My Grey Seems To Upset Most Of The Dogs In The Neighbourhood

[Guest tsmith1]

I have had several dogs in the past and while on walks I get the usual suspects barking but it was more half hearted. Kind of like they just wanted to make sure that we knew that they knew we were cross their turf.

 

However, with my new greyhound almost all the dogs in the neightbourhood go crazy panick barking at us from behind their fence. My greg seems to be unaware they their barking at him. He walks with his head down low, ears back and is very friendly with all the dogs we meet on our walks.

 

I recall we use to have a dog in the neighbour that drove my dogs crazy every time they walked by but they never did so with any other dog that walked by.

 

Is this a perceived new Alpha dog in the neighbourhood that they sense or what? My grey hasn't displayed any agressive tendencies that I've picked up?

 

 

[KickReturn]

Be careful.

 

I have the same problem with my Hester. He inspires an exagerated response in most other dogs he meets. Some are fearful, some are agressive but most are very attracted. Even when I am out with other Greyhounds all the dogs we pass will turn and follow just Hester determined to have a good sniff. The odd thing is he is Mr. "Joe Cool", totaly laid back, aloof, and ignores the majority of dogs as long as they behave.

 

The catch is that he is very alpha and when another dog does not show the appropriate deference to him, conflict can escalate. And worst of all certain insecure dogs may attack. Just pay attention to your surroundings and give a wide birth to dogs you are concerned about until you know your dog better.

[silverfish]

It's a mistake to think that alpha = aggressive. Alpha dogs are indeed 'Mr Joe Cool', because they have nothing to prove - until another alpha or upwardly mobile beta challenges them. It may not be that he's alpha. It may be that he smells funny, is bigger than they're used to, or even acts overly submissive (which can be a trigger to some dogs).

 

And ... I almost hesitate to say this, but I remember a black flat-coat in our village who none of the other dogs tolerated well. He seemed fine to us humans, just a silly, empty-headed, good-natured dog, we thought. But then he began having seizures out of the blue and became suddenly aggressive. We all think that the other dogs somehow knew he had something not quite right in his head. Even my soppy old Jim used to put himself between me and that dog if we met them out in the fields off-lead, and warn him away. I'm not suggesting for a minute that anything like this will happen with your sweet boy, but in some rare cases, other dogs can pick up on a medical problem that we've missed. A slightly amusing example is that male dogs on hormone therapy for certain conditions tend to smell a little feminine, and can confuse the heck out of other dogs who either become super-interested or defensively aggressive in response ('Get away from me! I have no idea what you are!!). I tend to take all my dogs for a full vet work-up when I adopt them to get a baseline health profile, and I might do this sooner rather than later if I had a dog like this. Just to make sure I wasn't missing anything.

 

Anyway, as Kick Return says, it's probably worth being very vigilant until you can observe exactly what's going on. Might be nothing, might be something.

[GeorgeofNE]

I don't think a dog who is walking with his head down and his ears back is exhibiting any sort of "alpha" behavior. Sounds rather submissive to me. The only time I've ever seen my dog walk with his head down is when he's on the trail of something!

 

George and the other Greyhound in my little complex made one other dog go absolutely NUTS. That dog has since moved--but the way he acted when he saw them was bizarre. I mean blood thirsty barking and lunging--I eventually met the dog on my own, and he was a very sweet dog. And he was totally fine with every other dog in the complex. Sort of a reverse breed snob!

 

George, on the other hands, is quite aggressive with all dogs that are not Greyhounds. Very odd...

[Guest cendrine]

This is not advice.

 

I think the other dogs are just jealous....

[Guest Gemma]

I sometimes feel like other breeds can't read greyhounds well. I wonder if it's because greyhounds are raised in groups whereas many pets are raised by humans and lack some of the key socialization periods with other dogs. I'm not saying it's a rule but Peyton seems universally loathed by a few dogs in the neighbourhood. One great pyrenees hated him so badly that I have no doubt he would have killed him if he ever got off leash (thankfully, his owners were SUPER responsible), and this was a dog who was great at the dog park with other greyhounds. There was just something about Peyton.

 

I wonder if it's because Peyton acts tough but is really a wimp. I sometimes call him an instigator because his body language will be very direct/confrontational but, if challenged, he cowers and shakes. Maybe other dogs can sense he's not as tough as he's trying to look.

[Guest tsmith1]

All interesting comments- thanks.

 

I thought perhaps it was a certain scent he was giving off but wasn't sure.

 

And his posture with head down I think is because I've only had him two weeks and I'm sure there are all sorts of different scents he isn't familiar with yet, but it does seem to cause him to arch his back up a bit as he walks.

 

I was also wondering if its because he was only fixed about 5 or 6 weeks ago. Since greyts aren't fixed like most dogs when they are very young I wonder if that may be causing some issues.

 

On a positive training note a woman who irresponsibilly walks her Westie without the leash on, learned her lesson to but it back on when we are walking in the park. Little fluffy is certainly prey bate and a good lesson for me and her.

[Guest grey_dreams]

Just wanted to add that when adult male dogs are castrated then they can smell "weird" to other dogs because they don't read as either male or female. I think for some dogs, their new smell may be "weirder" than for other dogs as it depends on each dog's body chemistry. My Zuki was one who definitely smelled very strange to other dogs and he really didn't tolerate the other dogs wanting to smell him. As you walk along in your neighborhood, the other dogs can smell your dog, so this may be one of the reasons why they react as they do. Silverfish is right too, that dogs can detect metabolic imbalances before we do. My dogs detected my cat's sudden-onset diabetes three days before the vet did.

[Guest k9soul]

I've had some dogs react oddly to Rudy already too. Some were more excited and some more upset. I wondered if it had anything to do with greyhounds having a different scent. We know they don't have the normal "doggy odor" that other dogs have, so I wonder if this could play any part in it.

[Guest PhillyPups]

In reality, as unique as we think they are, afterall, they are greyhounds, to the neighborhood dogs, they are just another dog in the grand scheme of things ~gasp shock ~. He has not been there long, and he is the new dog on the block he has his own scent, they are behind fences and cannot get close enough to really check him out in a dog's way, the sniff test -

 

The head down, is a submissive walk, not an alpha at all. There are very few true alpha dogs, folks like to think theirs is (being the top dog of course) but very few truly are. Unless you have had the honor of waiting on one, it is hard to describe. A true alpha does it with a look, a flick of the ear, something we, as humans, do not usually catch.

 

I am wondering if there are a lot of folks that walk their dogs in the neighborhood, or are most of the dogs just out in their yards? He is new, you are walking past the other dogs turf and their job is to protect their area.

 

Whenever I walk mine, I am constantly vigilant (all of mine are high prey too) We relax and enjoy our walks, but I, as their protector, never let my guard down.

 

Enjoy

[Guest june]

All interesting comments- thanks.

 

I thought perhaps it was a certain scent he was giving off but wasn't sure.

 

And his posture with head down I think is because I've only had him two weeks and I'm sure there are all sorts of different scents he isn't familiar with yet, but it does seem to cause him to arch his back up a bit as he walks.

 

I was also wondering if its because he was only fixed about 5 or 6 weeks ago. Since greyts aren't fixed like most dogs when they are very young I wonder if that may be causing some issues.

 

On a positive training note a woman who irresponsibilly walks her Westie without the leash on, learned her lesson to but it back on when we are walking in the park. Little fluffy is certainly prey bate and a good lesson for me and her.

Ah, I was just about to ask when he was fixed. This could be your problem. Takes a while for the hormone / smell to go away.

[Guest tsmith1]

Phillypups,

 

Agreed he isn't an alpha (by his ear tag he was the five in a litter of five) so I would guess he won't be even alpha of his litter.

 

 

I'm pretty good at recognizing Territorial Barking and their reaction clearly wasn't that behaviour. There are a ton of dogs that walk in the neighbourhood and most owners permit their dogs loose in their back yards most of the day except in the summer heat.

 

I hope it isn't a medical issue they smell, because it took me three years to get over the loss of my flat coat retriever to cancer. It would kill me to have to go through that after only having him a few weeks. We did meet two of the neighbourhood dogs who show strong agression and they were both very submissive and one was scared of him, but after the sniff test they calmed down but I would say were never at ease with my grey.

I wonder also about being a brindle color confusing the other dogs.

[TINMANPDX]

When I walk my two in our neighborhood, there are dogs at a few of the houses along our route that bark and snarl like crazy and make a fuss when we pass by. I have always found it interesting that neither of mine get ruffled about it - they stay at the same pace and don't look agitated or fearful ... Sometimes my boy will stop and pee on a bush or fence along the yard of the barker as if to say, " see how much I care!"...

The barking bothers and annoys me more than them, but I try to just act like them and carry on like I don't notice.

Edited February 24, 2013 by TINMANPDX

[Guest kkaiser104]

Most dogs are just very interested in Teddi, though there is one dog at the dog park who is incredibly aggressive towards him. This dog is a true alpha--and hates that Teddi is bigger then him. Your problem could simply be that your pup is bigger then the other dogs and that bothers them.

[Guest PhillyPups]

I know it is not on the original topic, but ear tattoo being E only means that he was the 5th pup to be picked up and tattooed that day. It is not the birth order, or the "alpha/non-alpha" order, just the 5th pup to be picked up. I personally feel that the term "alpha" is way over-rated anyway. As situations change the "alpha" changes. However, in my home, I am the ABFH.

[Guest tsmith1]

Oh I didn't know that I thought it was birth order-well I'll throw that theory out the window.

[silverfish]

The head down, is a submissive walk, not an alpha at all. There are very few true alpha dogs, folks like to think theirs is (being the top dog of course) but very few truly are. Unless you have had the honor of waiting on one, it is hard to describe. A true alpha does it with a look, a flick of the ear, something we, as humans, do not usually catch.

 

 

 

Enjoy

 

Yes, exactly. A look or an ear flick is enough for an alpha.

 

I'd missed the 'head down' bit, or skipped over it. Alpha greyhounds can appear to have low heads compared to some other breeds and certainly don't feel they need to be on the alert all the time as nervy dogs do, but it does sound as if the head down pose here is not being alpha.

 

But I think it's important to note that most dogs won't challenge a true alpha, so if all the dogs are going crazy, it's probably something else, anyway.

[Batmom]

The "alpha" stuff is a bunch of nonsense -- long since discredited. Forget about it.

 

Probably just that your dog is new to the neighborhood.

[silverfish]

Well, Jey, there ARE alpha dogs, but they don't look or act as most people think they do, that's for sure.

[Batmom]

Per the more recent (last 10? 20? years) literature, there are no alpha dogs or even alpha wolves. The term describes situation-specific behavior, not general personality or overall behavior. Behaviors we think of as "alpha" shift from dog to dog, from situation to situation.

 

 

People like to think of their dogs -- or themselves -- as "alpha." It's nonsense, and a totally useless concept in modifying behaviors.

Edited February 25, 2013 by Batmom

[Guest Clawsandpaws]

When I walk Sir Dudley (70 lb male) all dogs under 40 lbs will ferociously lunge, bark and snarl at him, he gets so scared we met one dog on a walk that was larger, and she was fine, however 99% of small dogs that are being walked definitely have a problem with him. When we are at the dog park there are no issues. When I move into a house with a yard (in a tiny apt now) I will probably not walk him at all if I encounter similar problems in a new neighborhood

[Guest Snazzy_Chloe]

My opinion is that the greyhound posture is an extremely passive one with the head and neck low, tail down low (they look like they are slinking around to other dogs, or possibly sneaky.

Grey's in my mind are in their "hunting" posture where they can sniff the ground and look around at the same time.

Other dogs normally have their heads and neck and tail high prancing around in their macho mode so that other dogs can see how cool they are. It's a don't mess with me alpha dog posture.

I think that greys already know their place in their pack and don't need to worry about it unless they are with their pack.

Anyhow, I believe this is why so many greys are attacked as they look inferior and weak to other dogs by their posture.

I would say as a breed they they are more reserved and timid than most breeds (or we could say they are laid-back & mellow). Notice that they are not always this way, when they start playing or go into their alert mode - their posture changes dramatically - head and neck and ears cgo up as does their tail (tail not generally as high as other dogs tho) - so when they are walking around the neighborhood, I think that they have a different mindset than other dogs -

[mangos_mom]

tsmith1: just a quick clarification: are the fences in your neighborhood mostly solid or more chain-link or open-slatted? Are the dogs on your walk seeing Sonic (sorry, I can't remember his new name) or are they just hearing/smelling him when you walk? (In my neighborhood they are all solid fences, so when I walk my girls, we get mostly aggressive barking because the other dogs can't see what's going by, so they are warning us away.

[Guest tsmith1]

We have mostly iron automaticly closed gates in the community for rear entry garages. Those that have dogs generally chain the gate

shut. So the dogs always see who is walking by. His new name is Sherlock.