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He Just Wants To Say Hi


Rebanne
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:thumbsup: Brilliant article. I just learnt so much!

Thankfully mainly good things that I can easily improve on and address. Ie, I need to stand up for my little dog more, and that my old dog is totally fine. (She’s a bit of a Cream).

Edited by Alkhe
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Guest donatella

i should forward this to the owners of the 2 big huskies who "just wanted to play" with my (at the time) 2.5kg dog.

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Thanks for posting this again Rebanne.

I read this article in here many moons ago and its been a great help over the years. :thumbsup:

Honey is just like Cream, she dislikes pushy dogs in her face and, if they persist, will warn them off with a growl.

I always try to step in and shoo away any pushy dogs before it gets to this point, I don't give a crap what the other owners say.

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Great article :)

I wish more people would read it.

However, I Have some issues with it:

I do not excpect my dog to be attacked if she walks within 3ft of another dog (unless she is directly approaching the other dog). I don't think a dog that can't tolerate having another dog within 3 ft of it is really suitable to be at a dog event, I mean can another dog not even walk past at close proximity:confused:

invade her space (which in such public settings is perhaps 2-3 feet from her body)

Also don't think its "normal" for a dog to attack a young puppy.

Even my grumpy old aussie would tolerate a young pup bouncing all over her and she was not generally tolerant of other dog at all.

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I agree with your first point, but not your second.

My dog wont tolerate a puppy bouncing all over her. She wont "attack", but she will grumble then do a loud growl if it persists.

Which is why I will not let puppies near her if they are jumping around and over excited (as most pups are). Its not hard to prevent, especially if you mention that your dog isn't very tolerant of being jumped on.

Its best practice not to allow a young pup to jump on strange dogs, not all dogs like puppies. Whether or not its normal is up for argument and besides the point. Safety first.

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Great article thanks. Leaves me with a few unanswered questions though - can people direct me to more articles which go into what the definition of a 'rude' dog is?

I have a 14 week pup and have never had a dog before so have never been in a situation where I'd need to know until now. And everyone is keen to point out that what is ok for human behaviour may not be ok for dogs and vice versa but I am finding it difficult to get more info.

For example it would be very rude for me to go and sniff someone's behind (!) yet it seems ok for dogs lol

Edited by Jarvis
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I think the point was: it is up to the owner to protect their dog, to make their dog feel safe, no matter what is happening around it.

I posted the link to the article to make people think about just how rude are they and their dogs.

I know I cringed inwardly when I read it the very first time, I know it opened my eyes very wide to how others viewed my actions and those of my dog. I know it made me a much better dog owner.

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Great article thanks. Leaves me with a few unanswered questions though - can people direct me to more articles which go into what the definition of a 'rude' dog is?

I have a 14 week pup and have never had a dog before so have never been in a situation where I'd need to know until now. And everyone is keen to point out that what is ok for human behaviour may not be ok for dogs and vice versa but I am finding it difficult to get more info.

For example it would be very rude for me to go and sniff someone's behind (!) yet it seems ok for dogs lol

Honestly I think it varies from dog to dog. My boys seem to think a butt sniff without first making eye contact and sniffing faces is quite uncivilised. But it's perfectly fine to do one afterwards.

I think mostly 'rudeness' comes down to personal space. Some dogs are more sensitive to personal space than others. Erik seems to think it's quite rude to make contact with another dog he doesn't know very well in play (not uncommon with herders IME). Kivi will happily sideswipe, jostle, and bowl over a dog he's known for a total of 15 seconds. That's if he hasn't just thrown himself on the ground with the hope that they will come and wrestle with him. When you look at how differently they behave, it is unsurprising that there are misunderstandings amongst dogs that don't know each other. Some dogs will naturally tend to be more physical and some will naturally want less physical contact (or none at all). You just have to read the dogs involved. But it's not very easy. Lots of dogs aren't all that comfortable with greetings. Probably because they never quite know how it's going to pan out. They have all this history that comes out as soon as they see another dog.

Some people don't let their dogs greet at all, and I can understand that. I think it's important for Kivi at least to greet, though. Sometimes Erik doesn't want to and sometimes he does. I let them decide most of the time, but I make sure they don't do a lot of crowding or sniff for more than a moment or two, which can be too intense for some dogs.

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Thanks Corvus.

Met a boxer on our walk this eve. Jarvis is desperate to meet all people and dogs. I asked his owner if it would be ok to say hi. Jarvis went and sniffed (his nose this time!) but the boxer got jumpy so we just said bye. Jarvis was disappointed. I just think he can't understand why anyone wouldn't want to say hi (human or canine!).

Anyway thanks for the info. Jarvis is obviously an 'in your face' friendly kind of dog so I will keep a close eye on him (and keep him on lead until he is older and wiser).

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What a brilliantly written article, I really empathised with that. Gives me some good tips and advise as well for my older boy who is simply not up to rambunctious two-hour play sessions anymore and will let other dogs know if they persist on pestering.

"Since Lab puppies often resemble a cannonball crossed with a Sumo wrestler on drugs and consequently like heavy duty physical contact (preferably in mid-air, at great speed)" :rofl:

Think I may share on FB :)

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Anyway thanks for the info. Jarvis is obviously an 'in your face' friendly kind of dog so I will keep a close eye on him (and keep him on lead until he is older and wiser).

I wouldn't worry too much at this point. It's pretty common for puppies to be 'in your face'. They are babies and they believe everyone will love them. The best way for them to learn how to behave is experience. As they get older they typically grow out of the impossibly exuberant greetings and calm down a little. Kivi was about 10 months old when he started thinking twice about approaching every single dog and loving on them. Erik was about 14 months. I got pretty excited and proud of them when they started making sensible decisions about other dogs. It's a coming of age. :) Before that they will just approach every dog and they need you to keep an eye on them and hover over them and stop them from approaching some dogs that are giving them the eye and growling.

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