I have a beautiful and well behaved liver Dalmatian. She is four years old and has two hours free running every day with a group of dogs of different sizes and breeds.
When she was a puppy I made sure she was well socialised with other dogs however I think I made a mistake letting her play with bigger dogs. She did get hurt on a couple of occasions whilst playing, and now has been showing aggression towards bigger older dogs for a while now - she doesn't bite them she just tells them off. I try to keep her away from them but some owners will let their dogs come over to her and if they stay sniffing too long she will snap and growl at them. The owners then look on in horror so I tell them she is afraid of big dogs but they still don't call theirs away.
I have tried two different dog trainers, one was a bit forceful and did agility in the same class which i didn't want to do and the other was training towards Good Citizen Awards which again I am not interested in.
I am getting a bit desperate now so can you help?
Lilian Wright, by email
I have a Border Collie who reacts in the same way to most dogs which bother her too much. I think she thinks she is a human not a dog. SHe has always been like this and I just let them sort themselves out. The onus is not on you to keep the other dogs away; it is on the other dog owners to keep their dogs under control or accept the consequences.
ReplyDeletePS I am not a behaviour specialist
Could it be that you, without realising, react to larger dogs differently? A lot of my clients have one time that their dog reacts to a certain breed/height of dog, and then they find it happens all the time because they themselves tense, making the dog think there is something to worry about.
ReplyDeleteIt is not surprising that if your dog has been hurt and a bit surprised by big rufty tufty dogs as a puppy that she is beginning to tell some dogs that she doesn't want anything to do with them. Having been pummelled she (sensible girl) really doesn't want to repeat the experience. Some dog owners are notoriously bad at reading their dogs body language, and will insist that their dogs are "just being friendly" (eye roll here!). You are within your rights to tell other owners to please help you as your dog is a bit nervous and you are in the process of re building her confidence with other dogs. There is a very new and great training trend which is being taken up- social walks. If you do a search on the internet with a bit of luck you will find one in your area I can recommend these to you. I do quite a lot of these type of confidence building classes and all the dogs are on lead, and they are observed and guided by the trainer. These will definitely help your dog if you can find one in your area. Good luck, and try to avoid busy dog heavy areas at the moment, and try to find a quiet laid back dog to walk with who will help you and your dog to relax and enjoy your walks
ReplyDelete