last night my 6mth old, deaf, puppy approached a much older dog who instantly growled at him. the owner was gobsmacked, this dog is an assistant dog, and usually very placid. a couple of others have also taken an instant dislike to him.

my dog doesnt know he is being growled at, bless him, but obviously senses something as he just sat quietly last night while the adults talked.

anyone any ideas why this growling might be happening? could other dogs sense his deafness??

This is an oes isn't it?

I think some dogs dislike oes's because all the hair makes the body language more tricky to read. All so at six months most dogs are ott and many adults will be more short tempered with them.

I doubt its anything to do with the deafness, but the fact that your pup is deaf means he won't hear a growl and back off from it. He will however be reading the body language.

If you can do so I would suggest mixing him off lead with social adult dogs. This way he will learn from them how to behave and become much more likely to get along with other dogs. I've heard the odd anecdotal evidence that suggests getting hairy dogs clipped short reduces the aggression directed at them as others read them better than before.

Adam

he has always played off the lead and plays with several dogs every day.  yes, he is an old english sheepdog and his fringe is growing in, he does have his tail, which wags constantly.

there might not be an answer.

Never had this problem with my very hairy breed whose hair also grows over their eyes.

Hope you find out the cause.  Sorry but I have not advice.  Would be a bit worried about the assistant dog though if your dog wasn't being OTT with it.

I once had a collie who, it seemed, all dogs (without exception) disliked intensely! Poor boy didn't have a bad bone in his body but frequently became the victim of other dogs aggression. However, with him, he had not been socialised at a young age by the farmer who originally had him. He had little idea of how to interact and displayed all the wrong body signals.

I know that's not the case with your dog. However, do you notice he over-compensates with his body language because of the hearing problem? I've no experience of dogs with hearing difficulties though so I don't know if this would be the case.

Could simply be a case of the assitance dog disliking yours for some random reason. Not all dogs will like each other just like people.

Adam

Not all dogs like puppys approaching them.Some give off a growl just to let them know that they can't be bothered with a youngster.I wouldn't worry about it .Not all dogs get along with each other just like us humans :)