Growling and backing away from strangers.

[LuvMyAbby&Kaela]

Ok the last few times we have been on walks and people approach Kaela with the usual desire to greet and fawn over her - she backs away and growls! She is afraid of them and I worry about this. I am used to Abby (and my past dogs) who loves it when someone approaches her and it puts her into a wiggling frenzy of wanting to love the heck out of that person jumping all over and kissing them. Kaela is opposite.

What is the best way to get Kaela to lighten up? It is menacing when you go to pet a cute dog and they growl and back away. I dont think she is protecting me as much as she finds strangers threatening.

I have been correcting her with a firm NO! and tug when she does it but this doesnt let her guard down, she just sidles behind me then. I have been giving the strangers treats to hold out to her, she doesnt go for the bait. She is only 4.5 months, but it is worrisome, I dont want to her grow up with a distaste for strangers. Advice? Thoughts? Experiences?

[Nancy - Opal, Meadow & Tariki]

I think Heidi really has it pegged... it is FEAR and so the dog is acting out to repel people or dogs (his fears) away.... I had never thought of this before I went to agility and met the 'red scarfed' gang. My last dog was a scaredy cat and then got leash agression and then he got possessive... I wish I had understood the fear behind it all before he got old.

[Debbie Penny]

My Charlie does the same thing, he is extremely weary of all strangers, and it seems best if his actions are ignored. If I stop to talk I just have him go into a down position to wait while I talk ignoring his actions. If he smells the individual on his own, he normally leaves it. Once he's met a person more than twice, he seems to recognize that he knows them and it's okay. For walks, I just ignore the behavour and give him the command, leave it, keeping our walking pace. I figure he's just talking about his fears and as long as nothing negative happens I am really hoping he;ll grow out of it. Good luck with Kaela, I've read that a growl is a good thing as it's a warning, it's when there is no warning and if they lunged that would be very concerning. TC

[Erin]

Yup - Hershey does this too... Half the time she's excited to meet new people who want to give her attention, and she'll go right up to them. The other half of the time, you can TELL she's excited because she does the labrador-whole-body-tail-wag, but she'll bark at people, give a little growl, and back up from them if they try to come toward her...
However - less than a minute later, she's fine, sitting at their feet just begging to be petted and loved.

What is up with the growling and tail wagging at the same time?? She growls if she hears something outside - no tail wag then! But with new people approaching her, she'll growl - same growl! - but have a big 'ole tail wag with it! Is she just really excited and cautious at the same time?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Tail-wagging is not always an indication of happiness or friendliness.
From a NY Times article:
"A wagging tail does not always indicate a friendly dog. That a wagging tail means a dog is happy or friendly has long been one of the biggest misconceptions among the dog-owning public. Misreading a wagging tail as friendly can not only be a mistake, but in some cases, dangerous. There are two things to consider regarding the tail: the actual wag, and the angle at which the tail is held. Picture a typical, happy Golden Retriever. The tail is held roughly parallel to the ground and wags in a loose, wide, swooping arc. That’s a happy tail! But if a dog’s tail is held higher than usual and moves stiffly in a tight arc, it indicates confidence and often dominance (this is often seen when two dogs meet nose-to-nose for the first time). It is also sometimes a precursor to aggression. If the tail is held low and wags in a fast, tight arc, the dog is probably anxious, frightened, or showing submission. If the tail is tucked, the dog is very frightened, unless that is the dog’s normal tail position, like some sighthounds. The trick is to be familiar with the usual position of your dog’s tail, and to pay attention to the various types of wags."

[LuvMyAbby&Kaela]

Very true. Bailey my old bichon cross has always deeked out other dogs. He would let them sniff nose to nose but his tail would be high and stiff wagging fast short abrupt wags...then he would lunge. He does this to this day. He has small man attitiude. Otherwise he is as friendly as can be to humans, children,adults you name it.....the gentlest dog ever. But he acts like he is going to be friendly at stranger dogs then snaps at them . I always warn people....they often dont believe me and let their dogs get into his face anyways. He has scared away Rotties and Dobies...he is 15lbs. LOL

[Christine and Daisy]

Since this post is almost 7 months old, I am curious to find out how Kaela is doing today. I have a little 4 month old who is in exactly the same boat as you were in October. I've only had my pup for one week.

If I could hear an update on how she reacts to strangers since you wrote this post and received all the positive feedback it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks a bunch!