Hi all, I apologize if this has been addressed already but here goes. I have a 8 month old Labrador spayed female. She generally loves people and other dogs, but she has a habit of raising her hackles when she meets a new dog, or a particularly large dog. I know that hackles aren't necessarily a sign of aggression but I am wondering what signs I should watch out for to determine if she is becoming aggressive. I am mainly worried as she sometimes shows fear. I'll outline her behaviour around other dogs below If we are walking on leash and a dog approaches us she can sometimes get a bit nervous. She crouches down, tail goes between her legs, ears pinned back, etc. No signs of aggression like growling, teeth baring or barking.... just a bit of fear. But she is inquisitive, she will lean towards the dog and pull me in its direction even while acting all scared. Once she gets to the dog and gets a sniff of it she immediately melts, hackles go down and she just starts doing her whole body and tail wagging and also usually rolls on her back submissively. She then will go on to play with them like any other dog. When off leash it doesn't happen quite as much. But when it does its usually that she will see a dog, get excited, run towards it happily to a point where she is about 20 meters away from it where she then stops, stands still and stares at it with her tail down and hackles up for a few seconds before edging towards the other dog. Again, once she gets to sniff the other dog she relaxes immediately. Usually I let her go towards a dog if the other owner is happy for her to say hello as she is clearly trying to push through her nervousness. She doesn't generally try and escape (i.e. run away) when she is scared, she is always inquisitive. If she was showing signs of trying to get away I would allow her to. My first Labrador (who is now 4yo) was a little bit shy at her age and grew out of it as she became more confident. But she never raised her hackles or put her tail between her legs like this younger girl does sometimes. I just worry if over time this behaviour will lead to her exhibiting fear aggression or other types of aggression and I want to help her to become as confident as possible. I saw a dog trainer and they just said not to make a big deal over her nervousness, to act natural and don't react in a way that validates her fear. That is all they said. And I am doing that. But i feel like there is more I can be doing other than ignoring the behaviour and letting her approach the other dogs at her own pace. Or is that really all I can do? Anyone with any experiences they can share? or any suggestions? Thanks for taking the time to read.
A lot of people worry that they should be encouraging their dogs to 'make friends' with other dogs. But forcing this can be counterproductive. I would start by making her comfortable with other dogs at a distance. Focus on getting her to engage with you rather than approaching other dogs and hoping her reaction to them will improve. So you could do some simple obedience, get her to walk next to you in a square for example, or simply stand or sit well away from the other dogs and feed her treats one at a time. Rewarding her for a look, or a hand touch, or a sit. Then go on your way. It's really helpful to let the dog acknowledge the other dog (look at them) then reward your dog the moment she glances back at you for reassurance. Do this for a minute or two then walk on. The idea is that other dogs become 'no big deal' And in time you should be able to do these things closer to them if you want to.
