Body language?

[sugar]

I have a question about doggie body language I kept forgetting to ask until I saw a video on Rescue Ink's FB page of their dog Rebel meeting other dogs.



It looks like their are point that his body is very very stiff and he is looking off into the ditane when another dog is either in his face or trying to sniff his boy parts. His tail is wagging but his body doesn't look very relaxed (at least to my untrained eye). Now when Chubs meets another dog through a fence (on walks) he is very relaxed and likes to turn sideways and press/drag his body along the fence while the other doggie happliy sniffs. He also gets nose to nose, but still a fairly relaxed body and a tail that is mostly parallel to the ground and wagging at a decent semi-lazy pace. When he meets another dog in person (no fence) he is a lot more "OMG I"M SO HAPPY TO MEET YOU" excited that is can be a bit much for some dogs (occasionally will try to hump, but after I put in a few 'sits' he stops). Someone told me that Chubs and the other dog sniffing noses isn't good because face to face dogs usually mean a confrontation is coming, but Chubs looks very relaxed (even looks back at me with a open, smiley mouth). But I have seen other dogs react like Rebel does in the video with Chubs (Chubs being the goofy, over exuberant dog he is and the other dog, while wagging their tail seems a little stiff). I try to steer Chubs away from those dogs because the stiffness I see in the other canine makes me feel like the other dog maybe isn't a Chubs fan, but their owner is always telling me "But he's wagging his tail. It woudln't wag if he wasn't happy"

Am I being overly cautious?

[maryellen]

nose to nose isnt good, thats how most fights start. just because a dog is wagging his tail doesnt mean he is happy. keep chubbs away from dogs that are acting all stiff you are not being overly cautious. i dont let rufus meet any dog who is stiff like that, as rufus sometimes will be all stiff too when he meets a dog depending on the dog

[emilys]

and the key thing is how the OTHER dog reacts... if it seems to be responding with stiffness or other signs of concern/impeding response, then yes, whatever Chubs is doing is causing offense. And remember that most people don't know squat about dog language... as ME notes, wagging doesn't mean happy in all cases. If the wagging is stiff, short strokes, high posture (combined with other parts of the dog.. hackles raised, for example.. WARNING.

[sugar]

So its isn't good that Chubs sniffs nose to nose through a fence? The neighbor across the street as a golden mix of some kind called Goldie (she barks at everything and everyone except Chubs, she races to whatever part of the fence we are closes to and goes into play bows and those 'play with me' yips). They always touch noses (but don't stare at each other). That usually followed by Chubs turning sideways and pressing his body into the fence for a few minutes while the other dog gets some sniffing time. He usually has his mouth open and relaxed and lazy tail wag. I honestly thought it was cute because of how mushy get seems to get. Am I misinterpreting it? I thought Rebel in the video looks very stiff and his neck is very high when the other dog is going to sniff him, but Chubs is more relaxed looking.
So should I just keep Chubs moving if he and Goldie sniff noses?

[RealPitBull]

The fence-sniffing Chubs and Goldie have got going on, sounds like an established greeting ritual. I don't see anything wrong with it, especially since you've had no problems.

As a rule, nose-to-nose head on greetings are problematic. Even though some dogs greet like this with full-on friendly intentions, it is the sort of behavior that can set another dog off.

[sugar]

Yeah, Chubs and Goldie see each other almost daily and first thing is always nose sniffing, followed up Chubs doing the body press against the fence (big lug that he is I always have to pull him back only because I'm afraid he would bend the fence) and then a few bouts of Goldie trying to instigate a chase game, Chubs going like three feet (not really a runner) and then she going into play bows and Chubs just satnding there wagging his tail and switching from smiling at me to smiling at her. My issue is Chubs tries to greet dogs nose first, then butt sniffing/turning sideways. What should I do, because he isn't acting aggressive but I'm afraid his rude(?) behavior will cause a problem.
For example when we started the clicker training classes all the student would wait outside with our dogs until the puppy class got out. Chubs never acted overtly aggressive with any of the dogs but he def. was a little pushy (nose first, rest of body second). By the second meeting around he would first go sniff under the dog or the dog's butt first and never once minded when another dog came up to sniff him.

How can I teach him to be more polite around new dogs (he is very well mannered with new people)?

[RealPitBull]

I thought Emma Parsons had a really great idea of teaching dogs to target specific body parts on other dogs. Teaching him a wait cue, and then asking him to "touch" the other dog on the butt, instead of having him rush headlong into another dog, might be something to play around with.

[maryellen]

goldie and chubbs like mary said are ok, its the other strange dogs that nose to nose is not good for.

[sugar]

Yeah, Goldie is a little bit of a scaredy cat and a little awkward in her doggie intros, her family told me she was rescued from a puppy mill when she was a few months old (because of the high demand for all those golden doodle mixes they believe). The mill was raided and they eventually adoped her from a rescue. She barks at everything at moves except Chubs (she will bark at me too, unless I am with Chubs).

Maybe two socially awkward wrongs make a right between these two, lol.

Mind you, she is also the one that essentially taught Chubs to run up to people as they walk by our fence (if you remember that old post that had me a little unhappy). He has stopped that though, thankfully.

[emilys]

Sept 16, 2010 10:47:55 GMT -5 maryellen said:

goldie and chubbs like mary said are ok, its the other strange dogs that nose to nose is not good for.

yeah, once dogs are already friends, they can get to know each other's language and take less offense at things that might offend a strange dog.