When Dog Plays With New Puppy Hair Raised On Back

[Mason_Gibbs]

I got a new puppy this weekend and for the most part my big dog will ignore him. Sometimes though he does play with the puppy, usually he caries a toy around and the puppy follows and Mason likes him to chase him around ( he plays this way with all dogs). SOmetimes when they are playing nicely I will notice the fur on the big dogs neck and base of tail raise just slightly and I was wondering if he is excited ( he looks like he is enjoying the game and he is egging the pup on).Im not entirely sure what to make of it.

Sometimes if he meets a new dog and they play he will also do this for the first few minutes

Edited September 6, 2011 by Mason2009

[poodlefan]

Your seeing piloerection (raised hackles) Mason. Its a sign of high levels of arousal. It doesn't necessarily mean aggression.

ETA: Congratulations on the new addition to the family.

Edited September 6, 2011 by poodlefan

[Mason_Gibbs]

Thanks Poodlefan i did not think aggression ( he is the one who is always picked on by other dogs) but i did think that maybe he did it when annoyed??

[poodlefan]

Thanks Poodlefan i did not think aggression ( he is the one who is always picked on by other dogs) but i did think that maybe he did it when annoyed??

You need the experts to tell you why he might be doing it but its symptomaic of arousal. I have friends with dogs who positively bristle with raised hair in exciting situations!

[Weasels]

Raised hackles have evolved as a deterrent to intruders or other unwanted nearby critters to say "I'm big! Don't mess with me!". But it is certainly possible that some dogs do it in other situations as well, just as a knee-jerk reaction.

It is highly variable among dogs as to how readily they will raise their hackles. e.g. - My girl does it readily, almost whenever she meets a new dog or someone gets too close to our property. She gets a beautiful spiky mohawk the length of her back. My boy does it rarely, and the hair on his butt and neck just fluff out in all directions which is far more funny that threatening

I'd keep an eye on it, but not worry too much without any growling or other signs of trouble.

[persephone]

our youngsters do it when playing and playfighting ....

[aussielover]

Mindy does it as well, when she is happily playing with a friend. She has never been aggressive to anothe rdog in her life, so it dosn't neccesarily= aggression

I was speaking to her puppy trainer and apparently it is quite common in labs- as an excitement rather than aggression thing.

[Mason_Gibbs]

The 1 puppy ( a bigger 1 maybe 16 weeks old ..) had its fur up the whole time during free play at the photo shoot yesterday so maybe it is a lab thing

Edited September 6, 2011 by Mason2009

[BC Crazy]

Stella does this often when she is playing with Sonny. The more fun she is having the more raised her hackles become.

I always thought it meant aggression but I was mistaken. I have never seen her hackles up at any other time.

[wuffles]

A lab in our walking group almost constantly has his raised. He always plays nicely with the other dogs.

One of mine does it occasionally and it means he is excited but unsure. It generally stops when the other dog has shown themselves to be friendly. I keep an eye on him and remove him from the situation if I think it could go bad.

[Mason_Gibbs]

I think maybe my lab is just unsure about what the puppy is as he hss never spent time around such a young dog before

[**Super_Dogs**]

My labs raise their hackles freqently - including when playing.

[Skitch]

My small dog does it whenever he meets a new dog and he is generally very friendly and playful - usually he does it at the same time as wagging his tail and whining excitedly . So I dont think it necessarily means aggression, it could just mean that he's excited

[SparkyTansy]

I agree with PF - high levels of arousal that can be caused by different thing.

A friends dog does it whenever he meets puppies - he luuuuuurves puppies...

Puppies from my latest litter do it when they play with other dogs and each other.

[Bjelkier]

My Lab does it toowhen he plays. He is always friendly and has never had an issue with another dog.

[Weasels]

With this thread fresh in my mind, I met about 4 new dogs today while out walking. All were GSDs or shepherd mixes, all had some degree of raised hackles when they met my dogs. All meetings ended amicably, either in play or quietly moving along