aggressive or not?

[Nicole]

Last night at the dog park Barney (6 month old goldendoodle) was playing as usual...happy go lucky! Then there was another doodle that kept trying to "get on his back"....whenever Curly would attempt this Barney would whirl around growling, baring his teeth, and lunging/biting at him. He didn't bother any other dog and didn't bother Curly unless Curly was attempting to mount him...should I be worried about the aggressive behavior he displayed or was that just his way of telling Curly no and I shouldn't worry about it.

I don't want him to be aggressive towards other dogs.

[Jen St. Louis]

It's not aggression, don't worry. It was just Barney telling Curly to back off. Hopefully Curly will get the message sooner rather than later, or it won't just be Barney trying to teach him some manners - and the next dog he tries to mount might not be quite so nice about it. ;-)

[Nicole]

Thanks! He is such a goofball and sweet/sensitive dog...it just shocked me to see that behavior but I see that he is just saying "no!". My husband said perhaps we should get him a whistle to blow whenever he receives unwanted advances

hahahaha! :D

[Jen, Lachlan, and Declan]

I laughed out loud at the visual of Barney blowing his whistle in the dog park!

[Jen, Lachlan, and Declan]

I agree completely with Jen; that sounds like a normal and appropriate response to Curly's rude behavior. Here's an excellent article about just this sort of situation and response: http://flyingdogpress.com/content/view/42/97/

Lachlan's the one who usually gets the ol' snarl-and-snap from older dogs because he's completely clueless that running up into another dog's face is rude (we're working on that). I find myself often having to reassure the other dog's owner that other-dog did absolutely nothing wrong and that Lachlan deserved that response!

[Nicole]

I just read this article...thanks so much...it puts a whole new light on things!

 

[Kathy, Harley & Roxie]

The mounting is a attempt to show dominance.  Barney was just telling him firmly, YOU'RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME!

[Nicole]

Thanks...this is reassuring!

[Jaime and Barley Barker]

I concur that this is completely normal. As a 12 week old puppy, Barley tried to mount our older dog Daisy. She quickly let him know that was a no-no and he never did it again. It's a dog's way of saying "Back off!!!"