Do you trust your dog?

     I think you show great wisdom in letting your dog "talk" dog, and make some of her own judgement calls!  Sometimes we humans create big issues out of nothing when it comes to canine communication, and a dog like your's, with plenty of dog on dog interaction, knows exactly what the other dogs are saying.

     The more I watch dogs when they're at liberty, or around the house, I realize how much they communicate. For me, it's every bit a second language (one I'll never speak well without proper ears, etc.). Also, dogs that are raised in single dog housholds with no other canine contact seem to have trouble understanding other dogs. They can read their people like a book, but they've forgotten how to communicate with others of their own species

Penny called the bluff and was lucky....most Huskies are not aggressive.....just my experience.....now, with a more challenging dog like a GSD, this would not have gone down as peaceful as what you described.........

I trust my dogs.......btw......

corvus

How much do you trust your dog's judgement regarding other dogs, and why? 

For me it's not about trust, but the dog's motives.  For example, Coke's main motivation behind interacting with other dogs is play.  He does not require ANY sort of introduction (as evident by the out-of-control, untrained pit bull that often escapes into our yard and immediately begins chasing Coke and Kenya...Coke is purely delighted by this!  An escaped dog charging over to play with HIM is the highlight of his week, whereas others might get prickly and have to "defend" themselves or their property) and he wants to be with ANY dog that will play with him.  If a dog is snappy or standoffish toward him, he simply avoids eye contact and walks away.  Kenya is aloof with people and dogs so she simply does not care about them either way, therefore she does not strain to meet a new dog, nor is she aggressive towards it.  If a dog is inappropriately pushy with her, she will air snap and give other signals, but as a whole she doesn't really care what other dogs are doing.  There is no "judgment".  I've seen dogs act aggressively toward HER and she just stands there looking at something else thank goodness, she does not put the dog in its place, so to speak.  As long as I understand why my dogs act the way they do around other dogs, I don't need to rely on their judgments. 

Liesje,

as much as I appreciate Kenya, I am wondering if she ever acts protective.........I would be concerned if any of my Shepherds act the way Kenya does.......I really appreiate their way of protecting property and people........my main reason for loving this breed as much as I do......I grew up with this breed and my father feels the way I do.......

I would trust Cara and Mia completely. They've been with me a long time and I feel I know them.

But recently, I've learned some things about B'asia and Jaia that tell me to be more discerning about trusting them completely with other dogs. Jaia is far too concerned about protecting me. He's over-protective of his family. Interestingly, he's much more trustworthy when he's with DH. B'asia has some fear issues (I think) and she responds to other dogs out of fear.

I trust all of them completely with other people.  

snownose

Liesje,

as much as I appreciate Kenya, I am wondering if she ever acts protective.........I would be concerned if any of my Shepherds act the way Kenya does.......I really appreiate their way of protecting property and people........my main reason for loving this breed as much as I do......I grew up with this breed and my father feels the way I do.......

In general, she does what she is trained/told and sticks to me like glue.  I've never wanted or needed her to protect me.  If someone comes into our yard, she will circle within a few feet of me, then stand there and stare at the person, and then look at me to see if I'll tell her to do something.  When someone comes to the door, the dogs are allowed to alert bark for a few seconds.  Since she grew up with several other dogs in her home and was shown as a puppy, she is not reactive towards other dogs.  She has a few "friends" she likes to play with, but the others don't bother her at all and she ignores them.  I expect nothing more or less.  We are at group training several times a week and always doing shows.  Constantly being reactive towards other dogs and people would be very bad for her/us and we would be asked to leave.  I'm told her father was a favorite of his family because of his balanced temperament.  He was a very loyal yet gentle dog.  Just b/c they are respectful of people and dogs does not make them weak.  He scored 100-96-100 in Germany, that dog could BITE.

I do not allow reactive guardy behaviors.  *I* decide who comes in and who doesn't.  The dog's job is to stand at attention and do what I say.  We live in the city so I just cannot have the liability of a super-protective dog constantly having to make judgments about everyone that crosses our path.  There are constantly "strangers" (to Kenya) and children in our yard b/c we share a yard with the other renters.  There's lots of foot traffic on the streets where we walk.  She is desensitized to other people and dogs b/c she probably meets 10 new people and 5 new dogs every day, not including going to events and shows.  That said, no one has ever tried to hurt me or her, so I cannot say how she might act if someone does...

Liesje

I do not allow reactive guardy behaviors.  *I* decide who comes in and who doesn't.  The dog's job is to stand at attention and do what I say. 

Perfect, that is what happens when I am home.....but, when I am gone I need the protection........and my dogs deliver.......

snownose

Liesje

I do not allow reactive guardy behaviors.  *I* decide who comes in and who doesn't.  The dog's job is to stand at attention and do what I say. 

 

Perfect, that is what happens when I am home.....but, when I am gone I need the protection........and my dogs deliver.......

Well, I do have a sticker on my front door that says we are "protected by German Shepherd dog security"    I'm not really sure what the dogs do when I'm not home.  Probably bark if someone comes to the door, but I don't know who would.  The only people that I know have come over when I was gone are Phil's parents.  The dogs bark at them but they can come in and I allow it because they use our home frequently, can't have the dogs attacking them!  Usually the dogs are not home alone for more than a few hours at a time b/c we have mixed schedules.  Our neighbors are afraid of both of my dogs (which they make very clear to me by running inside when they are out) so I at least have the peace of mind that they are not scoping out my house and will never try to go in.

Neither dog is allowed to show any sort of guardy behavior over the yard.  It's not my yard or their yard to guard. 

I trust Bugsy to never be aggressive with another dog however he doesn't seem to get that not all dogs are playing.  He has never seemed threatened by another dog and at least once he should've been.  So I don't 100% trust his judgment when faced with a truly aggressive dog, I feel a little silly saying that because he is such a large powerful dog. 

Just last week someone with 2 not friendly belgian shepherds arrived in the dog park and went after a dog Bugsy had been playing with, so Bugsy went over and tried to 'play' with them.  I wanted to see how it went initially, but I stepped in when one of the Belgians was trying to hump Bugsy while the other one was trying to bite his neck.   I was really angry and shouted at them and they backed off.  The owner then called them, apologized, and left.  Bugsy's body language was all play when he went over to them and his poor buddy they were snarling at.  I was surprised that Bugsy didn't realize that these dogs were not playing.  Just writing this now I feel angry about what happened. 

Liesje

Neither dog is allowed to show any sort of guardy behavior over the yard.  It's not my yard or their yard to guard. 

I understand.......in my situation, though, I need my dogs to be guardy.....there are no folks who can enter when I am not here, except for my neighbor and friend, who has been around for many years........other than that....good luck.......if you can take my stuff with the dogs being around, I will carry it to your vehicle............I feel very protective over our stuff since we were robbed blind when we first moved here.....mind you, the dogs were in kennels and could not get close to the door.....that has changed since then, we are pretty much burglar proof.........and we use our dogs as a deterrent.......

snownose

Liesje

Neither dog is allowed to show any sort of guardy behavior over the yard.  It's not my yard or their yard to guard. 

 

I understand.......in my situation, though, I need my dogs to be guardy.....there are no folks who can enter when I am not here, except for my neighbor and friend, who has been around for many years........other than that....good luck.......if you can take my stuff with the dogs being around, I will carry it to your vehicle............I feel very protective over our stuff since we were robbed blind when we first moved here.....mind you, the dogs were in kennels and could not get close to the door.....that has changed since then, we are pretty much burglar proof.........and we use our dogs as a deterrent.......

Fair enough.  I don't mind dogs guarding and being a deterrent, but mine do not serve that purpose and I don't think there's anything *wrong* with Kenya for being socialized and trained to remain aloof to people and dogs.  She is not a very friendly dog either, and I *like* that.  She's not going to run up to you and lick you, even if you have a treat.  Luckily, I've never needed anything beyond a visual deterrent.  People see her standing next to me, obeying my every command and yet being alert to everything and we have never been challenged.  Because of where we live and what Kenya does, there has to be a balance between being protective and being apathetic.  One of my trainer's Rottweilers is quite protective and it causes her a lot of trouble when competing, she has to constantly be making sure the dog is not getting upset by other people and dogs in such close quarters.  I've seen the dog growl and snap at other dogs for no other reason than they were too close to the person.  I'm glad I don't have to deal with that!  Personally, I think a lot of "protective" behavior is really reactivity and some of it based on fear.  I don't think that's appropriate or healthy for the dog to remain that way or be encouraged to engage in that behavior.

Liesje

One of my trainer's Rottweilers is quite protective and it causes her a lot of trouble when competing, she has to constantly be making sure the dog is not getting upset by other people and dogs in such close quarters.  I've seen the dog growl and snap at other dogs for no other reason than they were too close to the person.  I'm glad I don't have to deal with that!

I see what you are saying.....in your situation it doesn't pay to have an over protective dog........I guess, it boils down to what each animal is used for and how one can benefit the most..........btw, when I take one of my dogs I never lock my vehicle......and it's usually running......for heat or air(short periods)......a cop decided to give advice not to leave a vehicle running(theft),I asked him to approach my vehicle........lol.....he laughed........the outcome was what I expected......don't even think about putting your hand in my vehicle........

snownose

I guess, it boils down to what each animal is used for and how one can benefit the most

I think that's the crux of the matter right there. I want my dogs to be protective of our property. We live out in the country and have some "shady" people in the area. My husband travels on business. I'm glad the dogs, all of them, are protective of our home.

DH and I were just talking last night on the way home from class with Jaia, that we  would LOVE it if, in public, he would just look at other dogs and take notice of them, but not bark and lunge. He's getting better and I have hopes that he will eventually be secure enough to do that all the time. But I have no problem with him warning off people OR dogs who approach our house or car.