stef_83 Posted March 30, 2010 Share Posted March 30, 2010 while out walking saffron she acted very funny, an older rough looking man was walking past and as he approched us she started snarling and all her fur was was it took all my strength to hold her back. he wasnt acting threating in any way just muttered something about muzzling my mutt. but she did not like him at all. then once he was out of sight she was fine again and back to her normal self wagging her tail and doing her usual look at me butt wiggle she does when ppl walk past. any ideas what that was all about? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oakway Posted March 30, 2010 Share Posted March 30, 2010 Your dog just sensed something she/he did not like, or rememberd something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stef_83 Posted March 30, 2010 Author Share Posted March 30, 2010 Your dog just sensed something she/he did not like, or rememberd something. should i just shrug this off or be concerend Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuchulain Posted March 30, 2010 Share Posted March 30, 2010 I trust my dog's judgment implicitly. If my dog reacts like that to somebody, I take heed of the warning. There was something about that bloke that your dog felt uncomfortable/uneasy about, he/she was just letting you know. I know I'm inexperienced as Max is my first dog but he hasn't been wrong about a person yet. The first 2 people too whom he has reacted negatively were people not to be trusted. I discovered this when commenting on his reaction to a colleague and it was pointed out to me that both the people concerned have a bad reputation around town for dishonesty. The 3rd person is my dad's gardener whom I've never liked or trusted. Max positively hates him and goes mad on a Thursday when he's here to work. I try and organise to be away from the workshop for the day because Max gets so upset. Even after Wellington has gone home Max patrols the garden, growling and muttering for at least an hour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdierikx Posted March 30, 2010 Share Posted March 30, 2010 Trust your dog's instincts - there is something she doesn't like about that person. And don't be too concerned, she was only making sure he didn't approach you. If this is a one-off, then I'd not be worried about it at all - in fact, I'd be proud of my baby for alerting me to the possible danger. T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dee lee Posted March 30, 2010 Share Posted March 30, 2010 (edited) Judging by the muttering the guy was mentally not right and I'd say your dog picked up on it. I'm afraid I don't have the same faith in dogs as judges of character as a lot of Dolers. My dog just recently barked at a kid with aspergers (I believe dog's are sensitive to these things) yet wagged her tail at a couple of young hoods who had just stolen someone's bag and were definitely trouble. Edited March 30, 2010 by ✽deelee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corvus Posted March 30, 2010 Share Posted March 30, 2010 I think dogs are more sensitive to abnormal behaviour than poor character. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rastus_froggy Posted March 30, 2010 Share Posted March 30, 2010 I recently had a similar thing occur while walking our dogs. A guy was walking out of the carpark onto the street in front of us on his way to work and Chevy started pulling back on the lead really badly and tried to slip his collar to get away, so I sped up and took a wide berth around this guy, then Chevy was pulling like mad to get away and looking back. So I sped up even more AND crossed the road, Chevy was distressed and looking back for an entire block until this guy went into his work. Very bizzare behaviour for this dog as he has NEVER done anything like this before, he has never reacted badly to any human or animal, he is the most loving, best natured dog I have ever come across. Am I concerned about this behaviour? No but if it occurs again I will look deeper into it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fainty_girl Posted March 30, 2010 Share Posted March 30, 2010 I think dogs are a pretty good judge of character mostly... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k9angel Posted March 30, 2010 Share Posted March 30, 2010 There is this skitzophrenic guy my family has known for years and years. He lives with his parents in our old neighborhood. Harmless bloke most of the time, UNLESS he doesnt take his medication. Anyways my girl Gypsy has never disliked anybody in her 11 years - except him. Ever since she was a pup she has barked, growled and carried on if he is about. She only has to hear his voice and she goes ballistic. She doesnt bite him, but she doesnt settle no matter what. And I have to say this guy is scary when he hasnt had his meds. I believe she senses something is not right with him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odin-Genie Posted March 30, 2010 Share Posted March 30, 2010 I think dogs are more sensitive to abnormal behaviour than poor character. Agree. Dogs can react to hats, beards, long coats, strange smells, how a person relates to dogs. It's not always about character. I would not automatically write off someone just because my dogs were wary of the person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auir Posted March 30, 2010 Share Posted March 30, 2010 i would take it as your dog didnt like the other person or was unwary of them and just didnt want them getting near you our bc does similar, well sort of, he loves everyone he meets wants to be patted and acknowledged, but occasionally when out walking he very wary of some random people, he either wont want to walk in the direction that would result in them crossing each others path or focuses on them and has to constantly re-check what there doing (ie look back to make sure they havent increased pace, crossed the road etc) until he has a decent distance between us and them. Also he has become a pain (not really) when the OH comes walking as well, he doesnt trust anyone then, he becomes very protective must walk next to her, must watch everyone infront of us, behind us, on the other side of the road. Never barks or snarls, or anything like that but just watches everyone and whenever anyone gets close he will swap sides (if necessary) so he is between them and her. Tho this only started once the OH was around 20 weeks pregant so maybe that has something to do with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stef_83 Posted March 30, 2010 Author Share Posted March 30, 2010 i would take it as your dog didnt like the other person or was unwary of them and just didnt want them getting near youour bc does similar, well sort of, he loves everyone he meets wants to be patted and acknowledged, but occasionally when out walking he very wary of some random people, he either wont want to walk in the direction that would result in them crossing each others path or focuses on them and has to constantly re-check what there doing (ie look back to make sure they havent increased pace, crossed the road etc) until he has a decent distance between us and them. Also he has become a pain (not really) when the OH comes walking as well, he doesnt trust anyone then, he becomes very protective must walk next to her, must watch everyone infront of us, behind us, on the other side of the road. Never barks or snarls, or anything like that but just watches everyone and whenever anyone gets close he will swap sides (if necessary) so he is between them and her. Tho this only started once the OH was around 20 weeks pregant so maybe that has something to do with it. saffron has been like that with my oh since she was pregnant with our son saffron has become so protective of her but she was very gently etc when meeting bub for first time. i have just found out that at the other end of our road is a home for the mentally challenged, maybe he came from there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubiton Posted March 30, 2010 Share Posted March 30, 2010 Came around a blind corner once and a bloke (who would have been close to too old to be on a skateboard) mistimed what he was doing - I assume the plan was to jump the kerb then we appeared so he took evasive action leaping off the skateboard but still coming straight for us. Dog jumped to the side hackles up and just barked at him - she was really put out by his actions. I could see what happened and all was fine but she was all on alert for a few minutes. I told her how good she was as she reacted to what she perceived as a threat as one day it might be someone who actually is a threat flying at us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumof3 Posted March 30, 2010 Share Posted March 30, 2010 As a kid, I had a rescue golden retriever. Never said boo to anyone we met on the street, except once, walking with him in the bushland, a man approached me and my dog went balistic. Golden retriever with a guttural growl, straining on the lead to get at this bloke, hackles up. The man went away and I went straight home, upset by how upset Jasper had become. I don't remember anything strange about this bloke, and he was one of many people who approached us over the years. He had approached us in a normal way, with a hello, and crossed the bush trail to be closer to us. I often wonder what would have happened if I didn't have Jasper with me. Mum was always very insistent upon us taking the dog if we went anywhere. Who knows what they pick up, be it strange behaviour, mental illness, subtle body language cues or just plain character. Doubtless not all dogs do it, some are oblivious. If your dog does take exception to someone though, I'd be inclined to heed the warning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekhbet Posted March 30, 2010 Share Posted March 30, 2010 your dog reacted to his body language and smell. I would be more concerned about your limitations on holding her back. No excuse if saffron had bitten the man on that occasion. I would look into further obedience, acknowledge the dogs view of the person but you want control as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RR-Melbourne Posted March 31, 2010 Share Posted March 31, 2010 while out walking saffron she acted very funny, an older rough looking man was walking past and as he approched us she started snarling and all her fur was was it took all my strength to hold her back. he wasnt acting threating in any way just muttered something about muzzling my mutt. but she did not like him at all. then once he was out of sight she was fine again and back to her normal self wagging her tail and doing her usual look at me butt wiggle she does when ppl walk past.any ideas what that was all about? Hi my dog does exactly the same. I have a 10 month old Rhodesian Ridgeback who is superbly social with dogs, children and happily approached strangers and lets them pat him. We live in the inner suburbs and have a Salvation Army Shelter in the area. He can spot scruffy homeless types in an instant and his demeanour goes from loveable care free to vigilant protector and deeply rumbles and stares them out until they have passed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longcoat Posted March 31, 2010 Share Posted March 31, 2010 (edited) Personally, I would knock that behaviour on the head FAST regardless of the person's looks etc, if they were not acting in a threatening manner, the dog shouldn't take it upon it'self to react. The problem is, the behaviour can escalate if not corrected and before long, they can be lunging with stranger aggression towards anyone they don't know unpredictably. I would keep my eye on that behaviour closely, and if she does it again, she would get a firm NO and a good leash correction if she was my dog. Edited March 31, 2010 by Longcoat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stef_83 Posted March 31, 2010 Author Share Posted March 31, 2010 what collars etc would ppl advise in using i have tried a halti but she is between sizes one is clearly to small and pinches where as the next size up she can pull off herself plus it is losse anyways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dee lee Posted April 1, 2010 Share Posted April 1, 2010 what collars etc would ppl advise in using i have tried a halti but she is between sizes one is clearly to small and pinches where as the next size up she can pull off herself plus it is losse anyways. A martingale or limited slip collar is a great tool. You can get them custom made to your dog's size and they deliver much better control than a flat collar. I got one when I had a dog who would lunge, there was no way I was going to risk her hurting her neck by using a halti. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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