My neighbor’s dalmatian mix dog growled and barked at me when I tried to talk nice to him. Why did he do that?
Category: Dalmation Questions
He is not neutered and didn’t go to any obedience classes. He’s 2 years old and he did this when I met him for the first time. Is this growling and barking supposed to be normal?
This is going to be a bit situation specific. It sounds like the dog was territorially reacting to your presence. Any dog with territorial behavior over it’s house is going to react with growling and barking, especially an un neutered male. So yes it’s normal, but it isn’t “good” behavior.
because he dosnt know u and he thinks u r going 2 hurt his owners
My parents got us a dalmatian when we were kids after the 101 Dalmatians movie came out.
What a lot of people don’t realize is that the Dalmatian temperament can be somewhat aggressive without proper training. A lot of people just expect them to be easy going laid back dogs because of how they are depicted in cartoons.
Chances are, your neighbors didn’t research the breed before they bought and then they neglected to train him.
Sad.
maybe he has rabies
Did you look right into his eyes? Lean towards him? lower your head? If so then his reaction was normal.. you threatened him with your body language. That was not your intent but the thing about dogs is that they not only react to what you say but what you do with your body while you are saying it. When meeting a new dog, the best way to display your peaceful intentions of friendship is to ignore the dog. Don’t look at, talk to or try and pet the dog. This is basically how you tell a dog that you are no threat, and that you wish to be friends. Talking nice has no meaning to the dog if you have never met him before, he doesn’t know you. Imagine if you met someone from a different country and you couldn’t understand each others language. It would be the same thing.. you might offer a handshake in friendship but in their culture that may mean something entirely different. That’s how it is with dogs, we can’t expect them to understand our culture, we have to understand theirs. Part of that is watching yourself and learning what your body language means to a dog.
Here are some basic tips..
Body language no-no’s
Direct eye contact or staring.. in dog language this is a threat and a challenge!
Looming, leaning over the dog.. In dog language this is an act of aggression and dominance, many people make the mistake of hugging a dog and thinking it means affection. It does to us but to dogs it means something entirely different!
Stiff walk.. You may just have arthritis but if you approach a dog with a stiff legged walk chances are he will thing you are being aggressive and defend himself or react violently.
Lowered head.. you may just be leaning over to say aww Hi cutie! but the dog sees it as a sign of imminent attack. Dogs lower their heads to protect their necks before a confrontation. The dog may think you are getting ready to attack.
These are just a few examples of mistakes and miscommunication that people make when dealing with dogs. They aren’t people they don’t understand “nice talk” they understand “nice body language” a whole lot better. Next time you meet your neighbours dog ignore him. Look away from him, show the whites of your eyes, walk as though he isn’t there, don’t reach for him or lower your head, don’t lean over him or walk stiffly. Ignore him completely and utterly and you’ll see the difference. He will approach you if he wants to make friends, once you show your peaceful intentions in a way he can understand.