Say you’re visiting at a friend’s house and the dog growls at you or otherwise behaves in an aggressive manner. I don’t mean outright attacking – he’s just trying to assert himself over me. As far as I’m concerned, the dog’s master is the alpha dog, I’m the beta dog, and that dog is the omega dog. What is a safe way to assert yourself to someone else’s dog?
the owner should do the correcting, though in the absence of an owner, I have been known to stand up, loom menacingly ver the dog and in a firm voice tell them bad dog
Though I did surprise the owner/operator of a secure storage area once, as I was walking past their guard dog pen [they let them loose to roam at night] and one growled, I walked over to the cage fence and said Bad Dog … Sit in a loud firm voice and the pooch immediately sat down. [most random ‘junkyard’ dawgs arent particularly trained. Training a proper guard dog is very different from housebreaking, though some breeds of dog are more amenable to being protective without training.]
I don’ t know the best way, but I was recently in a situation where the dog was nice, but aggressively affectionate and I wanted to pay attention to the dog, but I didn’t want her jumping all over me. I was surprised that it worked when I just spoke to her as if she were a child–in a firm, authorative, but nice, voice. I told her I didn’t want her jumping on me and moved my body in such a way that I didn’t want to be jumped on. Well, she just sat down next to me and looked up at me. So I petted her on the head.
I tend to speak to animals in complete sentences, so I probably explained that I liked her but I didn’t want her jumping on me :dubious: Don’t know if that actually meant anything to her. My cats seem to understand some of the time.
She tried again at a separate time and I did the same thing and she complied.
Hello,
Ideally- you shouldn’t have to assert yourself over someone elses dog- IMHO it’s unacceptable that an owner does not intervene and assert him or herself over a dominant type dog or even an overly friendly dog. We have such a dog, and if a stranger told him "bad dog! and stood over him in such a way- that person would be nailed- hard!!. If acquaintances are over, that particular dog (we have 5 other perfectly amiable dogs btw) is confined. My boyfriend is a professional dog trainer and the dog (Wyatt, ACD) is very, very well trained but he is also a dominant personality. We did have one incident with a early- arriving DISH technician who came into our yard (despite 3 beware of dog signs) and was cornered by Wyatt. I was the only one home, and was thankfully able to call Wyatt off- the technician did exactly the right thing (except for arriving 3 hours early for our appointment LOL) and stood stock still and avoided eye contact. Had he “asserted” himself- he would have been bit.
FYI- this is a dog that I would not keep, he belongs to my boyfriend. This dog is genetically faulty- he is not a dog that was abused or mistreated in any way. This dog is not “curable” and will always be a risk to the public- which is why we don’t inflict him on the public.
One tip is to be friendly and unthreatening. You don’t necessarily need to assume dominance, just friendliness. Approaching the dog with one or both hands palm-up and slowly - but not stalker-slowly - so they know you’re not going to swat them is always advisable. Also, not acting afraid is always a plus. The old adage about them “smelling fear” is mostly BS (excluding real adrenaline-rushing terror), but acting like the fight portion of your fight-or-flight instinct is at work will even put most people on edge.
I’d basically agree with what cheezmonger said.
Staying calm and relaxed is a big plus. Don’t try to assert yourself.
Speak very softly and friendly.
I have had many dogs run after me when riding a bike. I’d always come to a complete stop and say things like “hey you’re telling me this is your street huh?” Eventually, the dog would feel he got my attention, did his job and went back to his yard. I would never pedal away. I’d always push the bike with my foot at about 2 miles per hour.
To me, if you are riding a bike or jogging you make a tempting “target” to a dog. It’s as if you are setting off something in their brain from tens of thousands of years ago (“the hunt”). By stopping, you are “calling it quits” and the dog loses interest.
Hey, I’ve never been bitten by a dog (except my own and that was just playing).