I’m not trying to shame anyone because I truly believe people are innocent. If your dog is friendly and has never met a stranger why would you think any other dog is not friendly. If you have always had happy Golden Retrievers or fun-loving Labrador Retrievers you don’t know the other side of the dog world.
If you are walking down the street with your dog please don’t assume that the other dog is friendly. Actually assume the opposite until you know otherwise, that is the safe way to play it. Look not only at the dog’s body language but the owner’s as well. If the owner takes their dog across the street when they see you don’t cross the street. Even if you need to circle back after they walked away. If the owner walks into a driveway or turns down a side street, keep walking. Owners not only protect their dog they are trying to protect your dog as well. Just give them space. While approaching you can ask if their dog is friendly and can they meet. If they say no move on, introduce your dog to a non-friendly dog does not help.
Dogs that are not friendly may have gotten that way because they were attacked by another dog. A dog that has been attacked will look at other dogs as scary and possible threats. Imagine if you got attacked and you didn’t really see the person’s face but they were wearing a black hoodie and ripped jeans. Every time you see someone with a black hoodie and ripped jeans you are going to get nervous. You can work through that not everyone that wears a black hoodie and ripped jeans is out to get you. Dogs can not work that out, their brains do not work that way. They also start to generalize to all dogs and not just the dog or breed that attacked them. Dogs are about self preservation and will defend themselves against any dog.
Other dogs that are not friendly became that way because they were never socialized. They may have been neglected by an owner then sent to a shelter. Or the owner may not have been able to get out and did not have the ability to socialize their dog. Forcing socialization is not going to help the dog. You are just flooding the poor pup with the scariest thing they can imagine and people expect them to just get over it. We all have something that scares us and if we were put in a room full of that thing it could drive us crazy. We won’t just get over it. We can rationalize our fears and sometimes just work through them. Dogs can not rationalize that it was Max the mutt who attacked me. The best solution is to work with a trainer to help the dog become more confident.
Some dogs are older, have pain or just do not want to play. Older dogs do not want high energy dogs jumping all over them. Think you had a long day at work, you walk through the door and get bombarded with a thousand questions. All you want to do is take a beat, maybe sit down for a few minutes, enjoy your home for a bit. Older dogs just want to enjoy their walk, maybe get some pets from people and call it a day. Dogs can hide pain when they want to. They walk at a slow pace and you think they are being difficult but it’s actually pain. If a friendly dog comes up to them while they are in pain they may protect themselves from further pain. Think about being in a room full of children playing and you have a sore foot. How often do you say careful? Let’s face it there are days we all just do not want to go to the gym. Dogs sometimes just want to walk and go home.
Let’s talk about shelter dogs for a moment. First, not all shelter dogs have been abused, there are many reasons they have been surrendered. It can take a shelter dog up to three months to feel at home in their forever home. Until that point they are uncertain and may be scared. Letting your dog run up to them can be very scary.
If you walk your dog off leash please have a leash handy if you come close to another dog. Also obey the rules of any trail you may walk. People will go to some trails because there is a leash policy, they want to keep their dog safe. People get startled if an off leash dog comes running towards them and that can in turn startle their dog. That can cause a nice interaction to go bad.
As you walk your dog keep this in mind, any dog walking towards you may be scared for so many reasons. Do not add to those reasons by letting your dog go up to the other dog. When dogs are on a leash they have no way to escape. If the dog is walking slowly it may be an older dog that does not want to be bothered by some young pup. Also, not all dogs will get along, not all people get along and that is OK. Make every walk a fun and safe experience for your dog!
One last note if you have a dog that is scared and defends themselves on walks please find a trainer to help you. We think this is the way my dog is so I just have to adjust and accept it. Your dog deserves to be able to go out in the world without being afraid of everything or stressed and so do you! Both you and your dog deserve to enjoy walks together. Link below for some trainers in the South Shore area:
