Rude Dogs vs. Tikka

Well, they say things happen in threes. Yesterday, Tikka drew nose blood for the third, and hopefully, last, time. I admit to being a little lax with the training due to a heavy workload, but I also wonder...was she really in the wrong?

First offense: Dog from Tikka's walking pack started nosing my pockets of treats...Tikka launched herself in defense of said pocket.

Second offense: Doodle made a beeline straight for Tikka's face to say 'hi'

Yesterday's offense: Setter bounded up to her, again head on, to say "hi" while she was on leash.

While the first time was a resource guarding issue and she did get corrected, I feel the last two times were cases of rude dogs not heading her leave me alone signal.

Many people do not realize that dogs don't like direct eye contact from dogs they don't know and it's considered 'rude' or threatening to run straight up to another dog, face on. A polite (or rather, well socialized) dog averts her gaze and greets a new dog slowly through the back door, so to speak.

That is why it is so important to socialize puppies with well socialized, older dogs. A dog learns best through other dogs. The older dog never hurts the pup, but will growl or snap while teaching the exuberant pup manners. Owners need to let this happen and not 'protect' their pup. If pups are not allowed to learn this way, he will grow up not understanding the subtle signals other dogs give off. What's discouraging is that the dog this unsocialized dog 'offends' is usually seen as aggressive or in the wrong, since offending dog is 'friendly and just wants to say hi'.

Here is an excerpt from Suzanne Clothier's article on the subject:

"Sitting quietly on the mall bench beside my husband, I was minding my own business when the man approached. I glanced up as the man sat next to me. He was a bit close for my comfort, so I edged a little closer to my husband who, busy reading a book, ignored me. Still feeling a bit uncomfortable with the strange man so close, I then turned my head slightly away from him, politely indicating I was not interested in any interaction. To my horror, the man leaned over me and began licking my neck while rudely groping me.

When I screamed and pushed him away, my trouble really began. My husband angrily threw me to the ground, yelling at me "Why did you do that? He was only trying to be friendly and say hi! What a touchy bitch you are! You're going to have to learn to behave better in public."

People all around us stared and shook their heads sadly. I heard a few murmuring that they thought my husband should do something about my behavior; some even mentioned that he shouldn't have such a violent woman out in public until I'd been trained better. As my husband dragged me to the car, I noticed that the man who had groped me had gone a bit further down the mall and was doing the same thing to other women."

Roman did not have this opportunity as a young dog and it was a lot of work, and quite tricky, to socialize and teach him appropriate dog manners...but learn he did. Tikka likes to avoid large dogs, and there is nothing wrong with that. Since she is only 22 pounds, a 75 pound dog charging at her is quite a threat. The setter's owner made a point to track me down the beach to tell me she drew blood. I offered to pay for any vet bills, but the injury was minor and the dog was fine, otherwise. Interesting that he didn't think his dog was in the wrong at all (I saw the same dog running up to several other dogs that obviously did not want his attention, and the owner had to pull him off). So, while I do have to work more on lengthening Tikka's fuse, I will not correct her in situations like this (I need to correct myself for not protecting her better).

If Roman did that to a small dog and got bitten, I would feel he got a much deserved lesson.