If you

If you’ve ever been to the dog park, or anyplace where dogs are free to run, play and interact with each other, you may see how happy and exuberant many of the dogs appear to be. It is a wonderful thing to watch as the dogs play "tag," "keep-away," chase, fetch, etc.

Play and its role were thoroughly examine in R. Fagen’s work "Animal Play Behavior" 1981:

What’s even more fascinating to see is all the "talking" that goes on between all the dogs. Dogs, being social, group animals have an intricate way of communicating with one another. Through a series of facial expressions, ear, tail, head positions, eye and mouth position, they are able to communicate and read the intentions of one another.

The problem is that not all dogs are good at speaking or reading their own language. Many are socially inept and can be rude or even down right mean. When dogs don’t speak "dog" and don’t play well with others, it’s usually for one or a combination of three reasons: genetics, learned behavior, or poor socialization.

Over thousands of years dogs have gone through many different stages of domestication. Unfortunately, humans have bred aggressive tendencies into many breeds of dogs. Now, not all dogs within a breed group are aggressive nor are all within another group easy going and pleasant. We are talking propensities here. The more common of these include Pit Bulls, Rottweilers, Chows and other guard types. On the other hand many dogs were developed into breeds of a more cooperative nature (again, we are dealing with overall propensities) these include, scent hounds such as Beagles, Bloodhounds and Foxhound. These were bred to hunt in packs and are very amenable to being and cooperating in groups. The sporting breeds (Labs, Goldens, etc.) also tend to be easy going among others. The working breeds can run the continuum from being relatively gregarious to aggressive. Again, it is important to mention that not all dogs in any given group are going to behave in one way or another; not all Rottweilers are aggressive just as not all Labs are friendly.

The dog’s natural propensities can and will be modified by how you raise the dog. Improper, harsh and abusive training methods, no training at all, abuse, etc can turn any dog into an aggressive anti-social, danger to society. It is critical that you raise your dog in an environment that doesn’t allow him to be teased, threatened, tormented or attacked by other dogs or people (kids included).

The most common reason for dogs not getting along with others is a lack proper socialization. If you keep your dog isolated or only expose him to limited environments, you run the risk of your dog developing anti-social, aggressive or fearful behavior.

When your dog is greeting another dog be aware of both of the dogs' demeanors. Friendly postures generally involve the dog making him or herself "smaller" relative to the other dog. This, along with other physical posturing, serves to decrease their potential threat to others. Dogs exhibiting passive submission tend to have an averted gaze, lower their neck and ears, lick, groom and paw.

Not so friendly greetings involve the dog making itself appear larger. Erect stance, head up, ears forward, tail up (possibly flicking tip), piloerection (hair up on neck/back, puffed tail hair), direct stare (pupils may or may not be dilated), raised lips, low tone growl, snapping, etc. There are some agnostic behaviors that are considered normal but may not be well received by some dogs, such as, mounting, chasing, pinning and the like.

You, as your dog’s owner, shouldn’t forget common sense or your responsibility for your dog’s behavior. You cannot control other people’s dogs but you certainly should be able to control your own. Don’t confuse control with punishment. You don’t need to be a dictator with your dog. You can give him as much slack as you want, but when you say "enough" the dog needs to know that you mean it. A well-mannered dog is one who does what you want him to do when you want him to do it. Controlling through intimidation doesn’t work any better with dogs than with children. (Dr. Nicholas Dodman, 2000)

You need to understand the personality, characteristics of your dog and mold your expectations around that understanding. If your dog has exhibited aggressive, or any other inappropriate behavior(s) while running in the dog park, it is incumbent upon you to (1) not take your dog to the park or (2) take the necessary steps to teach your dog how to behave appropriately in a social setting. It is a task well worth the time needed to change your dog’s attitude.

For more understanding of how dogs communicate, I recommend the following books:

By Marty Guerra, Behaviorist, Trainer & proprietor of Good Dog Behavior & Training. Marty has an extensive background in animal behavior, training, psychology and learning theory. Marty also contributes our monthly training column.

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