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by alboe2009 on 01 December 2010 - 02:12
For me it's not a concern. With her it's not agression say like when you see tow dogs getting ready to fight or the hair raised up on a cat.
It's funny to see two or three going at it playing. Sometimes nobody wants to play and one will take a stick, rope, or toy and teasingly, gracefully, walk up to another (as if to say "come on, come on a play. I'm putting it sooooooo close to your mouth you have to grab it, you have to chase me.") and then to get the other one or other two into the chase. It's pretty funny to see how their minds work to motivate the other or other two dogs to play.

by Don Corleone on 01 December 2010 - 02:12

by Jenni78 on 01 December 2010 - 02:12
I don't believe dogs feel fear whatsoever, if you want to get picky. There..............that oughta start a ruckus. Now let's see if anyone might be able to guess why I'd say such a thing. To make it more fun, I'm not going to reply any more tonight. I'm going to drink my cocoa and sit on the couch w/my boyfriend and my Pit Bull and watch tv....and chuckle to myself at everyone thinking I've totally lost it.

by Slamdunc on 01 December 2010 - 03:12
Dogs don't feel fear? What term would you use to describe a dog experiencing fear? Your right this will be interesting.
Jim

by GSDguy08 on 01 December 2010 - 03:12

by Jenni78 on 01 December 2010 - 03:12
I don't think of it as "fear" in the same sense a person feels fear. A human feels fear because of anticipation and worry about the future and what will happen. A dog doesn't have the same sense of "self" that we have, or the ability to "worry" about what might happen, which is what I deem true fear.
A dog, rather, is in the moment, reacts in the moment, and may feel "threatened", but is merely acting instinctively (until it's been trained otherwise) , so my point is that we should react accordingly and work through it, remembering that it's a natural reaction (though not always a desired reaction depending on the situation) and concentrate on countering it and strengthening them rather than pigeonhole them in a negative manner.
And I maintain that it's quite silly to let something like hackling, regardless of the trigger, make you label a dog then and there. There are many reasons, many triggers, and it's totally counter-productive to be so quick to dismiss a dog as "weak" or "fearful" based on a few dozen words on an internet forum.

by Phil Behun on 01 December 2010 - 03:12

by GSDguy08 on 01 December 2010 - 03:12

by JRANSOM on 01 December 2010 - 03:12

by Slamdunc on 01 December 2010 - 03:12
Jenn,
You just couldn't stay away, could you? I kinda thought so.....
I agree that hackles are not always fear, they can be from excitement or pain. This is normally seen with a dog chasing a toy by itself not with other dogs in the case of excitement. I don't necessarily agree that dogs live in the moment and I believe dogs can anticipate a stressful situation and "worry" about what will happen in the very near future.
I think that a dog that is being trained for sport or work should be friendly or completely neutral around other dogs. Phil makes a very good point about this. My male is very dog aggressive, but this is not tolerated as it would be very counterproductive for me. He is a very confident dog and his hackles never go up around other dogs, but given the chance he would fight in a heartbeat. He will not go off task when tracking past other dogs and will do narcotics searches with other aggressive dogs close by.
It is all obedience, he knows there are severe consequences for dog aggression. He is allowed to bark at people that approach my car and encouraged to do that, but he is not allowed to bark at dogs when in the Police car. I would have no problem doing SChH with him, he would not show any aggression on the training field to another dog; because of the obedience.
JIm
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