Surprising Dog Reaction
Discussion
My Lab (male, not neutered, 1 year old) had a strange reaction to next door neighbour's kid this morning. Girl (about 9) who is nervous with dogs approached him (he was on lead) with her hand out and he jumped back, barked and started growling at her.
She got a fright and was upset. No damage done but it's shaken me up a bit as he's normally a gentle idiot.
Any thoughts on this? I'm not an experienced dog owner and this is completely out of character for him....is it a neutering thing, is it a common thing with dogs to react to certain people in such a way?
She got a fright and was upset. No damage done but it's shaken me up a bit as he's normally a gentle idiot.
Any thoughts on this? I'm not an experienced dog owner and this is completely out of character for him....is it a neutering thing, is it a common thing with dogs to react to certain people in such a way?
He must have felt threatened in some way, not necessarily the child, could have been a certain colour clothing.
My lab took an instant dislike to a cut down tree on our regular dog walk, I had to take her over to it and introduce it to calm her down.
They can have strange reactions to people, other dogs or anything from time to time because they are scared .
My lab took an instant dislike to a cut down tree on our regular dog walk, I had to take her over to it and introduce it to calm her down.
They can have strange reactions to people, other dogs or anything from time to time because they are scared .
towser said:
My Lab (male, not neutered, 1 year old) had a strange reaction to next door neighbour's kid this morning. Girl (about 9) who is nervous with dogs approached him (he was on lead) with her hand out and he jumped back, barked and started growling at her.
She got a fright and was upset. No damage done but it's shaken me up a bit as he's normally a gentle idiot.
Any thoughts on this? I'm not an experienced dog owner and this is completely out of character for him....is it a neutering thing, is it a common thing with dogs to react to certain people in such a way?
My two dogs can sometimes do this. One is 11months and the other 22months, and they can be fine with a neighbour one day and not the next. She got a fright and was upset. No damage done but it's shaken me up a bit as he's normally a gentle idiot.
Any thoughts on this? I'm not an experienced dog owner and this is completely out of character for him....is it a neutering thing, is it a common thing with dogs to react to certain people in such a way?
Being on the lead will have something to do with it. Next time get the kid to stand still and let the dog approach them to say hello.
Thanks for this.....coincidentally I bought him a new harness yesterday and he was wearing it this morning, not convinced he likes the crinkly noise from the velcro and it has a more robust strap across the chest than his old one so maybe he feels a little more constricted / trapped than usual and panicked a little. If only they could talk.....!
GT03ROB said:
Animals sense evil....
I know this is a joke, but sometimes I wonder. We have a German Shepherd who was about 6 at the time, we were at a friends house, dog was happily playing with everyone, no problems. Then their housekeeper walked into the room, an unassuming woman, with to my mind no distinguishing characteristics, carrying nothing. The dog went apes
t, full werewolf (which with a big GSD is pretty scary), and positioned herself between this woman and the children, wouldn't let her come close. There was no actual attack, but I'm pretty confident that if she had ignored the warning, there would have been.The dog had never done anything like this before, and never done it since. I'd love to be able to say that the woman turned out to be a prolific serial killer, but I can't. All very odd! The woman concerned is now referred to informally as "The Terminator". Perhaps your neighbours daughter is also a Terminator?
Edited by rxe on Tuesday 8th September 15:26
Our Frenchie really didn't like people wearing masks... !!
Fortunately she seems to have got used to it now.
Like the Lab in the original post though, she can randomly take against people for no apparent reason. Holding them on a lead will make it worse as they think its you that is frightened and they go into protection mode. I appreciate you do need to keep the dog under control on the lead though, so its a hard issue to resolve.
Fortunately she seems to have got used to it now.
Like the Lab in the original post though, she can randomly take against people for no apparent reason. Holding them on a lead will make it worse as they think its you that is frightened and they go into protection mode. I appreciate you do need to keep the dog under control on the lead though, so its a hard issue to resolve.
Chester(the fat half Basset) has a weird reaction to people with diabetes! A friend of my step-daughter had an insulin pump on her and Chester wouldn't go near her and growled madly when she tried to get close to him.
I trust dogs instincts, more often than not if they think someone's a 'wrong' un' then they probably are!
But, sometimes something random will spook them and our reaction to that 'spooked -ness' can calm them or make them worse.
I trust dogs instincts, more often than not if they think someone's a 'wrong' un' then they probably are!
But, sometimes something random will spook them and our reaction to that 'spooked -ness' can calm them or make them worse.
Our rescue Yoshi goes bat sh*t mental at mother in law (no it’s not a Les Dawson gag) but only if she walks into “his” room, and only for 10/15 seconds - everywhere else he is fine with her, we were at a loss over why until we saw pictures of his previous owner with exactly the same haircut build and stature so we’ve put it down to a memory being triggered
Or he’s just an excellent judge of character
Or he’s just an excellent judge of character
rxe said:
GT03ROB said:
Animals sense evil....
I know this is a joke, but sometimes I wonder. I've always been calm & relaxed around animals & for some reason cats/dogs quickly relax with me. Wife's son is the same. Her daughter on the other hand is the opposite & will always be chased/growled at/snapped at.
OP said the neighbours daughter was nervous with dogs, I'm sure the dog picked up on that & also felt ill at ease hence the reaction.
Couple of things, kids move slightly differently to adults. Younger ones especially, they are also prone to making sudden noises or movements. Also the child's nervousness would definitely have been noticed by your dog.
If you want to help your dog, you could (if you can bear it) sit near, not too close to a kids play area (dog on lead/harness) and reward your dog for looking at them - then leave - do this regularly if you can. I wouldn't let kids approach till you are super confident and keep it really short, choose the right kids for him to meet (not too young, and calm ones). If you know any friends with kids who could walk with you (but not intrude on your dog's space, maybe at the end of the walk give it a treat but not try to stroke) that might also help. I'd urge caution with this one, even a small nip could have serious consequences. It sounds like your dog is nervous of kids and that's his way of telling you he is unsure. Listen to him
If you want to help your dog, you could (if you can bear it) sit near, not too close to a kids play area (dog on lead/harness) and reward your dog for looking at them - then leave - do this regularly if you can. I wouldn't let kids approach till you are super confident and keep it really short, choose the right kids for him to meet (not too young, and calm ones). If you know any friends with kids who could walk with you (but not intrude on your dog's space, maybe at the end of the walk give it a treat but not try to stroke) that might also help. I'd urge caution with this one, even a small nip could have serious consequences. It sounds like your dog is nervous of kids and that's his way of telling you he is unsure. Listen to him
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