Change in behaviour

Hi everyone

Got a bit of a weird one here. Maisie will be 2 in October and her attitude towards other dogs has started to change. The last couple of times she has met a dog (one she didn't know, one she did) she's got snappy and snarly. We've had her since 8 weeks old and she's been socialised really well. She's been to puppy socialisation, out with us to parks, shops, pubs etc, she goes to work with my partner sometimes, she goes to obedience training once a week and agility training once a week.
I don't know if it's her age and she is trying to assert her dominance, but I don't want her to become another statistic.
Has anyone else had this happen to them? She is great with people and children but this new attitude to other dogs is a bit worrying.
Any one got any advice?

Has she in any way had a bad experience with another dog of late? has she been spayed? sometimes they get a little narky coming into season like all us females or maybe an underlying problem that would be worth a trip to vets just to check her out. I have never owned a female dog so not much use sorry, if you dont mind I will move your post to another section as it will get more answers for you x

Hiya

Yes, she's been spayed for over a year now. It just seems to have happened in the last couple of weeks or so.
No bad experiences recently. A puppy moved in next door that we have been helping look after. She's been sniffing him under the fence but no aggression through the fence. She did growl at him when she saw him over the wall but then met him and just licked him.
Please move the question, grateful for anyone else's experience or advice

I am going to move this to training and behaviour thread just so you know where to look for answers xx

Ok well maybe there is your answer if you have been looking after another dog maybe its just a fear aggression as she feels a little insecure but I will move for you now and sure you will get some more valuable info from others on here x

Keep checking for replies as some may not be on until morning now x

Thank you!! Appreciate it

No worries another thought maybe an idea to meet next doors doggy on neutral ground to get to know him/her on a basic level then it will not seem so intimidating for her when she is on her own territory

Katy changed at around 2yrs old, she was well socialised too but we did have a couple of incidents as a pup with dogs going for her! As she got older she got more reactive. She's fine with dogs she knows but new ones have to be introduce slowly on neutral ground with the space she's happy with between them. Try meeting in a field with plenty of treats to distract her if she seems stressed. Walk parallel with the other dog at a distance she's comfortable with, if she reacts move out a bit until she settles. She's not being aggressive but reactive from what you say. Katy barks & lunges but she's trying to tell them to back off because she's scared.

I would also say reactiveness rather than aggressiveness, and I doubt she's being 'dominant' (not a word I like to use). She may have felt 'put out' by your neighbour's new pup, especially if you're paying it a lot of attention.

Try taking treats with you on walks & distract her if you see her getting a bit off with another dog. That way she'll see the other dog in a positive light - dog coming = treats.

Just a thought and I’m no expert but how do you react when a dog approaches? If you are feeling worried and tense then that could be transferring over to Maisie.

Jnestie84 wrote:Just a thought and I’m no expert but how do you react when a dog approaches? If you are feeling worried and tense then that could be transferring over to Maisie.

I suppose I am waiting for it now, which you're right is transferring to her.  It's something I need to work on as I know that me feeling tense won't be helping any situation (easier said than done though   )

Her first bit of reactiveness though I wasn't worried or nervous, just relaxed with her because she'd never been like it before.

gillybrent wrote:I would also say reactiveness rather than aggressiveness, and I doubt she's being 'dominant' (not a word I like to use). She may have felt 'put out' by your neighbour's new pup, especially if you're paying it a lot of attention.

Try taking treats with you on walks & distract her if you see her getting a bit off with another dog. That way she'll see the other dog in a positive light - dog coming = treats.

I haven't been paying him too much attention but my partner has and I think that has put her nose out a bit.  She was fine when she met him, play bowed, licked him, no reactiveness at all.

I will start to up my focus training with her again as I've got a bit slack recently. She'll do most things for a sprat so I'll start taking them out again with me.

Jenc wrote:Katy changed at around 2yrs old, she was well socialised too but we did have a couple of incidents as a pup with dogs going for her! As she got older she got more reactive. She's fine with dogs she knows but new ones have to be introduce slowly on neutral ground with the space she's happy with between them. Try meeting in a field with plenty of treats to distract her if she seems stressed. Walk parallel with the other dog at a distance she's comfortable with, if she reacts move out a bit until she settles. She's not being aggressive but reactive from what you say. Katy barks & lunges but she's trying to tell them to back off because she's scared.

Maisie has been attacked a couple of times when she was pup.  The first time she was on a lead and the other dog pulled away from its owner and made a bee line for her.  I didn't pick her up or make a big deal out of it because I knew that if I did, she would pick up on me.  She seemed fine after that.  The second time was at puppy socialisation - one dog just took a dislike to her and went for her, she didn't get hurt and didn't seem to mind dogs after that.

She is a happy friendly dog and I don't want to have to start worrying about her when we are out and about and she really is a big softy!

LadyP33 wrote:

gillybrent wrote:I would also say reactiveness rather than aggressiveness, and I doubt she's being 'dominant' (not a word I like to use). She may have felt 'put out' by your neighbour's new pup, especially if you're paying it a lot of attention.

Try taking treats with you on walks & distract her if you see her getting a bit off with another dog. That way she'll see the other dog in a positive light - dog coming = treats.

I haven't been paying him too much attention but my partner has and I think that has put her nose out a bit.  She was fine when she met him, play bowed, licked him, no reactiveness at all.

I will start to up my focus training with her again as I've got a bit slack recently. She'll do most things for a sprat so I'll start taking them out again with me.

Oooh, won't you smell good!

Oh yes, nothing quite like the smell of fish emanating from you to help make friends!!

I would ask your husband to pay both dogs equal amounts of attention perhaps at a fence both dogs can see through but cannot reach each other . Could be your dog has slight resentment to the dog perhaps you could walk them together on seperate leads . Or both walk one dog each then swap over. You'll do well with the sprats your dogs clearly food orientated but only give rewards when your dog has done as asked and not give food as a distraction. Keep your hands and your sides and relax your hand i used to sing to either my dog or myself id make my own songs up sounds very silly it worked.
I took the james wellbeloved fish with me on walks . I realise this is an old thread but hope it helps whoever reads it.

Why not use food as a distraction? 

That way, when your dog's ignores the other dog & focuses on you, he can be rewarded with the treat.

So an update for you all. I continued with the distraction training which helped. She has now met the pup next door and they just played, no reactiveness from her.
She's also been good with meeting new dogs and ones that she knew.
She's been to see a physio and had a massive knot in her neck which the physio has said could have been causing her a lot of pain (that she wouldn't have necessarily shown as they are so stoic) which in turn could have been making her reactive.
I've been stroking the lead as well to calm me down and this has been passed down to her.
I'm going to try some TTouch with her as well.
I'm feeling a lot more confident that she isn't turning into an reactive dog and will keep up with the distraction training.
On a really positive note, she passed the Kennel Club Good Dog Citizen Bronze Award!!!
Thanks everyone for your advice - I really appreciate it!

Brilliant update - thank you!

What a lovely update and great avatar photo - well done to you both !

Cute pic well done maisie

Loving your update!