Should I be worried ?

[kateincornwall]

I took the dogs to the forest trail this afternoon , both being fine until a lady came up behind us with a French Bulldog on its lead and Reuben had a go at it, not biting but growling and making a racket , not like him at all . I apologised profusely to the lady , called Reubs and put him straight on his lead, he knew I was angry with him as his walk was cut short and straight back to the car , it shocked me .
Now trying to think what provoked this behaviour , not excusing it but trying to find a reason .
The Frenchie, being a brachycephalic breed was open mouthed and snorting as it pulled on its lead , maybe Reuben mistook this as aggression ?
Also , just prior to seeing the dog coming , I had been doing some recall with Reuben and , as the dog drew parallel , I had got a fish cube in my hand to give to him as reward , did he think the Frenchie might take his treat ?
Some months ago a Frenchie ran up and barked in Reubens face , did he associate ?
Reubs is not perfect , whos dog is ? But he is a sociable lad , never any bother at his Playgroup sessions . He will sometimes approach other dogs with caution if he doesnt know them , but todays behaviour is a first , I hope its a last xx

 

[kateincornwall]

P.S. Just adding that the Frenchie was not at all bothered , just me mortified x

 

[HAH]

It sounds like it was all noise and no damage done, I definitely wouldn’t worry unduly but it’s worth considering the circumstances.
Did you say elsewhere that Reuben has been disturbed by workmen on scaffolding at home over the last couple of days? It may be that his stress bucket is a bit fuller than usual. And if the frenchie came up behind you while Reuben was distracted with play and fish cubes, possibly in a state of higher arousal due to the games, it might well have caught him by surprise. Paired with the potential it was a bit trickier to read with its body language, I’d guess Reuben was simply thrown and reacted in a more anxious way then he would usually.
I’d approach it with sympathy, and have a couple of undemanding days for him with lots of slow sniffing walks and maybe familiar easy routes with less chance of meeting others.

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

It may be that his stress bucket is a bit fuller than usual.

I absolutely second this. Easier said than done, but try not to worry too much: I'd lay odds that this is unusual behaviour brought on by a bunch of stress factors coming together for a perfect storm moment and will not become an ongoing thing.

 

[kateincornwall]

You`re right , we have had men working on the roof all week on and off and when not on our roof they are working on others close by so he can hear them so I guess his stress levels have been high .
I am upset about it , it is so out of character . Reubs can be cautious but hasnt ever behaved like this before . He is at Playgroup tomorrow so that will be stress free for him xx

 

[snowbunny]

Growling is perfectly normal communication and it sounds like it was all appropriate. We’re conditioned into thinking that it’s bad, but it’s not at all. He was bothered by the Frenchie being in his space and he told it so. End of story, nothing to worry about

 

[Stacia]

Exactly @snowbunny, we forget they are dogs and this is what dogs do with no aggression, just saying in dog language.

 

[Lab_adore]

Every now and then Maxx does the same. Never with a dog he knows and rarely a small dog. But he has a sniff then just launches into excessive barking/growling. Kate I too feel mortified but it's all noise and I figure the other dog is giving off some sort of aggressive vibe and he is just protecting himself/us.

He never did this before he went to the boarding place for those 7 weeks we were away. We figure he may have got picked on and had to learn to stand up for himself. Or it might be an age thing

 

[Granca]

Now trying to think what provoked this behaviour

Do you think it may be that their eyes are more staring too? Wispa reacts to dogs with staring eyes, eg huskies.

Today as I was about to leave the local park three lads came through the gate that I was heading for, each with a dog. One in particular was pulling and had a similar shaped head to a husky. Rather to my annoyance they kept heading towards me instead of taking an alternative path. Wispa was barking (and she has an orange warning sleeve on her lead) but they just grinned and kept coming, so I ended up cutting across the muddy grass to give thm a wide berth. Wispa calmed down and we carried on, but it was a pity the lads weren’t a bit more aware of social distancing, as most people are now. Needless to say, Tuppence carried on, completely oblivious

Maybe Reuben did remember his previous encounter with a Frenchie. It’s worth trying to avoid eye contact if they meet up again, but easier said than done when the other dog stares! Don’t be mortified!

 

[Oberon]

I wouldn’t let it alter your opinion of your lovely boy. We can’t expect them to love everyone they meet. Some dogs appear threatening and scary and a natural reaction to that is to say “go away!!!!”. It’s ok for them to say they’re not ok. And as has been said, coping skills are not always at their peak.

I can remember heaps of times when I wish I’d barked and growled at other humans instead of smiling or being silent Dogs are just more open about what they really think and feel, and good on them for that.

Now you know more about what Reuben might not be ok with, and when, and you can help him to avoid those situations.

 

[SteffiS]

Toffee has similar episodes with growling, with most dogs he’s absolutely fine, but there are some dogs in the village he just doesn’t like. There’s no pattern to this, generally they’re male, but not always, some are neutered, but not all, and it also doesn’t seem to be breed dependent, although sometimes he’ll hide behind me if small dogs bark at him.

 

[Charlie]

We expect so much from our dogs, not all dogs like each other just like I don't like all humans, in fact I like very few Charlie had a real dislike for a Boxer (flat faces I think) where we used to live. The owner went out of his way to have his dog in Charlie's space, stressing us all out. On one particular day the owner who was basically an arse walked very closely behind David who was walking Charlie. Charlie was anxious kept looking back, David stepped it up to remove Charlie from the situation, they caught up. In the end Charlie slipped his collar ran back and had a pop at the dog. We were mortified but looking back the Boxer's owner was in the wrong getting in Charlie's space especially as we had told him Charlie had a problem with Sid. This was a continuous problem that we certainly don't miss. Reuben did nothing wrong Kate it was just a shock for you. xx

 

[kateincornwall]

Thank you for all your replies , I feel much better now and can see that it was an amalgamation of a few factors that brought this about , just bad timing being the main culprit . Thank you again xxx

 

[Candy]

Even my gentle GGJ has shouted at other dogs to keep their distance from time to time and most usually if they remind her of another dog she's had a bad experience with. I always see it as just shouting, there's no snarling, snapping or attempting to bite. It sounds scary but really she's just saying 'Don't come any closer please!' So we just steer clear, apologise if I feel it's necessary and go on our way as calmly as possible. It seems to work OK and is infrequent, so not a big problem, just a little part of who she is.xxx

 

[kateincornwall]

I also think that there may be a modicum of frustration as I havent been able to walk far over the past week or two with this damned pain , I have tried to make our walks interesting but he its not the same xx

 

[JES72]

Homer cam be a bit growly from time to time with other dogs. I generally walk off a little way and call him, if I'm close he may continue to growl more. Usually just a short Grrr and we move off quickly and as we go I tell him he's being Mr Grumpy Pants. Usually me being cheerful and chatty and walking away helps defuse him. Occasionally he is a bit more growly and growly with more dogs, so if its two growls he's on lead.

 

[Selina27]

I have tried to make our walks interesting but he its not the same xx

As he likes retrieving is it possible to take him somewhere where he can do this? Stretch his mind a bit as well as his legs? Then maybe you wouldn't have to walk so far?

 

[kateincornwall]

As he likes retrieving is it possible to take him somewhere where he can do this? Stretch his mind a bit as well as his legs? Then maybe you wouldn't have to walk so far?

This is what I`ve been doing Helen , its just me worrying as usual

 

[kateincornwall]

And over thinking , I should have a medal in over thinking x

 

[Granca]

And over thinking , I should have a medal in over thinking x

Join the club, Kate! There’s too much time available to do that at the moment.