Hi again! I just have a few questions so bare with me this may be a long one 1. Daisy has slept through the night for months now, waking about 8am. The last few weeks shes waking earlier and earlier, today being 4:50am She doesn't bark but just whimpers at the bottom of the stairs, if I go down and let her out she normally doesn't even go so it's not that she needs the toilet. Is there anything I can do other than just continuing to ignore her? 2. She still bites/mouths when she gets excited. E.g. when someone comes home, plays with her or greets her excitedly. Sometimes she just does it when you're sat on the sofa at night too. We are just separating her behind a baby gate and she calms down almost instantly. Sometimes she gets so wound up all the fur on the back of her neck and top of her tail/bottom of back raises up. Is this still normal for a 9 month old? She was a very very difficult pup in terms of play biting. 3. Some of you may remember when I posted months back about a dog park experience where Daisy was petrified of the dogs but the 'trainer' kept telling us to leave her and she'd get used to it. Well anyway, no signs of aggression yet (thank god), but she is very wary of other dogs, particularly ones bigger than her. Out on walks she will wag her tail and greet another dog but never plays and usually walks off after a quick sniff. Yesterday we stopped to talk to someone and they had a very large playful black lab, he was trying to play rough with Daisy but she was just trying to get away (which made him chase her thinking she was playing). She kept backing down and licking his face as if she was trying to be submissive. After a few seconds I took her away because it looked like as if she started raising her lip up slightly which scared me that she may snap. She has never showed any signs of aggression towards other dogs, I've never even heard her growl, but she has never played with other dogs to know he was only playing, and it was as if she felt so threatened by him that she may snap. What can I do about this? Is it a case of she is just a dog who will happily greet other dogs, but isn't interested in playing etc? Sorry for the long post!! Thanks to anyone who reads and has some advice to give.
Since you say that you have gone down and let her out in response to her whining, I think you need to try ignoring her PERMANENTLY... Since every time you respond to the whining by talking to her or going to her, only reinforces it. Each time you do that, it will take her longer to stop, the next time. So, every single day for weeks, you need to ignore the noise if you are sure there is nothing she wants other than attention. Yes, very normal. Not all dogs want to play with other dogs, and that's totally fine. It is a pet dog owner obsession that people think every dog should be gambolling around and rough housing.... That was your first mistake. You should know that your particular dog does not appreciate that particular type of other dog, and you should not stop to speak to them - even if it means being socially impolite. Or, at the very least, they should leash their dog if they need to talk to you. No, he was not trying to chase her because he thought she was playing - he didn't care what she thought or wanted. A dog trying to avoid another dog because she is afraid or doesn't want to engage the other dog, looks VERY different to a dog that is playing chase. There is no way the other dog got that wrong, he simply didn't care. He was going to get his social contact, no matter whether your dog wanted it or not. Think of it as a type of social 'rape'.... For more information on that, have a read of this article I wrote: https://dogsnet.com/over-friendly-dog/ Yes, she was trying to appease him and ask him to please go away. Which he was not listening to. I have no idea what his owner was doing in all this, but frankly I'd be livid if they were not watching how other dogs respond to their dog, and controlling their dog.... Good call to take her away because yes, that would likely be her next response. It's fight or flight - and she has already trying flight. If the scary thing comes after you, then flight doesn't really work - so dogs will skip to fight. And then they will skip to it more and more frequently with less and less preamble, until you really do have a reactive dog. There's nothing wrong with your dog and there's no need to 'do' anything. Your dog did not want to meet another dog and gave out perfectly clear social communication to that dog, that she did not want to meet him. He ignored it. What do you want her to do, stand there miserable and be jumped all over? The person with the problem dog, is the other dog owner - who is allowing their dog to bully and force himself on dogs which are communicating clearly that they do not want to meet him. You might want to read this article: https://suzanneclothier.com/article/just-wants-say-hi/
Hi @Jordan Maides 1. If you are confident she does not need to toilet, then yes you have to ignore her. 2. Try to make the interactions with her calmer, less arousing. Reward her calm behaviour. 3. It's not necessary at her age to play with other dogs. Did you have your dog on lead while she was interacting with the other Lab? Being constrained on lead can be a poor way to let even friendly dogs to interact with each other. Taut leads result in increased anxiety. Your dog was trying to get away. I would have walked my dog away before she started raising her lip.
Thank you so much for the detailed response. The thing is with the playful lab was that I didn’t know the extent of how much she doesn’t like playing in that way as she’d never been around a dog who was like that. I’m just glad I took her away before it escalated but I’m glad to hear that it’s okay that she is this way and that I don’t need to worry or do anything about it. I was actually really annoyed with the way the owner reacted, we only stopped in the first place as I was walking with my mum and she knew the other dog owner. They were chatting and she could see Daisy was frightened but she wasn’t bothering to get her dog, she was just laughing and saying his name but he wasn’t at all listening. At one point daisy jumped up on her (to save her from her dog!) and she just kept commenting on how was a jumpy dog She didn’t have a lead or collar on him as it had been stolen so was out walking (on a busy cycle path) with no way to control him With the other things I will start ignoring her in the mornings, I actually tried this today and she cried for about 10 minutes then went back to sleep for a few more hours, result!! Thanks again for your help Jo
Thanks for the advice Michael, she wasn’t on the lead no. The raised lip was completely unexpected for me, I was getting ready to walk her away when I noticed her lift it. Thankfully it wasn’t a full teeth on show type but it definitely was a slight show. I’m glad to hear I don’t need to do anything such as train her to be less anxious around playful dogs. I saw the other lab playing with a small dog and it was so rough and all the growling that came with it. I wouldn’t want Daisy to ever play like that but I also don’t want her to be completely scared of other dogs. We actually passed two very large breeds on our walk today, at first she was nervous but they approached her calmly and friendly and she was fine with them! Tail wagging and all sniffing each other, she wasn’t trying to get away with them so it seems it’s only the rough play she hates.
Really the types of dogs she could meet and interact with are going to be very calm and placid, not dogs which will want to play - which she may find overwhelming. You might find this article useful too: https://notesfromadogwalker.com/2013/05/10/stand-up-for-your-dogs/
