Dear Inquisitive Canine,
Q: My 2½-year-old Aussie loves to play with other dogs, but she is too rude and jumps all over them, ending in fighting and me pulling her off the other dog. This routine is becoming her habit.
We went to dog parks two to three times a week to socialize her when she was younger, but we stopped going because of this behavior around other dogs.
It’s difficult where we live to find any playmates, so she is not learning how to be polite — she’s just getting worse.
We compete in agility and I do all types of treat training to desensitize her overexcitement when seeing other dogs. I’ve wedged myself into this problem and can’t seem to get out.
Any help? Thanks!
— Stacey B.
A: Dear Stacey,
Hi, nice to have you here! Thanks for contributing to the conversation. Bravo for being so observant, and for doing all you can to address your concerns and be considerate of other dogs.
From what you’ve described, it sounds like your Aussie is already desensitized and comfortable around other dogs.
She’s more of a Tarzan, meaning she hasn’t learned polite acceptable play behavior, coming on too strong, being rude. She would be the one who puts her feet up on her furniture and double-dips at the party, and doesn’t thank the host.
You might want to head down the “Manners” path of learning, meaning she has the opportunity to do something (not like something) in order to get reinforcement (food, petting, praise, game of fetch or tug, access to the agility course, etc.).
Shape her behavior slowly, like you did when teaching her agility. Positively reinforce her for playing nicely and being polite. Look for small opportunities, even just friendly eye contact toward another dog.
Additional behaviors you could reinforce are approaching slowly (showing she’s reading the other dog’s body language), backing off when other dogs tell her to (again, “listening” to what the other dog is saying), reciprocal play style (she takes as much as she gives), and even ignoring another dog altogether.
You could look into local training play groups or classes (please do your research on the training methods utilized) where you can work on your dog’s meet and greet, and play style.
If the opportunity arises, with permission from other pet parents consenting on behalf of their dogs, you might even be able to arrange a social get-together with dogs that have like-minded play styles.
Other dogs need to be confident enough in their own play to be able to communicate with your dog when to back off.
Watching your dog’s body language and learning to read other dogs’ body language will help keep playtime safe and fun.