Have I got a potential problem brewing or am I over analysing

[babyblackbird]

Have posted on here a couple of times about my dog who has sadly been attacked 3 times in his relatively short 21 months. The first 2 he seemed to get over entirely but the last one which happened whilst at a dog sitters and didn't actually result in a bite has definitely stayed with him.

For quite a while now he has shown nervous behaviour around bigger dogs who approach him. Most of these encounters end without incident but he obviously looks scared. More recently he has told off 2 dogs who were very in his face by growling and snapping at them.

They were both younger dogs than him that did charge up in quite a full on manner and from my reading of the situation didn't take heed of his body language that he didn't want to interact with them.

BUT on each occasion I have been left wondering if this is the start of problems in the future as a result of these previous attacks.My immediate reaction was to say No to him which I straight away regretted as it's possible he was actually behaving entirely appropriately.

Just interested in opinions..... For what it's worth he is still intact as I was advised that whilst he is nervous he needs the testosterone.

[tadpole39]

Hi baby, I'm sat here with my dog on my knee following his castration yesterday.
Like your dog, he began to be a target for bigger male dogs on our local park, they would snarl at him, straddle him and go for his throat area. Poor pup would be screaming. This happened three times within 20 minutes one walk, I was a nervous wreck. I don't think the dogs actually hurt him, they could easily have killed him but it was terribly frightening for both of us. I sought advice and researched it and was convinced it was because he was intact. I meet these dogs regularly and have been dreading walks. Even keeping my pup on a leash didn't help as they were free running, so after much gnashing of teeth I decided that castration was the only way. I wanted to wait a bit longer, but frankly I'm a nervous wreck. I really hope it helps!

[tabulahrasa]

Telling off rude dogs isn't an issue in itself, but if you're noticing that generally he's unhappy with other dogs you do probably want to do something before it gets a chance to escalate.

Behaviourists sometimes run classes for dogs with mild training issues, much cheaper than a full on assessment but more useful than most other types of training classes, try having a look at any near you.

[babyblackbird]

Thanks for replies. Typically he has just been out with my husband who says he played really nicely with 2 fairly big dogs - golden retriever and Portuguese mountain dog, although he has met these dogs once before.
He was also accosted by a whippet who was a bit growly towards him but he didn't snap just looked uncomfortable.

[Noitsnotteatimeyet]

Not all dogs particularly like playing with other dogs once they get past puppyhood

My dog is generally politely aloof with other dogs who come up to him but if they're very boisterous and in his face - especially if they're small, barky dogs which tend to jump up at him - he will eventually tell them off.

He doesn't immediately snap, first of all he'll keep turning away but if they persist he will growl, air snap and pin them down. Once down he'll stand over them for a few seconds and then I can call him away.

The first few times he did it I worried that he was becoming aggressive but our trainer said he was behaving perfectly appropriately and was just making it clear that the other dog's attentions were unwanted, after they'd already ignored his first messages.

It's never been unprovoked - he will put up with quite a bit of nonsense-and he's never come close to biting, it's all 'handbags at dawn', but I realise to the other dog's owner it might look like he's being aggressive

[babyblackbird]

Thanks Noits that's very similar to mine although he hasn't ever pinned down. He is also not that interested in other dogs except a couple that he has known since a puppy and will play with endlessly.

He is also generally extremely tolerant. A couple of weeks ago he had the most enormous labradoodle puppy who was only 7 months but already towered above him (he 's a lab), playing very very boisterously. He was knocking my dog over etc and I could see that he eventually had had enough and so asked the owner to help separate them. Despite obviously being a bit fed up with this puppy he didn't growl or snap at all.

[Noitsnotteatimeyet]

Yea, my dog has 3 best friends- dogs he's known since he was a puppy and he romps around with them very happily

He's also very tolerant towards puppies even if they are being very bouncy

But apart from that he'd much rather interact with people than the vast majority of dogs

He was bitten a couple of times by other dogs when he was younger, thankfully not badly as his fur I'd so thick it protected him but enough to draw blood and that has made him more wary