Among the most popular articles on this site is the one I wrote about the best way to introduce two dogs to each other (in ten easy steps!) using Natural Dog Training techniques.    One recent reader asked a question in the comments, and I thought I’d answer it here for everyone’s benefit.  This is also a chance for long-time readers (as will be most of these “questions answered” segments) to see how far you’ve come in your understanding of dogs via Natural Dog Training.  Magie writes:

I had just read your article about introducing two new dogs to each other and I have a question. I have a 1 1/2 year old Rottweiler male and I rescued him from a local shelter. I would love to have him interact with other dogs but because of the breed I’m not sure if he would give a warning before he would attack. Therefore, I’m afraid to let him meet other dogs.

I went to the vet and there was a smaller dog there and he kept running towards him wanting to sniff. Of course i didnt allow cause the woman holding the little dog would have had a heart attack.

How do i solve this problem?

It sounds like there are a few problems going on here.

The first issue is:  What are the warning signs of an aggressive dog – i.e. how do you know if your rottie is about to go ballistic?

The second is:  How do you negotiate an encounter in close quarters – say, at the vet?

The third is:  How do you get a feel for how your dog is going to act with other dogs?

First things first – your fear, let go of it you must

The only way that you are going to be in control in these situations (and the best way to help your dog) is if you can stay relaxed.  Focus on your breathing, keeping it slow and steady.  It will help keep your mind clear, so that you can have an accurate awareness of what’s happening with your dog and the other dog.

Warning signs of an aggressive dog

Is your dog stiffening up?  Are the ears back or raised?  Is the tail wagging in quick little vibrations, back and forth?  These are all signs of tension in your dog, and, if you remember from reading my article(s) on dog aggression, tension – in an energized moment – is what’s at the heart of an overload behavior (like aggression).  Now tension doesn’t mean that your dog is going to be aggressive, necessarily (ultimately your dog might roll over and pee) – but it IS a warning sign for you, and it’s an opportunity for you to be proactive, using a Natural Dog Training technique like pushing to help your dog release the tension.  That’s one of the reasons why I recommend introducing two dogs on a walk – to maximize the flow of emotional energy, and to minimize the stress of the face-to-face encounter.  There are plenty of on-line resources that describe  signs of an impending attack – lip raised, snarling, etc.  You almost always feel the tension building and building in those moments, before a dog snaps.

So the point is that Natural Dog Training gives you an avenue for dealing with the tension before it escalates to aggression.

How do you negotiate interactions between dogs in close quarters, like the vet’s office?

Your instinct was a good one, that you shouldn’t let your dog just run up to another dog in the waiting room at the vet’s office.  It’s always advisable to keep your dog close to you, on leash, and to use techniques like pushing (or obedience, like a down-stay) to keep your dog focused on you in the moment, instead of the other things that are there.  If the waiting room is really crowded and you’re worried about your ability to manage your dog, you might ask if you can wait outside, where there’s much less intensity for your dog.  It’s not important for your dog to be friends with all the other patients at the vets office.  And who knows, those other pets might have something contagious (and dogs are notoriously bad at covering their mouths when they sneeze)!

How do you get a feel for how your dog is going to act around other dogs?

The best way is for you to conduct controlled experiments with other dogs – say, your friends’ dogs – outside.  If you have friends with dogs that are known to be low-key and rock-solid around other dogs – start with them.  Use the guidelines in my guide for introducing two dogs to each other, and let the dogs get to know each other over several different meetings before you attempt any off-leash interactions.  And when you DO let your dog off-leash, let the dogs play for a little bit, but then separate them before things get too intense.  At that point, play tug or do some pushing with your dog to help your dog release any stress stored from that encounter with the other dog.  At all times you will be reinforcing for your dog that interacting with YOU is the way to handle excess energy and stress – which will give you a pathway to access your dog’s awareness as the energy level of any situation escalates.

Some concluding thoughts on how to get a sense for how your dog is going to act around other dogs

In my opinion, there are many dogs these days that are over-socialized, and, for that matter, too many owners who are really worried that their dog isn’t getting enough playtime with other dogs – especially if they have a dog that tends towards aggression.  In the grand scheme of things, what’s important for your dog is NOT that they have other dogs to play with.  What IS important for your dog is that they have a chance to be a dog, to do what dogs do.  And that is simply to have an outlet for their prey drive as way of handling the emotional energy (and stress) of their days in “human-world”.  The more that you can show your dog what to do with their energy, and the closer that you get to resolving 100% of your stored up stress, the happier your dog will be.  And your dog will be guaranteed to be more social when around other beings – dogs, cats, people, etc.

One last thing:  I was just featured in the Editor’s blog over at the Vegetarian Times.  She  had some questions for me about how to handle the arrival of a new baby in a house with a dog, and wrote up a great summary of our conversation.  I’ll have to write up a more in-depth article on that topic for the natural dog blog, but, in the meantime – here’s a link to the article at the Vegetarian Time.  Enjoy!

Socialization, socialization, socialization.  These days we’re told that the key to having a dog that gets along with all other dogs and people is to make sure that you give the dog a daily dose of socialization.  Dogparks have sprung up around the country, giving dog owners a place to let their dogs meet-and-greet off-leash, chase balls together, and, essentially, go crazy – as long as no one gets too crazy.  It always happens, though – one dog gets a little too close to another dog’s ball/owner/preferred-spot-of-dirt, and then the sparks fly.  Then I typically get a call from a distraught owner (in recovery from the scorn of the other dog-parkers), wondering why their dog is so aggressive, and hoping that there’s something they can do to solve the problem.  In this article I’m going to discuss an alternative to the dog park that will give you the “socialization” that you’re after in a way that’s much more controllable and likely to lead to positive outcomes.

Now don’t get me wrong: socialization is important.  It’s socialization for socialization’s sake that can have undesired consequences for your dog.  What you have to remember is that your dog is naturally social when involved in the activity for which they were designed by nature: hunting – or any activity that gives dogs a common purpose around which to unite.  A bunch of dogs gathered at the dog park, however, are much like the kids in an empty, fenced-in backyard that I described in my article on being the moose – primed for dysfunction!  Anti-social behavior occurs because there is a bunch of energy in the system, but there is no place for it to really go – it gets stored as stress until one dog or another just can’t take it anymore.  That’s the dog park in a nutshell.  Even the rock solid dogs who do great at the dog park, and who seem to be having a blast romping from one playmate to the next, those dogs would find engaging their prey instincts to be much more fulfilling.  Engaging in your prey drive with another dog or two – now that’s fulfilling AND social behavior.

If you have a dog who is rock solid – great, do whatever you want!  Seriously.  However, let’s say you have a dog who’s “iffy” with other dogs.  Not exactly aggressive, but not all that excited to play, either.  Clearly there’s something going on around other dogs that you want to address, and “more socialization” would be the common prescription for their cure.  How can you give your dog positive experiences with other dogs, especially dogs unknown to them, so that they get to a place where they’re relaxed and playful in the presence of other canines?

If socialization is even a concern for you, then I’m going to assume that you’re in a place where there are other dogs around, or that you can get to such a place somewhat easily.  What you want to do is find someplace to walk with your dog (i.e. your dog is ON leash) where you know there will be other dogs around, preferably other dogs that are also on leash.  Like, for instance, just walking around a neighborhood at a time when you’re likely to encounter other people who are out walking with their dogs.

Typically when you’re out on a walk with your dog and you encounter another person with a dog, the interaction will go something like this: 

Them: “Is your dog friendly?”
You: “Uh, sure!”
Dogs: Sniff, sniff…then maybe growl, bark (or play bow)
Owners (laughing): “*insert something chit-chatty here followed by ‘Goodbye’*”
And everyone goes on their merry way. Not very satisfying – especially for the dogs. In fact, these encounters tend to just create stress that’ll get saved up for the next dog-to-dog interaction.

So here’s what I suggest:  Next time you come across another dog-walkin’ person, take charge of the situation.  Ask them if their dog is friendly (just to make sure that no one is going to get bitten), and then ask if they would mind if you walked with them for a few minutes.  Almost always the other person will agree.  You can give the two dogs a moment or two to sniff each other, but then KEEP IT MOVING.  I refer you here to my article on how to introduce two dogs to each other, and you can follow those steps to make sure that the interaction is positive for both dogs.

Once you’re walking along, your dogs are actually on the hunt together.  United in their common purpose (the walk), they will be able to communicate with each other and work out the stress of encountering a new dog.  Play isn’t necessary between the two dogs, but if they do clearly want to play you might want to let them have a moment or two.  Ultimately what you REALLY want to do, however, is to finish off the encounter by just playing some tug-of-war with your dog (or doing some pushing) as the other dog and owner walk away.  That will help release any of your dog’s stress that might be left over from the meeting.  And any of your stress, for that matter!  Of course, another benefit of taking this time to walk with another person is that you’ll actually have the chance to have a real conversation as you walk together.  I’ve noticed that personally my interactions with other dog owners has improved tremendously as we get to know each other on these little walks together, as opposed to the dog park, where I rarely seemed to get beyond the “what kind of dog is your dog” and similar surface-level conversations.  There’s something about the common purpose of the walk that allows everyone’s true nature to shine through.

Overall, you’re going to be achieving the true purpose of socialization:  allowing your dog to experience the FEELING of what it’s like to relax around a strange dog, and to communicate successfully with another dog.  The more that you have these walks, the more relaxed around other dogs, in general, your dog will be.  Plus, by playing tug or pushing with your dog at various points throughout the encounter, you will help reinforce for your dog that YOU are the ultimate answer for the question of “what do I do with my energy?” – even the energy of meeting another dog.  Perhaps you and your dog will eventually get some off- leash playdates with one of these newfound friends, if that’s ultimately what you’re after.  An occasional trip to the dog park might then be an option for you, if you want – but I think that you’ll come to enjoy this more purposeful approach to socialization and find it to be much more satisfying than the chaos and uncertainty of the dog park for both you and your dog.