He only wants to say Hi

I guess this is training related but thought it might be of interest in this section.

If I am wrong please move it.

http://www.flyingdogpress.com/content/view/42/97/


I think this is a really interesting article. I struggled with one of my puppy owners with this very issue when they told me the pup was dog aggressive, After a long conversation and walk out I realised they really could not understand and I took the pup back.

Yes I have posted the link several times on the forum when people complain their dogs snap at dogs invading their space.

Maybe it should be pinned in the training section. is that possible ?

Yes - it is sad when dog owners and handlers are so ignorant of their dogs` nature and methods of communication they actually believe dogs `say hello` to each other.
Shamus is excellent because he reacts to rude overtures with blood-curdling growls (that`s all he does btw) and the owners swiftly get the message.
Admittedly they do tend to rush off clutching foo-foo and muttering about `nasty` dogs but I can live with that.

I used to go through this with Shadow, he never harmed any of them but he could sound like he was tearing them limb from limb. The dogs never seemed to get really upset, they'd always want to come back to him anyway (although more politely than their original approach), the owners though...oh I had such a vicious dog! Rupert, who given the chance I think would really hurt another dog, doesn't make a sound therefore other owners seem to think he's friendly and I'm neurotic

Honey is great at getting dogs to back off, as long as their not a older bitch, she will always back down to them, but it is a good thing, as if we arrange to walk with others she's allowed to teach manners, and the dogs owners actually realise that dogs need boundries with other dogs, but some people do refuse to walk with her, and if we see a dog round and about some people wont let their dogs near her, infact a theres two owners, one of a DDB and one of a Spanish Mastiff who wont let their dogs near her, even though the only problem between Honey and the Spainish is that Honey told him off once he tried to mount her, but I would rather walk on my own then walk with dogs who are allowed to walk over others, my dogs don't deserve that.

Thanks for posting this, it's really interesting.

Our Ben is a lovely tolerant dog usually, but when puppies jump all over him he will tolerate it for a few minutes and then he's had enough and doesn't worry too much about telling them to back off, usually with a growl, though yesterday he did bark (only one swift sharp bark) to say "enough!" to a very exuberant puppy who was jumping all over his head.

His main problem is with bigger dark coloured dogs though, and the article has made me think a bit more about how we deal with those situations. I will definitely try more to take control and "protect" him, rather than have him feel he needs to bark to deal with the situation he finds himself in.

An excellent article. Thank you again.

I've always found when i've brought puppies in that mine will tolerate almost anything up to about 6 months, after that the pup gets told if they go OTT

Thanks for posting that - I hadn't seen it before. I've now saved it in my folder on my PC and will read it again a few times today.

This is almost exactly the problem I have at home between my Longdog bitch and GSD bitch. The problem I have is that Yiannis is involved too so I have a triangle of dogs telling each other off or acting rudely. The problem is that if Jenzi attacks, Tashi doesn't defend herself.

It's an absolute nightmare to sort out in a multi-dog household if more than 2 dogs are involved. Separating the 2 bitches (which is initially all I had to do) was easy. I could pair them off with one of the boys but I can't do that now.

So back to the draawing board for me I think.

Yes tolerance is what it is all about when it comes to what enters personal space.
Know your dog's tolerance space.
The higher the intolerance the wider the radius.