I have a 14 month old bitch and she has very recently started to grumble at other dogs, both male and female. It started after a smaller dog growled at her and then lunged at her for no reason - both were on the lead at the time, the other dogs owners were walking past us (my dog was sitting) and they had a very loose lead on their dog and they weren't paying attention. They pulled their dog back before it actually bit mine but since then she has been wary of other dogs. She is entering her teenage phase and is a fairly dominant bitch anyway but has never growled at another dog before and was wondering if any one could give me any tips on how to prevent this (as she's no a small dog, she's approx 7 stone - and I certainly don't want her grumbling at other dogs!) At the moment I turn her head away and tell her 'No' but it doesn't appear to be working. We met up with an entire male dog whose bigger than her yesterday and she was fine with him, even being slightly submissive, so the problem only seems to be with dogs that are the same size or smaller than her. Would appreciate any ideas people have.

Thanks for your help

I would suggest being as proactive as possible and ensuring she meets friendly and confident dogs over the nextfew weeks. Reward her with toys, food and praise for being calm in their presence. Off lead play would be good if she normally has done this and also do lots of obedience using sessions to teach useful commands such as "watch" and so on. Make the obedience enjoyable and ensure the experiences she has are postive as far as you can.

Lindsay
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My bitch gets PMT for about 6 weeks before she comes in season, she grumbles at all my other dogs and any we meet in the park!  Could it be this?