jake does it sometimes when he is first meeting a dog, and sometimes when he is at a distance. but he is an over friendly dog, not in the slightest bit aggressive, and his tail is wagging and he does play bows at the same time... so can it be a sign of excitement? or being alert?... i know it isnt aggression with him.

It's excitement

As far as I know it can be a sign of aggression or arousal (excitement) in the case of Jake it sounds like he is just excited to see a potential friend to play with

Raised hackles in my opinion is a sign of aggression or apprehension. I have never seen a dog showing hackles as a sign of excitement.

If you dog is showing hackles and its body is going down. He is showing apprehension. The body going down is a sign of submission. Your dog is not sure, wants to be friends but does not know what to expect from the approaching dog.

If your dog is showing hackles and his tail is up ram rod straight this is a definite sign of aggression.

Tail wagging can also be a sign of uncertainty rather than friendliness. It depends on the type of wag. If your dogs tail is flying off and he is all bouncy and happy then yes he is being friendly. If this is accompanied by hackles, is a slow wag and or accompanied by this bowing down position, it is a sign of uncertainty and or aggression depending on all the other body language displayed.

I have never known a dog yet wagging its tail and showing hackles who is pleased to meet the dog approaching. You can see this a lot in some dogs if they are approaching dogs who are black in colour as their body language and facial expressions can often be difficult to read.

This is all covered in the many booked written by Jan Fennell.

Tilly does it when there's a cat in the garden & also if she's playing with another dog & it gets a bit too boisterous, but her tail wags too so it seems like a mixture of excitement & apprehension.

It`s arousal - the reason depends on the circumstances. Quite often it`s just the dog trying to look big `just in case` so can be a sign of timidity. Or it can be a male strutting his stuff in front of another - just one of the signals they communicate by.

You said it best!

rune

Fin raises her hackles when she's having a mad play with other dogs, or when she's being agressive to Teagan!

Teagans only go up when she's scared/angry etc

thats what i thought... never seen jake being aggressive towards a dog ever.

lol, knowing jake and what a dafty he is, i always think its through excitement. didnt know if this was normal though, so want to make sure he isnt making up behaviours for the wrong thing

well, his behaviour depends on where he is in relation to the dog. if he is at a distance, they somtimes go up. when approaching another dog, he is very alert. head and ears up, fixated on them and tail wagging slowly (which i know can be uncertainty) but as he gets closer his tail picks up speed til its wagging like crazy.

if they go up when he is close to a dog, his tail is going like crazy, and he only goes down if its a play bow and with the play bow he jumps around the place, instigating play...

i dont think his behaviour is aggressive, he isnt an aggressive dog.

i think thats what i must be with jake... ive seen them go up when someone strange goes into the garden, but i know its just coz he is uncertain and apprehensive of the person. with dogs though he is great...

lol, jake is a very strutty dog

As Claire says 'trying to look big' both literally and metaphorically because it adds an inch or so to a dog's height .