Just like people, dogs have their scale of how much ‘social’ they can do on any particular day. You may find that your usually ‘dog tolerant’ canine friend is less tolerant and more selective some days – that is ok!

Sometimes they may become less tolerant for a period of time because a change in their life (in their body or their world) has unsettled them. Doesn’t mean they’ll stay in this place but it does mean they need support if they are to have a greater emotional capacity to deal with other dogs.

My dog is excellent with those indifferent, ‘couldnt-care-less about you’ dogs, he appreciates the space, he often follows them around learning and mimicking being a ‘dog’.

He’s good with dogs who are both friendly ‘social’ and also the ‘selective’ types. In both relationships both dogs need management and support if they are to share an enjoyable walk!

The ‘social’ dog is so much fun that my dog becomes overexcited and can play too rough and heavy, like some over-eager kid who ends up annoying their friend. It wouldn’t be fair to allow this to continue, it could cause the other dog to feel not-so-friendly as they assert a clearer boundary… or they may keep putting-up and secretly feel crap. The ‘social’ dog will need a break so I either leash-up Chester or the ‘social’ dog for 5 mins, do some LLW for treats with both at the same time, which calms them both enough to play safely again.

With the less tolerant dogs he can feel scared and defensive in reflection towards their defensive attitudes, as neither dog fully trusts the others intentions and are concerned for their safety. If we redirect and guide our dogs focus with positive reinforcers, encourage calmness, and give both dogs the space they need, they can improve their ability to read each other and feel safe enough to eventually feel more tolerant.

For those dogs who are less tolerant of other dogs it is vital that their need for space and a suitable pace is met. If we expect them to deal with a dog before they feel safe enough to be ready we can cause them to bottle their feelings up which always comes out later – either on another friend through casual bullying, on an unknown dog, on people or on themselves.

Like dogs, we all have our limits.
So when we want our dogs to do better at life we support them so they can, because we love them and it benefits us too in the long run.

STREETWISE DOGS

If you’d like to learn more about dog-dog sociability do pop over to Paws Abilities Dog Training’s blog ~ https://paws4udogs.wordpress.com/2017/02/16/understanding-dog-dog-sociability