Other dogs don't seem to like my dog.....

[tri10]

We have a golden lab that we got at the end of may. He's is about 2 and previously lived with 2 gsd. A first he seemed fine with other dogs a little overly pleased to see them but no problems but when walking etc we had only encountered medium to large dogs, he doesn't go off the lead as his recall isn't reliable but does have a flexi lead.

About 2 weeks after we had him my husband was walking him and met a neighbour who was walking her dog and friends, the friends dog was just friendly saying hello when her cairn terrier ran over and started biting at his chest then the friends dog joined, apparently she didn't do anything to stop it just stood there going omg he has never done this before etc. this dog now goes absolutely ballistic when they see each other but have never met when the terrier has been off the lead again.

Lots of other terriers seem to go ballistic barking their heads off when we pass and I'm not sure if this is normal terrier behaviour or a dislike of my dog.

A supposedly friendly lab went for him the other day when they were both on leads.

Finally today I was walking round the village green and my friends dog who a jack Russell( who we have only ever met on the lead before with friends husband and has barked but she has always said her dog. Is very laid back etc) bounded across the green and started nipping at mine.

My dog hasn't been neutered and I'm not sure if the other dogs sense this and asserting their dominance, would neutering stop the attacks for supposedly friendly dogs.

My MIL's yellow lab used to get attacked a lot. He was the kindest, most sweet natured dog. However I noticed that when we were on walks he would often give poor body language signals to other dogs, which would then cause him to be attacked.

For example he would stop still with his head high and tail up and stare at the dog. He would meet dogs nose on rather than go nose to bum. He wouldn't take polite 'go away now' signals from well behaved dogs, who were then forced to tell him to go away properly.

I've seen this poor communication in other male labs. Does any of that sound familiar?

He does seem to meet nose to nose but I think thats because he is on the lead and we are meeting dogs face on. The two terriers haven't even stopped to say hello just jumped straight on him. He doesn't normally do the straight up and back body language.

Sorry i read this in the middle of the night and missed that he's on the lead. When you meet dogs on the lead make sure you keep it very loose so that body language isn't restricted.

My otherwise docile goldie will retaliate when nipped if on the lead. I think they feel vulnerable & so give off wrong signals as said above.

No advice really maybe just avoid other dogs till he's really settled in& you know him better?.

My neutered male terrier is definitely more stroppy with unneutered males than with neutered ones, so that could be part of it. He also dislikes dogs that are friendly in an intrusive way, without displaying any sense of boundaries. It's sad when an entirely non-aggressive dog meets a grumbly snappy response but lots of dogs are made apprehensive by friendly dogs that are a bit too full-on. The flexi-lead might be complicating the interaction too.

I guess if he's used to interacting confidently with two other big dogs he might be a bit 'too much' for smaller dogs to respond to confidently. Perhaps teach him to focus on a toy or treat from you when other dogs come on the scene to try and tone down his response to them? But of course the owners of the snappy dogs have the lion's share of responsibility if your dog is onlead and they are not under control.

GingerDog is like this It's like admitting your child is unpopular
He does the bad body language thing, I suspect as a result of being nipped at which exacerbates the problem and so the cycle continues. We find that having him off lead allows him to just dash past (he's a spaniel!) and avoid any conflict. This approach has seen some improvement over time :)

Just to add, the incident where he was attacked by two dogs together could partly have come about because those two dogs' behaviour was being altered by walking as a pair, especially if they weren't used to that (if your neighbour doesn't very often take her friend's dog out wit her own dog). The cairn might have misread what was going on when his pal was interacting with your dog, and zoomed in with an inappropriate back-up manoeuvre. Or could he even have been jealous (two's company three's a crowd!)?

I wouldn't assume that your dog's nature was the cause of that scrap. ("OMG he's never done that before!" is a stock response of a guilty and panicked owner of a misbehaving dog!)

Ok thanks for your opinions will see if it continues and then speak to the vet about neutering if it doesn't to see if he thinks it might have any impact.

It does sound like a body language issue. if you did not get him until he was two he may have missed some elements of socialisation. When dogs lock eyes, it is seen as agressive by the other dog. If you observe dogs usually pass each other sideways on. That is why many dogs dislike collies, who stare.
My terrier will not nip but stands up to any larger dog who he thinks is worrying my bitch or invading their space. He reads them the riot act and they back off, except for goofy Dalmations, who push their luck. I had to hide in some bushes and used a whole pocket full of treats to distract him from a dally the other day.

I would look out for other dogs approaching and have a distraction ready, treats or a special toy. Get him to look at you, if you can and praise, praise and reward good behaviour. Is he clicker trained? 'On me', click and reward can work magic.
If you have friends with smaller dogs, it might be worth have regular on lead with them. Dogs quite like to have a gang to walk with. I join a weekly walk with my terrier and crossbreed, there are anything up to 10 other dogs. Local behaviourists introduce clients and observe how the client and dog react with our stooge dogs.
If the situation does not improve, it might be worth going to training classes or consulting a behaviourist, I would recommend members of COAPE, your vet will need to refer you for a behaviour consultation. Good luck.

My little dog is non- aggressive and quiet, all dogs we meet are fine with her. Except last week. But the owners had them on the lead saying they can be suddenly aggressive for no apparent reason. One elderly old JR female did go for mine and a male scotty who appeared friendy at first.
She did not react. Her faves are a young female JR and a male golden retriever she adores as he is gentle and non-bouncy. Some males that are too full on , she will sit and ignore them. Doesn't put them off though

Your dog needs to be allowed off lead. A Labrador can't possibly get enough exercise or doggy stimulation on a lead all the time. They need to run for at least an hour a day. Your first priority should be to sort out his recall; not least because I suspect a large part of this attacking behaviour is related to his inability to socialise properly on lead. It's entirely possible this is a new thing for him to cope with.

At two, it's unlikely, IME, that neutering will change his behaviour much and therefore the likelihood of attacks but tbh, he should be neutered regardless.