I can’t work out my dog: Is he friendly, reactive or aggressive?

[PopsicleLife]

My dog is a small breed. He arrived before lockdown but all of his puppy classes were cancelled and then switched to online. I’ve tried to socialise him whilst out walking by letting him greet other dogs but I’m not sure how to take his behaviour . This is how his afternoon walk went:

Dog 1: This dog walked past us at a distance with his owner. My dog ran towards the dog but was on a long line so restricted. He started barking at the dog continuously. I told him NO and tried to distract him. He then whined because he wanted to see the other dog.

Dog 2: A friendly dog approached but lay down a couple of metres away from my dog. My dog say quietly watching him and was curious . I was rewarding him with treats for sitting nicely . The other dog then calmly approached my dog . My dog was calm at first , sniffing and wagging his tail but then jumped up at the dog and starting barking and barking . I managed to calm him by setting him between my legs and saying NO then getting him to “watch me” and treating him for being calm . He then sat and watched the dog before it wandered off .

Dog 3: This dog was on lead and was passing us . My dog stopped dead , refusing to move and sat and watched this dog. He didn’t bark , just sat and watched and I moved him on with “watch me” and treats.

Dog 4: This dog sat down and refused to move for it’s owner as he wanted to greet my dog . The owner said it was ok and I explained my dog can be a bit boisterous . The other dog just sat there (it was old) , whilst my dog wagging his tail, tried to climb on his back , was licking the other dogs ears and sniffing him. He didn’t bark.

My dog is heading to socialising classes next week as lockdown has really hindered this . He’s just over a year old.

What do you make of this ?

I don't think your dog knows the answer either 😅 Hopefully positive supervised socialisation at classes will nudge things the right way. I would be super wary of other dogs in the meantime in case something happens and sends it the bad direction.

To be clear I'm saying sounds reactive but hopefully can be pulled back from the brink!

Classic "Frustrated Greeter" - wants to play but has to bark with excitement when he can't. I've got a reactive, had three of them, this would not worry me - it's something that can be fixed. He likes other dogs and wants to play. (My reactive wants to kill the dogs he hates - aggression not noise, very different)

Relax a bit and let him have positive experiences playing with nice dogs - get a proper long line for training - NOT a flexi lead - and let it trail behind him. He needs to learn how to be a dog.

My dog is soft with all other dogs and will submit more often than not. She does bark when she wants to play and perhaps the other dog is just sat there.She will play bow and bark. Could it be this?

@Orangeinmybluelightcup very confusing isn’t it

@Catsrus I think you’re right there with the frustrated greeter. Thank you for the advice ; he definitely doesn’t want to kill them so that’s reassuring.

@Thatsmycupoftea I think he does want to play. I’m more so inclined to think that after this evenings walk ….

Dog 5: A young puppy. Owner said my dog could say hello . My dog play bowed , wagged his tail , barked and they ran around in circles. My dog did try to hump the pup but only a couple of times and then he came back to my side and sat nicely before the pup encouraged him to play again where they bounced around our legs. The other dog owner reassured me he was just playing and his pup also does the same .

I don’t think he’s aggressive . I think the barking at others is ‘frustrated greeter’ .

I'm thinking frustrated greeter too. If your dog was reactive, he'd be absolutely apoplectic when the other dog was within touching distance.

I’m going to recommend the Facebook group I always recommend on here! It’s called Dog Training Advice and Support and is run by accredited positive reinforcement behaviourists and is really an amazing resource. It’s a Q&A page, not a discussion page. You post your Q and you get a response from someone who knows what they’re talking about! It also has a ton of useful ‘Guides’, including one on frustrated greeters.