princessbride029
Well-Known Member
Hi all! Quick (or not so quick?) question!
I've been noticing lately that Cassidy raises her hackles to an increasing amount of things we meet on our walks. We walk in mostly quiet environments: the long, winding driveways of my apartment complex, the sidewalk to the park (no loud traffic there, although sometimes we do walk the sidewalk by the main roads with whizzing traffic), and the park itself which is typically deserted.
Although she will raise her hackles occasionally at a wind-swept bag or sudden noise, I mostly notice it towards people and other dogs. We saw 3 kids playing on a tree the other day about 20 feet away, and hackles immediately went up. Head sort of low and extended, like she was checking them out, sniffing the air cautiously. Of course, if she is taken to actually meet the kids, she's energetically sweet - not afraid in the least, or agressive. But the hackles didn't go down till we had passed the kids and they were behind us. (She hasn't met a lot of children - we don't have any, and the toddlers below us in our building are terrified of dogs - so maybe that plays into it?) However, she does the same thing with people getting into their cars nearby, squirrels making a ruckus in the woods, etc.
I tried to pay attention to whether it is just directed at people, but it's not. Just people she doesn't know, dogs (whether she knows them or not), and noises? The maintenance guys love her, and if she sees them she's ecstatic - no hackles at all.
Another example: her doggy-friend Rufus (a small wire-haired terrier - maybe a third her size) ALWAYS gets greeted with hackles raised! Cassidy then tries to stand over him, mouth him, etc. but he seems to enjoy the play (no one gets aggressive - just excited tails wagging and tongues lolling).
Last example (sorry I know this is super long, but I want to give a clear picture): she'll raise her hackles when chasing our cat as well (always under supervision). The cat tolerates her, but will give her a good BOP! on the nose if he feels she's invading his personal bubble. If he gets REALLY annoyed, he'll run away, and she chases as fast as she can. When he finds higher ground, they have a standoff, cat hissing and bopping, pup barking up a storm and panting happily/tail wagging, but hackles up.
Are the raised hackles indicative of a problem I should be aware of/ intervening somehow? Is it fear? Dominance? Predation? Or is it normal for dogs to initially do that before realizing "this thing is okay, I'll act appropriately now"?
She's now about 7 1/2 months old, if that makes a difference. I just want to be sure I'm cultivating the right responses from her as she's growing!
Thanks, I know this was long! :dogtongue2:
I've been noticing lately that Cassidy raises her hackles to an increasing amount of things we meet on our walks. We walk in mostly quiet environments: the long, winding driveways of my apartment complex, the sidewalk to the park (no loud traffic there, although sometimes we do walk the sidewalk by the main roads with whizzing traffic), and the park itself which is typically deserted.
Although she will raise her hackles occasionally at a wind-swept bag or sudden noise, I mostly notice it towards people and other dogs. We saw 3 kids playing on a tree the other day about 20 feet away, and hackles immediately went up. Head sort of low and extended, like she was checking them out, sniffing the air cautiously. Of course, if she is taken to actually meet the kids, she's energetically sweet - not afraid in the least, or agressive. But the hackles didn't go down till we had passed the kids and they were behind us. (She hasn't met a lot of children - we don't have any, and the toddlers below us in our building are terrified of dogs - so maybe that plays into it?) However, she does the same thing with people getting into their cars nearby, squirrels making a ruckus in the woods, etc.
I tried to pay attention to whether it is just directed at people, but it's not. Just people she doesn't know, dogs (whether she knows them or not), and noises? The maintenance guys love her, and if she sees them she's ecstatic - no hackles at all.
Another example: her doggy-friend Rufus (a small wire-haired terrier - maybe a third her size) ALWAYS gets greeted with hackles raised! Cassidy then tries to stand over him, mouth him, etc. but he seems to enjoy the play (no one gets aggressive - just excited tails wagging and tongues lolling).
Last example (sorry I know this is super long, but I want to give a clear picture): she'll raise her hackles when chasing our cat as well (always under supervision). The cat tolerates her, but will give her a good BOP! on the nose if he feels she's invading his personal bubble. If he gets REALLY annoyed, he'll run away, and she chases as fast as she can. When he finds higher ground, they have a standoff, cat hissing and bopping, pup barking up a storm and panting happily/tail wagging, but hackles up.
Are the raised hackles indicative of a problem I should be aware of/ intervening somehow? Is it fear? Dominance? Predation? Or is it normal for dogs to initially do that before realizing "this thing is okay, I'll act appropriately now"?
She's now about 7 1/2 months old, if that makes a difference. I just want to be sure I'm cultivating the right responses from her as she's growing!
Thanks, I know this was long! :dogtongue2: