If your dog is not friendly, is it ok to pick it up when another dog approaches ?

Six of one and half a dozen of another. Being picked up will prevent him from physically having a go at another dog, but it will also make him more aggressive towards it as he will feel bigger and safer in your arms. Many small dogs behave a lot better when on the ground than when in your arms or your lap -but of course it doesn't mean every one will act friendly simply because it is on the ground.

And another problem is big dogs often find a dog being carried more interesting than one on the floor and might jump up to see what it is.

Think of it as 'rewarding' bad behaviour. He will see it that if he kicks off, mum picks me up and cuddles me. He won't see it that you are trying to stop him having a go. Would a muzzle be a better idea do you think?

What sort of dog do you have and how does it react when approached by another dog? How old is your dog?

By picking your dog up you are probably increasing your dog's reaction to the other dog. Your dog is probably fearful or anxious about the other dog approaching.

I think you need to tell us more. It would help to know if this reaction to other dogs is new or has developed over time. Has your dog been in any fights or had a bad experience with another dog?

a muzzle would only stop the bite ! if the dog growls - it would probably start the other dog off to bite !
I find quite often its the other dogs - you hear the owners shout & scream as their dog runs off & their dog takes no notice whatsoever - if the owner has a reasonable recall - this wouldnt happen in the first place

With respect, if your dog is likely to rush out and try to bite any other dog that approaches it then I think the problem is your dog. That is not to say you or your dog are bad, but that your dog, for what ever reason, cannot tolerate other dogs. If this is the case then it would be useful to try to understand what is going on.

Some dogs will chastise a dog that barges right into their personal space- this might happen with two intact males, especially if one marches right up to the other in a cocky manner. But you seem to suggest that your dog is reacting way before the other dog gets close?

Perhaps I have misunderstood?

No, my dog does not rush out & try to bite another dog
Yes, i think u have misunderstood, as stated in my original post "If your dog is not friendly, is it ok to pick it up when another dog approaches ?"
it is kept on the lead at all times, its when other dogs come near or approach it likes to' have a go'
and yes it "chastise a dog that barges right into their personal space" no matter what breed or sex
"you seem to suggest that your dog is reacting way before the other dog gets close?" how did i suggest this please ?

I think it was your use of the word approach that gave me the impression that your dog reacts before the other dog is right up to it. But it doesn't matter because from what you say your dog is clearly reactive to other dogs and you are trying to find a way to manage this.

As others have said, I do think that picking your dog up will make the situation worse, but so will going into areas where other dogs are offlead. In order to try to help the situation it is important to know if your dog is anxious about other dogs and has developed a strategy of offence as the best form of defence. There may be other explanations but it would need a full case history and an expert eye in situ to decide what is going on. If the situation is making life difficult for you I would advise you to see a behaviourist.

Helen, it is perfectly ok to pick your dog up to avoid a confrontation.  Obviously you should try to avoid other dogs and not let it get to that, but if some idiot allows their off lead dog to run up to your on-lead dog, then picking your dog up is perfectly ok.

It will not reward aggression, it will just make your dog feel safer. 

Sometimes people believe that picking their dog up reinforces the dog's fear because they think it communicates to the dog that there is something to be afraid of (because you're showing signs of fear of it).  Quite simply, dogs' minds don't work like that.  To reach that conclusion, a dog would have to reason 'My owner has picked me up.  This must be because they are afraid of something.  Therefore I will be afraid of it.'  This reasoning involves the dog putting itself in the human's place and reasoning what's going on in the human's mind.  It's called 'theory of mind' and is something which even human toddlers don't develop until they are around 3 years old.  Instead, the dog will just feel safer when picked up and will just be aware that it is further away from the scary thing.

No, my dog does not rush out & try to bite another dog

Then it is all probably fear based -so very common in small dogs. Let's face it, a big dog must look like a giant to them (imagine if we were faced with a 20 foot human!) and can be very scary, so they try to get in first and tell them where to go. If it was my dog, then my first choice would be changing direction, but I also would have no problem picking it up. Being rushed at isn't going to improve fear.

Rabid,

I think the association the dog might make is appearance of dog makes owner anxious (it is likely that the owner will give off some signs of anxiety as a learned event) owner hurridly lifts dog into air, something the owner does not normally do when out and about. Dog also experiences increased anxiety. Of course, a number of dogs do not particularly enjoy being lifted up. I'm not saying this is necessarily the case but it is a different take on the sequence of events and associations the dog might make.

The jury is still out on dogs and theory of mind, though they don't think like humans that's for sure.

Where I would agree with you is that it is better to try to stop the dog practising its aggressive behaviour around other dogs and if lifting the dog out of the way is the only option at the time so be it.

Yes Rabid, i totally agree, *THANK U* for ur help

If my dog wasn't friendly to offlead dogs I'd avoid taking it to areas where we'd be likely to meet them. (Equally if my dog didn't like bicycles I wouldn't choose to walk him by a cycle path, and if he didn't like children I'd avoid walking past schools at playtime of hometime!) I know that picking a dog up a) makes it more interesting to other dogs who're then more likely to take an interest in it and jump up to get a close look, especially if it's barking at them, and b) it can mean the picked-up dog feels its status is also elevated and some are even more likely to vocalise at the offlead dog. So all in all it can potentially make a highly-charged situation worse.

Hi Jeangenie
My other dog (not the same one i am talking about on this post) wants to chase cars, bikes, etc so when he was 5/6 months old i sat for a while at the bus stop teaching/telling him to leave every time he wanted to chase a vehicle, had i not done this there is no way i would be able to walk him anywhere without him pulling me into the road, sometimes you have to confront the behaviour without putting more risk or danger - to teach your dog. Guess there will always be an argument/opinion for & against most behaviours LOL

> sometimes you have to confront the behaviour without putting more risk or danger - to teach your dog.

I think JG is right in saying avoid likely trigger venues, where you have no control over what dogs are loose. 

Then as you did with the cars etc take your reactive dog to places where you have more control, where it will see other dogs where they are under more control, on lead in the street, or even better at training class (with the help of the trainer) where situations can be set up and tailored, so that the association with other dogs improves before being confronted by doggie challenges in an uncontrolled (by you) manner.

Spot on Jeangenie and Brainless.

If a dog that is fearful or anxious taking it into areas where there are other dogs is more likely to exasperate the problem.
Your dogs body language and vibes are quite likely to excite some other dogs.

As others have said you need the help of a good trainer or perhaps  behaviourist, sometimes they use a dog of their own who is calm and totaly non-confrontational to work at a distance and help yours to be able to cope with other dogs.
The process can take time, and you need someone who knows what they are doing and not rush things too quickly, training will give you both more confidence and help you manage difficult situations.

One of my dogs has always barked at most other dogs (on the lead) and even sometimes at people he takes a dislike to. I pick him up, he shuts up straight away and we carry on walking....much easier, and cheaper, than trying to analyse his behaviour and wasting money on expensive trainers !

It depends if you want to cure the unwanted behaviour (and a dog that's intolerant of other dogs, or worse, people, in his vicinity is displaying very much undesirable behaviour) or simply mask it.

>If your dog is not friendly, is it ok to pick it up when another dog approaches ?
>sometimes you have to confront the behaviour without putting more risk or danger - to teach your dog.

So how is picking up your 'unfriendly' (your own description) dog when other dogs approach teaching your dog to be more tolerant?

Not all trainers are expensive, one local club I know only charges £1  per class, and a memebership fee, but you can just pay £1 for the first couple of weeks to see if you like it.

Just keep away from Bark Busters and the like !!! They will charge you a fortune, and most of their clients that I have seen have not had the right help or advice.

You can also check your insurance to see if it covers behavioural work. Some insurance companies will and this might be a solution.

If your dog is not friendly, is it ok to pick it up when another dog approaches ?

Basically what we have here is a 'quick fix' most behaviours like this can be eradicated with training, it takes time & patience and a lot of re-socialising, but it can be done. :-) Your dog is hoping that a show of barking and growling will hopefully make a larger or more inquisitive dog back away and as you have probably found sometimes it will work..... but, sometimes it will make the other dog have a negative response.

As already said picking up a dog gives mixed messages to an approaching dog and your own dog.

Very often small dogs are not corrected when young and it becomes a small dogs habit and only defence mechanism.

Of course your priority is to protect your own dog, and picking him/her up is how you solve it, I can't blame you for that at this time as the habit is formed and of course your own dog comes first, I wouldn't leave my dog open to attack because he/she is giving out the wrong signals. (Which for many small dogs is actually the only way to deter) But, it can be sorted and it is a shame if the dog is under 3 years not to try.

Socialising well and off lead from puppyhood makes all the difference to this behaviour. I used to frequently bump into an owner with a tea-cup dog the adult dog actually could sit in the palm of my hand that dog was off lead from 12 weeks being greeted by me and mine, I honestly used to have my heart in my mouth because he was just so delicate, I was scared of treading on him myself. :-D

That little dog stays with his owner trotting alongside but has no fear and no barking 'little dog syndrome.' A maternal instinct may have wanted to pick him up as a pup when young Labs were bouncing over and our resident Newfies walked by, but the owner was well versed in dog behaviour, it would have been the wrong thing as he would probably have grown up a yapper.

Of course it depends on which area you live in and which dogs are around, some people are unlucky in having dog aggressive dogs around.

We all do what we think will protect our own dogs and if yours is in danger then you'll have to pick him/her up now. But it might be worth a try to have your dog off lead around dogs you know as friendly and unlikely to react to try to break the habit, then leading and teaching your dog to sit when dogs you don't know approach. :-)

Excellent Post Carrington.

Thank u Carrington, wish you had posted this first !

i totally agree with you :)

Many Many thanks