Why does this dog hate me?

[Patty]

I walk in the same park almost every day. For the past couple of years I've been seeing the same guy there walking his two dogs. I chat with him regularly. His dogs are mutts. They look like Rottweiler/Lab mixes. The female is very friendly and the male, Sparky, is less friendly than the female but was always fine...

UNTIL we got Oliver. Since we've gotten Oliver, whenever I get near this guy and Sparky, Sparky goes crazy. Now, I don't bring Oliver to the park with me but I guess I have his smell on me. Sparky bares his teeth and growls when I get closer he even lunges at me and the guy has to hold his leash tightly.

Sparky does not do this to anyone else in the park. He is fine with the little kids there and the other dogs there. He was fine with me when we only had Rosie. Is this b/c of Oliver's smell? If so, why is he fine with all the other people in the park who have male dogs and with the male dogs themselves?

I'm getting a complex. It's embarrassing.

 

[pearcrazy]

It has nothing to do with you, I wouldn''t get a complex. Even if you don''t have the smell on you the dog has learned to associate you with your dog that he obviously doesn''t care for.

Hey, I guess you could always go about it strmdr''s way and poison the poor bastard!

 

[Mara]

Patty...I find that dogs can be bizarre sometimes re: who they like and dislike and that includes dogs. We see tons of dogs in the park and 99.9% of them like P but some just don''t and are cranky, others like her but hardly no other dogs and vice versa. Maybe he feels protective of his owner when Oliver is around and since you are scented with him, you are automatically included. Seriously, who knows! We bought a book calling How Dogs Think but even that is not definitive about anything. I''d say don''t worry about it and just stay away from that set of dogs.

Pear...I know you meant that as a joke, but I guess I don''t find poisoning a dog very funny.

 

[Patty]

Thanks for the replies Pear and Mara. I do want to clarify that I''ve never brought Oliver to this park. Sparky''s behavior just began after we got Oliver and I assume that I started carrying his scent on my body and clothes.

My daughter wants to walk with me some day. I think I''ll do a little experiment and have her walk near Sparky and see if Sparky reacts to her the same way since she will also smell like Oliver. Then I''ll know if it''s Oliver''s smell or mine that Sparky is reacting to.

 

[Mara]

Maybe it''s that he smells a dog he has never met on you? Dogs and their noses, SO keen!

 

[Patty]

Yes, their noses are amazing, aren''t they? Sparky has never met Rosie either and I assume that I''ve smelled like Rosie for the past two years.

Either way, I think that I need to give Sparky his space. I guess I could bring Oliver with me to the park and see how Sparky reacts. But I''m afraid that he''ll break free of his owner and eat Oliver as a light snack.

 

[moremoremore]

LOL Patty....don''t mean to giggle, but you crack me up about you getting a "complex"... I''d be curious to see what happens when and after Oliver goes to the park with you!

 

[Patty]

Date: 9/9/2005 12:44:57 PM
Author: moremoremore
LOL Patty....don''t mean to giggle, but you crack me up about you getting a ''complex''... I''d be curious to see what happens when and after Oliver goes to the park with you!

LOL...Well here is this friendly guy with his dogs and you know how it is when you walk the same path every day...you see the same people. And so all these people in the park see Sparky and Sophie (the female) and go up to them. The owner tells new people "Oh yeah, they are friendly" and then I appear and Sparky turns into an evil predator.

Plus, in a "it''s a small world" kind of thing, it turns out that Sparky''s owner knows my brother and we had developed a friendly/chatting type of relationship over the past couple of years where we would chat a couple of times a week. Now I just wave as I go by and he acts all embarrassed and says "Sparky, stop it!" And we both shrug our shoulders.

Okay, maybe I''ll bring Oliver one day and see what happens.

 

[pearcrazy]

Date: 9/9/2005 12:29:22 PM
Author: Mara
Patty...I find that dogs can be bizarre sometimes re: who they like and dislike and that includes dogs. We see tons of dogs in the park and 99.9% of them like P but some just don''t and are cranky, others like her but hardly no other dogs and vice versa. Maybe he feels protective of his owner when Oliver is around and since you are scented with him, you are automatically included. Seriously, who knows! We bought a book calling How Dogs Think but even that is not definitive about anything. I''d say don''t worry about it and just stay away from that set of dogs.

Pear...I know you meant that as a joke, but I guess I don''t find poisoning a dog very funny.

I find poisoning a dog horrific. I CERTAINLY meant it as a joke and a jab at strmdr who on another thread advocates poisoning an animal as a solution to it''s aggression. It''s not funny at all in a real context. Sorry if you were offended Mara, I guess you don''t appreciate my attempts to lighten the mood a bit.

 

[Madam Bijoux]

That old saying "The way to a man''s heart is through his stomach" also works for dogs. Maybe if you give the dog a treat whenever you see him, his attitude will change.

 

[Mara]

Date: 9/9/2005 12:54:17 PM
Author: pearcrazy
I find poisoning a dog horrific. I CERTAINLY meant it as a joke and a jab at strmdr who on another thread advocates poisoning an animal as a solution to it's aggression. It's not funny at all in a real context. Sorry if you were offended Mara, I guess you don't appreciate my attempts to lighten the mood a bit.

Really, what gave you THAT impression?

If it's not funny at all, and you find the thought horrific, then WHY even repeat it?

Actually..don't answer that, it really doesn't matter.

Sorry to hijack Patty, but I had to speak up.

 

[Jennifer5973]

Date: 9/9/2005 12:54:17 PM
Author: pearcrazy

Date: 9/9/2005 12:29:22 PM
Author: Mara
Patty...I find that dogs can be bizarre sometimes re: who they like and dislike and that includes dogs. We see tons of dogs in the park and 99.9% of them like P but some just don't and are cranky, others like her but hardly no other dogs and vice versa. Maybe he feels protective of his owner when Oliver is around and since you are scented with him, you are automatically included. Seriously, who knows! We bought a book calling How Dogs Think but even that is not definitive about anything. I'd say don't worry about it and just stay away from that set of dogs.

Pear...I know you meant that as a joke, but I guess I don't find poisoning a dog very funny.

I find poisoning a dog horrific. I CERTAINLY meant it as a joke and a jab at strmdr who on another thread advocates poisoning an animal as a solution to it's aggression. It's not funny at all in a real context. Sorry if you were offended Mara, I guess you don't appreciate my attempts to lighten the mood a bit.

I knew where you were coming from, Pearcrazy, and thought your comment was quite witty given the source (which was/is the real problem here). Don't blame the messenger....

 

[pearcrazy]

Date: 9/9/2005 1:07:29 PM
Author: Mara

Date: 9/9/2005 12:54:17 PM
Author: pearcrazy
I find poisoning a dog horrific. I CERTAINLY meant it as a joke and a jab at strmdr who on another thread advocates poisoning an animal as a solution to it''s aggression. It''s not funny at all in a real context. Sorry if you were offended Mara, I guess you don''t appreciate my attempts to lighten the mood a bit.

Really, what gave you THAT impression?

If it''s not funny at all, and you find the thought horrific, then WHY even repeat it?

Actually..don''t answer that, it really doesn''t matter.

Sorry to hijack Patty, but I had to speak up.

Lighten up already, Mara. If you want to PM me and rant about your indignance some more, feel free. Otherwise, I''m just going to let Patty have her thread back.

Sorry about the asides Patty, good luck with your problem.

 

[Scintillating]

Hi Patty-
Dogs are like people. There are some people you just don''t like or get along with in life - same goes for dogs.

My dog is a nut! (very quirky.)
While he is friendly and plays most happily with most dogs - there are some that he doesn''t like, and some that just don''t like him.
I just chaulk it up to personality, socialization, and dominance issues.
We''ve learned in the last few years to avoid specific dogs, like I avoid certain people.
It''s sad, but even dogs can''t be expected to get along with everyone.

I agree with whomever suggested giving Sparky a treat.
I also might suggest something a bit more unorthodox. You said that Oliver and Sparky haven''t met right?
Well, if the other owner would agree, you could introduce the two in a controlled way. Sometimes dogs just need a chance to work things out and establish a dominance hierachy. (I''ve seen this work, and I''ve seen it fail.)

A Couple Questions:
Is Oliver neutered? How old is Oliver now? How old is Sparky?
Is the female counterpart to Sparky fixed?
Perhaps - Sparky is protecting/guarding his female. (?) Does he behave this way with anyone else?

Keep us updated.

Scintillating...

 

[Patty]

Scintillating, Oliver is not neutered yet. He is almost 5 months old and will be neutered next month. I assume that Sparky and his female counterpoint are both fixed. I know they came from a local shelter and those usually insist on it when you adopt. Sparky is about 2 years old, I believe.

As for the poison joke, I know that you were teasing, pearcrazy. I tend to have a dark sense of humor myself.

 

[yellowfan]

Hi Patty,

How are your precious Rosie and Oliver?


I mainly think the dog smells little Ollie on you and its making him nervous/aggressive. Sometimes my neighbor''s dogs would jump on me and my little beagle would smell it and growl like crazy!!! Who knows! Its their instincts. I hope it gets better.

 

[Patty]

Hi Lori,

The sweet mutts are fine. Oliver gave us a scare the other day when he ate something (acorns?) that made him sick. He had to be given fluids and we watched him for 24 hours and he was okay but he was sick puppy for a while. The vet did an x-ray and all he saw in Oliver''s belly was a small pebble which he did not think had caused the vomitting/diarreah (sorry

) so it was probably the acorns. Oliver has gotten very long and thin. He is a funny, sweet little boy. Thank Goodness he loves to snuggle!

Here is a picture of Oliver and Rosie (in the background) that I took last week:

 

[yellowfan]

Oh!!! How precious! They both look great. MistiRose is always eating something she should not and we have been thru the vet thing more than once!

 

[Shay37]

Patty, did you change your perfume at all in the past. I personally like one signature fragrance. However, that fragrance can change from time to time. I had a horse (I owned) that flipped one day when I wore a different perfume to the barn than usual. He treated me like a stranger. I never wore that perfume again.

If they are rescue dogs (his) you may remind Sparky of someone in his past (looks not attitude) who was not kind to him. Dogs have long memories for things like that. Maybe you even wear the same perfume as her. Just a thought.

Shay

 

[Blue824]

Date: 9/9/2005 11:14:44 PM
Author: Shay37
Patty, did you change your perfume at all in the past. I personally like one signature fragrance. However, that fragrance can change from time to time. I had a horse (I owned) that flipped one day when I wore a different perfume to the barn than usual. He treated me like a stranger. I never wore that perfume again.

yes, a lot of animals do identify by scent. so that was my first thought to this reaction he''s having!

i have 3 cats and my aunt has one....when we go to her house her cat must be put in a room away from us because she goes NUTS, hates that we smell like other cats and hisses and runs around like a crazy thing....even though one of the cats is her sibling and she lived with the other two for about 3 weeks!

sometimes it just doesn''t make sense, but since it did coincide with you getting your newest dog, I''d say it does have to do with that? but I''m no expert

don''t know if you''ll ever know unless you can get Sparky to talk! I agree with the suggestion to try giving him treats, maybe he''ll warm up to you

 

[tawn]

Fill all of your pockets with snausages and raw steak!

 

[Patty]

Hmmm, since Sparky was fine with me for two years, I think that the change must be because of my smell.

I do sometimes wear a different scented lotion in the summer instead of perfume.

I think the main change in my smell is that I now wear Eaude Du Oliver!

 

[fire&ice]

Date: 9/10/2005 9:24:53 AM
Author: Patty
.

I think the main change in my smell is that I now wear Eaude Du Oliver!

Yep, the male dog in question probably isn''t the most confident of dogs. A young non-neutered male will be a threat to his position (the very being for a dog).

And, like mentioned fill your pockets with snausages! Talk to the dog in a higher pitched pleasant voice. You have to get the dog "out of the moment".

 

[moremoremore]

pearcrazy- he also likes to beat dead horses!