CHENNAI: I have a four-year-old Rottweiler. I never really got a chance to get him socialise. This year, I took him to a pet show. He was fine with humans but not so good with other dogs. He would bark or run away from them. What should be done?
Hi,
Let us first understand what he is doing and why he is doing so. Many of us expect that our dogs will naturally be friends with other dogs. This is so not true.
A dog identifies with and associates only with his pack, which is you and your family and the other pets in your family. All others are outsiders, be it dog or human.
Since he has lived with you and is socially exposed to being around humans, he has learnt to be around humans. He understands that humans are ok to be with and are not a threat to him. Hence he is friendly with humans around him. Given that you were in a pet show, most of the people would have been comfortable around him thereby adding to the positivity of the situation.
However, other animals do not communicate and behave like humans do and your dog is one of them. Just by feeling the presence of another dog, he can understand if the other dog wants him to be around, is friendly or not. Dogs communicate mainly through body language and read each others state of mind based on their body language.
Thus in his interaction, he will have to interact with dogs that are stronger than him and ones that are submissive. Depending on his confidence level, he will either fight a weaker one or flee when a stronger one comes across.
This is why you would encounter some cases where he would probably growl or bark or lunge and in some cases he will drag you and flee out of the place. Whether the other dog is friendly or not, he is not interested in any kind of association.
Essentially this means, socialise your dog. Take him to professionals who can help you with the socialisation in a governed and structured manner and make it easy for him to be around dogs just as comfortably as he is with humans.
Is your pet shy or anxious? Write your pet queries and worries to pet.faqs@gmail.com