Dog Community

Is this normal?

Posted : 8/17/2006 10:28:07 AM

I took Bailey to the vet today and I have two questions. When we went into the office there was a puppy there. He was an adorible little westie pup named Westley. Anyway Bailey was a little afraid of this puppy. Eventually when they went nose to nose and sniffed eachother Bailey let out a little growl. (She sometimes lets out a small growl when she sees new people but, she has never bitten anyone.) Anyway she was fine after I told her no. She also growled a little when she saw this puppy from the car. It wasn't seriously mean or anything but, it concerns me bacause, when another dog came and and they sniffed eachother Bailey was fine. When she saw a small daschund she was actually scared! Is it normal to have all these different reactions to different dogs? (All of them were smaller than she is.) Will this be a problem if I take her for training? She is a year old and I think I would really like to take her to a class.

My other question is a bit odd. When Bailey gets hurt she almost never cries. The only time she ever cries is when she runs around with something in her mouth (and I think she gets stuff stuck in there!) When she got her first shot a few months ago she let out a little whimper. This time she did not even notice at all! In fact she was more scared of the table they put her on than the shot! Is it normal to have a dog who does not cry when they get hurt? I watched a show about children who feel no pain and I wondered if dogs can have the same problems? Am I over reacting like I normally do?

jones

Posted : 8/17/2006 10:52:41 AM

Are you sure Bailey was afraid of the puppy or was she maybe asserting herself, or expressing dislike? My dog, I'm a little embarrassed to say, absolutely hates puppies. He's not afraid of them, he does not like them.

A lot of dogs don't show pain; this doesn't mean they don't feel pain. This is why it can be hard sometimes for owners to know when our dogs are unwell or in pain... they can often be quite stoic in their suffering. However, in the case of gettings shots, usually they don't hurt. When I brought Russell in for his 1 yr boosters, the first shot made him flinch and the vet said "Oops, you felt that one! I'll switch to a smaller needle." They shouldn't feel much from the syringe itself though the vaccination site may be sore later.

Julitza

Posted : 8/17/2006 11:11:04 AM

Maybe it was just a dislike of the pup? I has a Shih Tzu who absolutely did not like small dogs. She would prance up to a huge dog any day, but small dogs were growled at for some reason.

fuzzy_dogs_mom

Posted : 8/17/2006 11:42:38 AM

Max isn't real great with very small dogs, either. I believe he thinks they're squirrels & I'll be very happy when the city gets the *small dog* section of the dog park fenced off from the rest of it.

Joyce

cakana

Posted : 8/17/2006 11:49:50 AM

I believe he thinks they're squirrels

That's kind of funny, but it makes sense. Sassy doesn't like small dogs either and if they're yappy small dogs, she goes into major "prey-drive" posture. I also think vet offices and waiting rooms are very stressful places for most dogs and they can become overwhelmed really quickly.

Aimee

Posted : 8/17/2006 12:00:31 PM

All of the dogs were smaller than Bailey (and she isnt that big her self lol) She didn't like the puppy but, the older dog who was just as small as the puppy was fine.

Sapphire04

Posted : 8/17/2006 1:24:43 PM

...