Growly and sappy with other dogs....

NSLady

NSLady

Forums Novice
One of my shelties does not seem to like many other dogs. She loves our other sheltie, and there are a few dogs at the doggy daycare and at the park she will play with, but otherwise, she growls at them to back off and leave her alone. Most of the time, the other dogs just back off and leave her alone. The folks at the doggy daycare tell us not to worry as she is not an aggressive dog, she is just communicating that she doesn't want to play.

Today, however, for the first time ever the other dog did not back off. A dog at the park came running over to my sheltie. My sheltie growled at her/him and the other dog growled back. Then they both started showing teeth. My dog started to back down at that point, but the other dog would not leave her alone. Even though the other dog was slightly smaller than mine, I still picked my dog up. The other dog kept trying to jump up and get her. The owner of the other dog did very little to help....she just tried to distract her dog with a ball. There was no distracting this dog, his/her focus was solely on my dog who was now in my arms. This scary episode went on for about five minutes. I kept my dog in my arms until the other dog left.

Here is my question:

1. Should I be working with my dog to not growl at other dogs?
2. Was this a fight? If so, was it right for me to pick my dog up? What was the right thing to do?

Thank you for any comments.....I am still shaking over this as it has never ever happened before! My dog has gone to doggy daycare since she was a puppy and has never ever been in a fight.

Thanks
 
Your doggy daycare people can probably read her best, but it does sound like she is saying - back off. The other dog you saw at the park though sounds rude, very madly mannered and possibly aggressive. Your dog has every right to say I dont want to play without getting that rude response back. Was it a fight, no, but there is the pontential it could have led to one if you hadn't defused the situation by removing your dog.

As far as I'm concerned there is nothing wrong with you picking up your dog to get it away from a situation like you described. You are her carer after all and as the other dog owner had so little control (why didn't they grab their own dog and put it on lead or pull it away) you weren't left with many options. I'm not of the view that picking up a small dog (esp to remove it from danger) is going to make it want to take over the world.

Sounds like you did the right thing.
 
Thanks Caro. I really hope it never happens again. My sheltie is such a confident little dog that I would hate for her to lose that. Thanks so much.
 
It's a pretty good rule of thumb that if your dog starts growling/snapping only after another dog has approached him, your dog is not the aggressive one. Something about the other dog bothered your dog enough to provoke what might have appeared to be an aggressive reaction but was in all likelihood a defensive reaction.
 
I think you were right to pick her up, esp. since the other dog wasn't backing down either. While not technically a fight, in a few minutes, it most likely would have been one. Just one bite could cost hundreds of dollars or more in vet bills, and rob your dog of her confidence.

Not much help from the other owner, by just distracting her dog.:gaah
 
I'm with everyone else on this, better to be safe than sorry and removing her from the danger/situation is far preferable to risking an physical incident with another dog that the owner plainy didn't have adequate control over.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top