Homer was trotting along our usual walk when coming towards us is a young Dalmatian dog. The Dalmatian bows down in what I would describe as a play bow with front legs down. As Homer approaches him, he leaps up and jumps onto Homer aggressively trying to bite homers back. There was a lot of snarling from both of them as H tried to shake the Dalmatian off. I managed to get H away and the lady with the Dalmatian chased it away down the path. I walked on a bit with h on his lead then checked him over, all fine, so continued as normal. Can a bow be a signal for aggression? I understood it was meant to be a friendly I was to play sign.
Oh dear. Glad Homer wasn't hurt. Maybe the Dalmatian did a sort stalk movement rather than a play bow?
That's a shame, to say the least. Hope you both are ok now. It's hard for me to read other dogs, so I may see things differently or I may notice different things. I read The Truth About Dogs and Wolves (think that's right) and the author advises observing what dogs do from the first moment of seeing each other just to notice different behaviour. I am much more aware now though not necessarily better equipped! And we have had a few close shaves. Have a nice walk tomorrow.
Not a nice experience for you both! A play bow always signals positive intentions, but as Julie said maybe it wasn't a play bow.. Or maybe it started in a friendly way but the boisterous jumping and grabbing quickly turned into a spat... I hope Homer is ok.
I'll look up stalk movements. I've got various books already but will see if I've got the truth about wolves and dogs. Generally he's quite confident but may go another way this morning.
This happened again on our walk yesterday! Same Dalmatian dog. This us now the third time it's gone for Homer! I saw them coming so clipped Homer onto his lead just before the Dalmatian spotted H and came running up snarling and jumped onto H's back trying to bite him. This time I yelled very loudly at the dog and managed to pull H away and push the Dalmation away. The lady caught up to us but said nothing and took her dog away. after we'd turned back on our way home I noticed them I front of us a gain, there was another lab, a girl I guess, she was submissive, rolled on the ground and let the Dalmation jump all over her in play mode. I put H back on his lead and went off the path a bit so they could pass. Homer growled at the dog, not surprisingly, but I kept him facing away so no eye contact. Poor Homer has had a tough time lately.
Poor Homer, I was so sorry to read your latest post. This has happened to us when Scooby was on lead and another dog came bounding towards us growling, showing his teeth and generally all over Scooby. Scooby rooted himself to the spot shaking and I managed to grab the other dog away until his owner eventually got to us. She tried to assure me her dog was friendly but it certainly didn't look or sound like it was. Scooby is not overly confident anyway and it has and still is taking a lot of training getting his confidence back. I am currently trying to get his attention on me when we see another dog so that we can pass without him laying down looking worried. It makes me feel cross that people allow their dogs to terrorise other dogs. Good luck, hopefully Homer won't have anymore encounters!x
Poor Homer, how awful. I hope you have some nice walks next week. There are without doubt some dreadful owners about. I recently bought Turid Regaas "On talking terms with dogs" it's a short easy to read book with lots of pictures. I found it a really good starting point for understanding dogs body language. It's also a good little book to dip in and out of. In fact I've also bought her books on barking and pulling on the lead.
I would be making a phone call to the dog warden. If your dog is on lead and the other dog off, they are seen to not be under control by their owner so further action can be taken. I had this with a collie on Harley. I now put her on lead and walk in the opposite direction if we seen him, but also took a photo of them on my phone incase it happens again and need to be identified. It is awful that owners don't take responsibility sometimes (I know not all owner are irresponsible!). Hope Homer is ok x
