Walking across other dogs ... Grrrr
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It is hard to say from your description. It can be normal for a female to be slightly defensive with other dogs. Are you walking with a leash? Is the leash tight when she acts like this. Is she trying to make contact with the dogs she growls at?
There are different ways a dog can put there hair up. I would think she is uncertain of the dogs she meets and telling them not to touch her.
My female dog will put have a spike up her back when going through a group of dogs. She is basically saying 'I'm walking here', 'Don't try to dominate me or sniff me as I won't tolerate it'. Once she passes them she will go back to normal. That is off leash. On leash she doesn't bother.
There are different ways a dog can put there hair up. I would think she is uncertain of the dogs she meets and telling them not to touch her.
My female dog will put have a spike up her back when going through a group of dogs. She is basically saying 'I'm walking here', 'Don't try to dominate me or sniff me as I won't tolerate it'. Once she passes them she will go back to normal. That is off leash. On leash she doesn't bother.
keiko, to get to the bottom of this, you need to better understand what's really going on. The reasons can be numerous. Are there any dogs she is friendly with? When she meets unknown dogs, does she want to attack or is she only warning them? Are you able to introduce a new dog (carefully of course) that she accepts and enjoys playing with? At her age, it may be a hormonal issue. Difficult to tell with any certainty over the internet.
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Yes, it is normal, she is still young and unsure about them. Dogs indentify adrenaline flow (and what probably these dogs give off) by smell, but adrenaline means both, and fear, and agression. When two dogs meet nose to nose, I believe, it's still running, but then they choose what to do next. But, if it happens, especially if you say she's growling, it is her who starts adrenaline rush first. There is one trouble, she might get used to it. Don't wait, as you don't have much time left, she will be an adult in six months and you will start dealing with agression. You need classes for her to change her opinion about other dogs.
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My dog Kanan is about 20 months and exhibits this same behavior with smaller dogs that he does not know. It's playful and he doesn't intend to hurt them, but it comes off as scary to the other owner. Dogs the same size or larger he is fine with. With humans, he's friendly and comfortable with 99% of them. I know I didn't socialize him with enough dogs, but I'm trying to reverse this behavior before it's too late.
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She's always on a leash except when nobody is around or farther than 50 feet. I think the comments about hormonal might be correct. She's not spayed. She can be at times good with other dogs, especially with our Pomeranian but watch out if a strange dog even a strange person get within her circle. She doesn't chase after anything as long as they're not close. Yeah socializing her a lot but I think she's also protective of me.
What do you think she may do if she gets to these dogs? Will she attack or play?
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I have a year old male that is not good with other dogs, mainly small dogs. I'm not sure if he wants to play or if he's being mean. I don't like the way he sounds at all, nevermind what the other people think. Its good to socialize them, but there might be a line. I would never want my dog to hurt another dog, so I'm not sure he will ever be able to be around a small dog, but I'm okay with him just ignoring them. That is all I want and its going to be a long process. I can understand your frustration. Its even harder if you don't know what they are trying to do, who wants to find out and it turns out bad? I have GSD that loves everything, I can take her anywhere and I can only hope the male turns out that way, but as of right now I can't even see him in an obedience class, which is where he needs to be...oh those poor people, he is going to clear them all out or get kicked out
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LLombardo- I have Mals and Huskies and they are naturally aggressive with small animals in general....cats dogs and any other small animals you can think of. They ignore them in public on leash, but get them in a one on one situation and they would most likely kill what ever got into their territory. They stay in kennels and are always on leash. GSDs may be the same way on a case to case basis. Your young male may be this way but definitely give him time as he may grow out of it as he matures..
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