Dog squabbles

[LolaNH123]

Join our free community today.

Connect with other like-minded dog lovers!

Login or Register

Hi everyone,
I am new to the forum and I have a question about dog behaviour.

I was wondering if minor squabbles (where both dogs aren't injured) are normal for dogs. My 5 yr old female dog seems to get in quite a few disagreements. Most of the time the other dogs seem to be the instigators of the fights.

Is this behaviour normal, particularly with dogs who don't know each other?

 

[JudyN]

Hi, and welcome to the forum.

Yes, dog squabbles are 'normal' in that they often happen, but they are far from desirable. If your dog is often picked on, this will make her more stressed/fearful of other dogs, which could be why she sometimes seems to be the instigator. Though dogs' body language can be very fast and subtle, so it's often not possible to tell who 'really' started it - there may have been a dirty look, or a subsonic grumble, or a slight freezing of the body on one side or the other.

Can I ask what breed your dog is? And where do you tend to walk her - is it in an area with lots of dogs allowed to mingle however they want? Does she seem to enjoy the companyof dogs she does get on with?

My suggestion is that you do whatever is necessary to avoid close contact with other dogs. Have a read of this article on reactivity: Dog Reactivity You might not need to keep too much distance, maybe just keep away from areas where other dogs can come running up. If a dog does approach, you could call to the owner to ask them to call their dog away, though often as not they just look nonplussed or just say 'It's fine, he's friendly!'

 

[RGC]

Quite agree. We also had similar experience with our first rescue - actually, we found her ‘lost’ at six months. According to the local whippet rescue rep. she was probably abandoned by travellers. Anyway, she was terrified of other dogs and, on one occasion, was attacked by another dog. Her fearful nature must have been apparent to other dogs. The other dog owner’s reaction was “Oh, she’s never done that before”. Rubbish! We think that Poppy, our rescued/found whippet, had been bullied in her former life. As JudyN says, avoid canine congested areas and let others know of your dog’s nature.

 

[LolaNH123]

Hi, and welcome to the forum.

Yes, dog squabbles are 'normal' in that they often happen, but they are far from desirable. If your dog is often picked on, this will make her more stressed/fearful of other dogs, which could be why she sometimes seems to be the instigator. Though dogs' body language can be very fast and subtle, so it's often not possible to tell who 'really' started it - there may have been a dirty look, or a subsonic grumble, or a slight freezing of the body on one side or the other.

Can I ask what breed your dog is? And where do you tend to walk her - is it in an area with lots of dogs allowed to mingle however they want? Does she seem to enjoy the companyof dogs she does get on with?

My suggestion is that you do whatever is necessary to avoid close contact with other dogs. Have a read of this article on reactivity: Dog Reactivity You might not need to keep too much distance, maybe just keep away from areas where other dogs can come running up. If a dog does approach, you could call to the owner to ask them to call their dog away, though often as not they just look nonplussed or just say 'It's fine, he's friendly!'

Thanks for the advice! She is a big cockapoo and I usually walk her in quiet fields where there are a few dogs (mostly off lead) but not loads. Occasionally we go to the park where there tends to be more dogs mingling.

She actually seems to enjoy playing and interacting with dogs she trusts. Sometimes she can be very full on when playing.

Thanks for the article. I probably should have mentioned, she is lead reactive towards other dogs. She seems to get very overexcited when restrained and if I don't get her away from the other dogs she barks and lunges. Although I have been trying to work on her lead reactivity and she has definitely gotten better.

The dog owners around here seem to be useless at getting their dogs back to them. 95% of the dogs have basically zero recall and if I ask them to get their dog they usually just give me a funny look.

 

[JoanneF]

You could try throwing treats on the ground and walking away while the other dog scoops them up. If anyone complains about little Precious only being allowed beluga caviar as a treat, you can tell them that if they'd had a better recall, you wouldn't have needed to do that.

Or, shout out that your dog as a really stubborn infestation of fleas. That focuses people on getting their dog back fast ...

 

[Hemlock]

Predict - pre-empt. I strongly recommend you are pro-active and move "out of the line of fire" before things kick off. This protects your dog and once she realises you will do this, she will become less likely to get involved in argy-bargy. Also avoid dogs "playing" where she becomes assertive, because (as in children's playgrounds) it isn't playing but bullying. As she has dog friends with whom she does play nicely, keep dog/dog interaction between these only. And welcome to the forum, and credit to you for realising this behaviour isn't harmless, and asking us for guidance.

 

[LolaNH123]

You could try throwing treats on the ground and walking away while the other dog scoops them up. If anyone complains about little Precious only being allowed beluga caviar as a treat, you can tell them that if they'd had a better recall, you wouldn't have needed to do that.

Or, shout out that your dog as a really stubborn infestation of fleas. That focuses people on getting their dog back fast ...

Thanks! That seems like it would work, especially saying your dog has fleas haha.

 

[LolaNH123]

Predict - pre-empt. I strongly recommend you are pro-active and move "out of the line of fire" before things kick off. This protects your dog and once she realises you will do this, she will become less likely to get involved in argy-bargy. Also avoid dogs "playing" where she becomes assertive, because (as in children's playgrounds) it isn't playing but bullying. As she has dog friends with whom she does play nicely, keep dog/dog interaction between these only. And welcome to the forum, and credit to you for realising this behaviour isn't harmless, and asking us for guidance.

Okay, thanks for the advice!

 

[arealhuman]

I probably should have mentioned, she is lead reactive towards other dogs. She seems to get very overexcited when restrained and if I don't get her away from the other dogs she barks and lunges. Although I have been trying to work on her lead reactivity and she has definitely gotten better.

Our first recuse dog, Jimmy, was like this. We never really got him out of it, although in his later years he did mellow a lot. He was attacked by other dogs before he came to us, and had the scars to prove it, and his behaviour was often misidentified by other dog owners as aggression. It's not, it's a defence mechanism for himself and possibly us, too. Patience, and avoiding other dogs as mentioned, is the key (or it was for us). You're right about other owners - most would shout "he's just being friendly, he's OK" which is worthless when you're dog is scared for his wellbeing.