Yesterday on the morning walk we came accross several dogs. The first 3 all belong to the same man and despite thier history for charging & barking at Buster they carried on with thier game of fetch, ingoring us, but being harrassed by 2 loose spaniels.
Next the 2 spaniels run full belt at us, they ran around Buster sniffing him while he sniffed them, the owners called out thier appologies (the dogs were ignoring the owners re-calls), I shouted back "don't panick, he's friendly" (as they seemed alarmed at the size of Buster), they replied "our dogs only want to play", with that the dogs started growling and barking at Buster, they seemed more excited and bossy rather than 'aggressive'. In the past Buster has never paid any attention to dogs doing this to him, but this time he growled It wasn't a loud growl and I only heard it as I had leaned forward & grabbed his collar to pull him back as soon as the dogs started growling at him. I told Buster 'nicely' as I pulled him back ('nicely' = gentle). The owner ran over & pulled thier dogs away, then let them loose again, they ran toward us again but didn't come too close, Buster wagged his tail as if he wanted to go & play with them.

I probably seem OTT as a dog has every right to give a little growl if it is being ambushed by other dogs, but I don't want to do the wrong thing and cause an issue for him. If the dogs were bigger (eg. lab size) I wouldn't have pulled Buster away as he wasn't overly bothered, just disagreeing with thier attitude to him (he seems to have finaly realised that it's not a friendly thing for other dogs to do to him!).

Buster is always on a long-line, if there are loose dogs about I will put him on his short lead but make sure the lead is slack. How should I handle it if dogs have a go at him? Should I just move him away? Stay where I am and keep hold of his collar? Stay where I am and keep his leads loose? Ohhhhh I don't know what the best thing to do is :( :( :( I really don't think his growl would have led to anything other than a louder growl for the dogs to hear.

You know that he is not out of order, he's only 'talking' best bet is to turn his back and walk the other way, once they are gone turn back around again, a prefered suggestion is to get your dog to sit, but I've seen quite a few handlers do this (which is correct) but a loose dog, disobediant dog will still run up to a dog sitting and being praised by it's owner for being good, for the other persons dog to ambush it still, so although good advice it often doesn't work, so call your dog to you and begin to walk in the opposite direction the dogs owner also gets the impression that you don't want to bothered so it works both ways. :-)

> best bet is to turn his back and walk the other way, once they are gone turn back around again,

Thanks :)

Buster is very in tune with how I am feeling, he knows if I am unsure of a situation and this leads to him ignoring me. I have been worried about meeting 'growly' dogs since the spaniels, as I don't know how best to react, if I have a strategy in mind I feel confident, this passes on to Buster and he'll listen to me! So the next time we're in this situation I will calmly go in the opposite direction (keeping Buster's focus on me) :)

>disobediant dog will still run up to a dog sitting and being praised by it's owner for being good, for the other persons dog to ambush it still

I know :( I used to put Buster in a sit with loose dogs around, but it never stopped him getting ambushed. I only put him in a sit when meeting other dogs now if the other dog is behaving. It seems unfair to make your dog sit down when other dogs are pestering it, it also makes me worry that the sitting dog could feel trapped and then be more likely to defend itself.

it also makes me worry that the sitting dog could feel trapped and then be more likely to defend itself.

That is exactly what can happen. :-)

I would also advise to try keep your dog focused on you and walk away.
Your boy was just letting them know he doesn't like their behaviour, which I don't blame him.
Its funny how people seem to just go about their dog walking without a thought in their heads "literally" and then there are the rest of us stressing out trying to compensate for their ignorance!!!
I am always alert when walking my dogs and put them on leads if other dogs are around, not because they are unfriendly, but because you never know if they will take a dislike to manic strange dogs barking at them!!!!

If Buster could talk he would have told them to "get lost before I loose my temper and put you in your place, learn some manners, like me" :) (in fact he did, you just heard it s a growl)
Paula

I wonder if Buster growled BECAUSE you grabbed his collar, so he was reacting to the fact that he was being restrained (ie no longer able to run if he wanted to) and also protecting you as he may have felt you were a bit on edge? :-)

> I wonder if Buster growled BECAUSE you grabbed his collar, so he was reacting to the fact that he was being restrained (ie no longer able to run if he wanted to) and also protecting you as he may have felt you were a bit on edge?

I see what you mean, I hadn't thought about it that way. Up untill I had grabbed him his leads were slack, I was perfectly calm, but I grabbed him as the thought "oh no! I don't want the little dogs to get splatted" popped into my head, so I also must have been giving off some nervous signals. It was all very quick and I can't be sure weather he growled before I grabbed his collar or as I grabbed it (because the growl was so quiet).

Either way his happy tail wagging at the dogs after seems to suggest he has no lasting negative association from it and now I know to calmly remove him from an ambush rather than stand there like a wally not knowing what to do :)

MG,
You took the words out of my mouth. It's equally, if not more than likely that Buster picked up on a bit of concern from you plus you pulled back on his collar. When possible, and you know all this anyway, keep the lead loose and don't pull him back.

I think if they are medium sized or large dogs and you know the other dogs then they can sort it out between them. Even if he wanted them out of his face the very worst he's likely to do is a quick snarl and the other dogs will back off. I'd say give him space and enough line to negotiate but use something really enticing to call him back to you. He does need to be able to tell other dogs if they are bugging him or making him feel uncomfortable- a growl is just his way to say that. He's also growing into a young man now and he'll be finding his place in the doggie hierarchy and so not as tolerant as a pup.

Having said that, I'd try to avoid dogs that look iffy or situations that don't feel right. Walking away or on is the thing to do. I let my dog off lead but if he sniffs around another dog and I see stiff legs or hackles raised I call him too me in a very excited upbeat voice and move on fast. If I see certain dogs in the distance (mainly bull breeds and a couple of greyhounds with v strong prey drive) I avoid and go another way.

Freelancer & MG I think you're right.
I have always kept Busters leads slack when he has been pestered in the past, I've actually reeled out a bit of long-line so he has space to move away if he needs it and I step away slightly, but this time as soon as the other dogs started growling I grabbed his collar.
I'm so mad with myself if I had just stepped back & left them too it he probably wouldn't even have growled.
The fact that Buster has just entered the 'kevin' stage is always at the front of my mind when taking him out, I want him to have lots of positive doggy encounters and I just panicked when the spaniels growled at him :(

>Having said that, I'd try to avoid dogs that look iffy or situations that don't feel right.

I could have avoided the spaniels alltogether, I had allready just witnessed them harrasing the other 3 loose dogs (a bit of posturing from the other dogs & the spaniels left them alone). I just did my normal thing of carry on walking in the direction I had planned on - I should have turned around then, I knew they would run at us I just didn't expect them to growl at Buster, I thought it would be a good chance for him to practice staying calm on-lead with loose dogs close to him.

I feel sorry for the spaniels, they seem to be friendly, just a bit to OTT, lacking in good manners/not getting any direction from thier owner, the little monkeys are going to get thierselfs in trouble acting
like little hooloigans!

Thanks everybody for the advice & support :)

Oh ML, it's often so hard and in the end we have to accept that they are dogs and they have their own instinctive use of a language that does not always concur with what we want.

I also think all dogs will have the odd scuffle. Mine decided to posture too much with a big male lab and they had a minor set to, literally seconds. Mine got pushed over by the lab and that was that. Both being balanced males it was over quickly. However much we try there will be the odd encounter we cannot always control. I do believe that most male dogs have to learn how to negotiate space etc.. with each other and how to get out quick when they know they'll get whupped, by and large it is all chest thumping and posturing.

I think what makes it so hard for us is having dogs of all different sizes and drives meeting up in a small space. I know that we've had the conversation before about different breed traits in terms of body language and energy. For instance I had to make a real effort to socialise my lad with more wrinkly faced breeds like bulldogs and shar peis. He just didn't get them at first and the snorting noise made by the bulldog initially freaked him. Now he's got bull dog girlfriends and likes the wrinkly-faced breeds.

I think avoidance is always the best tactic if you feel over your head because your body language etc.. will affect him more than anything.