Why would you feel more intimadated by an under control dog??

Strange question but how can you feel more intimadated by a trained dog ?
Why would a silent dog lying down admitatly keeping an eye on a person scare them more than a dog bothering them..
This is what happened with a plumber and ozzie ..
He told me he was scarier just lying there rather then coming to say hello

Depends.

I may be concerned by an out of control dog as I have no idea what they may or may not do to my dogs rather than me.

I have been intimidated by a couple of dogs in my life because I knew their nature and that they could not be controlled.

Many people are intimidated by my GSD as he has a very focused look, ie when he has "lock on" you would have to be out of your mind in one way or another to try anything stupid.

That is genetic.

A dog of any breed that is lying down, unfocused is not intimidating (unless there are any other signals to say otherwise).

It is unlikely that I am going to be intimidated by dogs small enough to put in my briefcase............

It is not the fact that your dog was under control that was the issue, but the fact that your plumber was savvy enough to know that the dog was focused on him.

I try to respect people who have a genuine fear/nervousness around dogs - not everyone is raised with family pets and not everyone is "doggy". OH had never had any pets growing up, and despite liking dogs (his ex had a JRT), he did 'fess up to me that he was scared of my two first time he met them But two large breed dogs of quite intimidating breeds is understandable

I think a dog running over to you with an obvious wagging tail, wanting a sniff/snog/cuddle is going to throw out lots of "I'm friendly!" vibes, whereas a dog that's not come over is an unknown.

Because he cant read Ozzie.

A dog that is jumping around, tail going and generally being over the top, is one we usually see as "friendly" because they are making all the signs of friendship and most peopel will feel comfortable with such a dog, allbeit,they may not like a dog jumping and licking at them.

A dog that is "rigid" and "watching" can be more intimidating, due to the fact we have not made contact with them,, and dont really know what they are thinking.

What Jackbox said.

Our deliveries for post where we have to sign - I get the dogs to sit in the hallway and stay - the postman is there keeping an eye on the dogs whilst I'm signing for the parcel. I thought he'd be grateful that the dogs were sat and staying, rather than having to push past the dogs and close the door.

Well I wouldn`t. I`d just leave him alone.
I assume your plumber doesn`t speak Dog?

Depends HOW the dog is watching to be honest. If they're relaxed and watching then I'd have no issue. If they're rigid and staring at me then yeah I'd be concerned. I don't care how well trained that dog supposedly is.

Precisely.

I would say that your plumber speaks dog extremely well!

woof woof ,,

I think SMOKEYBEAR put it perfectly


Dexter has unnerved several people in our local park because he has a habit of approaching slowly, gaze locked on the person/dog he wants to greet. Even when he lies down his stare is so intense on them I've seen it disconcert them. So even though he's not jumping around and out of control, I know he's caused unease.

As has been mentioned, especially with big dogs, people can be downright terrified if they feel they are being 'stalked'