my dog scared me today...

I have written here before about the few times my dog would growl at me. This was always when she was eating something I was trying to get her away from - and always outside. I know that is not ok and since then I havent had another issue with this.

Today though a neighbor's dog who weve never seen before was running thru the field i exercise my dog in. My dog as usual ran up to her and they started playing. (my dog plays with ALL dogs - she even lays on the ground for smaller dogs). But i dont know why - she pinned this dog and just started growling - showing her teeth - I was very scared. I didnt know if she would actually bite this dog - the other dog seemed ok - wasnt freaking out or anything. But i reached for her collar and attached her to the leash - and i was very very worried about doing so.

After that - they were trying to play again. IS THIS NORMAL????? This was very unlike her!!!! (she is a rescue and im not sure of her breed - maybe pit, but a lot of people including vet think rodesian ridgeback)

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ANY HELP!!!

How old is she? how long have you had her for? ........also.....why are trying to take her food off her?!!

Shes 3 as of this month i believe. ive had her 2.5 years

i dont take her food - i try to get her away from things she shouldnt be eating - like cat poo.

What was the other dog like when you let it up?? if it was bouncing back for some more then it may just have been play
Ben and his ladyfriend lucy play like that all the time, she slams him to the floor and pins him and pretend savages him - lots of growling and teeth showing, but its all friendly, he LOVES it

If not, and that is not his normal behaviour then I would be trying to figure out why this one off thing happend
was the other dog being rude? is he in any kind of pain?
Without seeing it none of us can really comment but remember he could easily have inflicted dammage and he didnt so it wasnt that nasty

I would tend to agree that if it wanted to draw blood your dog could have so i would be more inclined to think it was just play or she could just have been giving this dog a bit of a telling off which can sound worse than it is but without having seen it's hard to tell

My dogs look and sound like they`re killing each other when they`re playing - but they don`t hurt each other. I`d go by the other dog`s reaction - was the dog in pain or fear?
It sounds like you`ve got quite a bossy little dog - why not work on basic training a bit (Recall, Sit and Leave )- so you`re not having to grab hold of her?

I don't want to suggest that you can't read your dog... but just thought I'd mention that my dog has one particular friend that she plays rough with. She never plays this rough with other dogs but these two stalk each other, jump at each other, pin each other and the other dog actually pins her and gets her by the throat.

People walking past think they're trying to kill each other but they love it.

Like someone else said, if the other dog bounces back and they were fine afterwards, trying to play, I'd suggest it may have just been very high energy play that she may not have felt she could do with other dogs.

Just like us, sometimes dogs will just 'click' and know how far they can push each other in play - others they are very polite with.

My 2 boys play all the time, wrestling, racing, playing tug the rope toy, etc and are the best of friends. Ollie is a 7 month old GSP and Freddie a 2 yr old rescued Springador. Sometimes (well actually quite often!), when they are wrestling Ollie oversteps the mark and Freddie snarls showing his teeth and gives the most awful, blood curdling growl. This always has the desired effect of making Ollie back off and adopt submissive puppy mode (briefly!), then they continue to play. I never intervene because Ollie can be quite pushy sometimes and needs to be reminded where the boundaries are.

As has already been said, the reaction of the other dog is a pretty good indication of what was going on with your dog.

Ok - well that helps a lot!!

The other dog even when on the ground didnt seem bothered. Once i had my dog on her leash (and I didnt let her off again after THAT) - both wanted to continue to play - doing that paws spread out - butt in air and then bouncing move.

In fact the other dog's family were calling him and wouldnt go - he kept running towards them but then came back. I had to lead him thru the woods to get him home - NOT easy w/ 2 big dogs wanting to play.

Thanks for all your replies - i was nervous my dog was in need of some major help.

Aww yeah sounds like she just has a really special friend there
Nothing to worry about at all