What would you do if this happened?

So me having Dragon that's DA always gets me nerves when I walk Sasha on her own, I k ow she's not DA but I always think what if the other dog annoys her? She growls at them and can sometimes nibble if she's getting annoyed with another dog, then what if the other dog bites her? I don't want her to have bad experiences with dogs and I know she'll probably pick up on me not being ok, but having seen what my boy can do its hard not to think about this things.

Should I try get her to come to me when she growls at another dog? Or should I leave her to learn how to play and socialise?

When I first walked her with my step dad we went to a park where there were so many dogs of the lead and as soon as we walked in I got nerves because some dogs came up to her, she was nice to them but I just always get scared that she bites another dog or another dog bites her while they play and one of them gets annoyed or something.

DA?

Dog aggressive

You should let her socialise whenever possible but always remain in control. And prevent her from approaching dogs that are on leads without asking the owner first.

Same as Mat.

Growling is often part of play, so you need to watch her body language to see if she's playing or not.

Caryll wrote:Growling is often part of play, so you need to watch her body language to see if she's playing or not.

That's what I used to have to do with my ex.

I like to stand well back and see what the body language is like so if they go to the end of the lead they still can't gt to each other . I normally find if you stand and chat for a bit then this seems to (or a least most times) put the dogs at ease , then , and only if its ok with the other owner let them go in for a sniff

Following on from what Dave said above, if you chat to the owner this will give your dog good vibes about the owner and be more likely to trust the dog with them. Calm owners = calm dogs.

Agree with Matts comments. Always check with the other dogs owners. I was training Brutus this morning on a long lead and a lady walked straight up with her two dogs and let them jump all over him. Poor boy didn't know what hit him and when he started to chase them and play, she made the comment of him not being dog friendly. Excuse me????

Oh yea I wouldn't let her go run up to a dog on the lead, who knows the dog could be dog aggressive, where I take her all dogs are of the lead and they come to her she hardly goes to a dog, the problem is she growls every time a dog sniffs her which gets me worried she is not playing and telling them off, but they still go back to sniff her and she might end up snapping at them and hurt them or they could take the growl the wrong way and bite her, that's my worry.

Steff does not appreciate too long a sniff, I think because she relates it to humping, which she will not tolerate, from any dog even a dog 10x her size she will growl at and if they try to hump she will snap and growl at them.. never bitten any other dog, but she is not playing, she is serious. I usually let her do it, to a point, I could be wrong but I think it is normal dog behavior. she doesn't like to be sniffed and humped and this is her way communicating those feelings.. Don't worry too much, dogs growl the same way we yell, it isn't a sign that your dog DA, nor does every growl lead to a fight.. Always do first time meetings on lead, and until you know her a lot better and can establish a trust with her always be super cautious when she is off lead, but try to enjoy her and not panic

Kylie wrote:Steff does not appreciate too long a sniff, I think because she relates it to humping, which she will not tolerate, from any dog even a dog 10x her size she will growl at and if they try to hump she will snap and growl at them.. never bitten any other dog, but she is not playing, she is serious. I usually let her do it, to a point, I could be wrong but I think it is normal dog behavior. she doesn't like to be sniffed and humped and this is her way communicating those feelings.. Don't worry too much, dogs growl the same way we yell, it isn't a sign that your dog DA, nor does every growl lead to a fight.. Always do first time meetings on lead, and until you know her a lot better and can establish a trust with her always be super cautious when she is off lead, but try to enjoy her and not panic

I know for sure she is not DA the thing is when we first walked her she was amazing with all dogs, small or big didn't matter shed sniff and then keep on walking, she doesn't normally play and if she does its not for to long.
Where we take her there's loads of dog and their owners don't seem to care if their dog walks off to see another dog, she will normally not go to any dog even if she is of the lead they normally come running up to her.
If she growls to much to the other dog then ill put her on the lead and call the owner of the other dog to move his dog away from her, she's not my dog it's my mums dog so if I walked in the house and told my mum she was hurt because she got in a fight my mum would go mad lol that's why I also get a bit scared that another dog annoys her to much, not that she bites or anything but I don't know how she'd react if another dog annoyed her, if you get what I mean.

You must be careful now with her, as you don't properly "know" her yet, and there is definately a risk of it getting out of hand.. When you 1st started walking her and she was great with other dogs it may have just been that she was a bit timid, new home and owners etc.. She is still settling in, and the more settled she gets the more her true personality will shine through and she will build a trusting relationship with you and your family.. Just don't be too scared of a little growl here and there, I know it can be a little scary sometimes, but a lot of it is just normal dog behaviour..