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Aggressively "Friendly" Dogs
This concept is rather new to most dog owners but has been observed by dog behaviorists for some time. The following article was recommended by Karen Fashimpaur, K9COLA's first Chairperson and Site Coordinator, and provides a nice short summary of this behavior. These excerpts are taken from "Aggressive 'Friendliness,'" by Kris Toft, originally published in the 1998 Australian Shepherd Annual, from the Australian Shepherd Club of America. ... Normal dog greeting behavior is for two dogs to slowly approach each other, circling and sniffing with tails raised and possibly wagging stiffly. Once they have sized each other up, they decide what to do next -- fight, flee, play, breed, etc. The neotonizing (maintaining of infant characteristics to adulthood) of many breeds has arrested the development of these controlled adult behaviors, resulting in dogs that remain puppyish in behavior into adulthood in both looks and behavior. Unfortunately for non-neotonized breeds, they don't know this. Although a very uncontrolled, lunging, in-your-face greeting would be acceptable in a puppy and recognized as a normal puppy greeting by a normal adult, when exhibited by an adult, this is aggression. Unfortunately, this sort of dog is often accompanied by an owner who thinks this behavior in a grown dog is "cute." Picture this. You are a normal adult [dog] with normal adult [dog] codes of behavior. Approaching you is a charging, ears forward, direct eye contact dog with large owner in tow and wagging tail high and stiff. What is your normal reaction? To read this as "attack mode." Because that is what it would be in a normal adult dog. This is how many retriever-type, "love everybody" dogs approach all dogs and all people. To people, this is a very friendly, happy greeting and to the dog employing it, it is its way of being "friendly" ... the same way it has greeted all dogs and people since it was a puppy. To normal adult dogs, when this behavior is seen in another adult, it is a very aggressive approach. The normal reaction to this approach is a defensive posture and preparation for battle. 
Sound familiar? There are many [dogs] out there blamed for "aggression" for their normal reaction to a perceived threat.
Normal adult canids would interpret this approach by normal adults as aggression towards them! Today's society
expects dogs to act like overgrown puppies and many breeds are now being bred just for this. ... Many [dogs] still develop
into full-fledged adults, with all the behaviors of full-fledged (well-adapted) adult canids. And this is where the
problem lies. People who expect a 50-pound puppy at maturity are suddenly confronted with a dog that more and more is very uneasy being around other dogs because those other dogs are being allowed to behave in a very aggressive fashion towards them. It becomes a vicious circle when the owner fails to protect the dog from these aggressive interlopers and often disciplines the dog for attempting to protect itself ... Self-defense for the owners of [dogs] with correct reserved temperament can take several strategies. First and foremost should be an awareness of the surroundings and a constant alertness for potentially challenging situations. Once spotted, take some kind of action to protect your dog or he will do it for himself. This can involve something as simple as asking the owner to get their dog under control and away from yours or as severe as direct contact with the offending dog to drive it off. Keeping one's own dog under control is a vital part of the equation, too. If the situation permits, placing your [dog] in a sit and stay position will allow you to concentrate on the intruder and will send the message to your dog that you are in control and will look out for him. This accomplishes two things. You can concentrate on the strange dog because your dog is not complicating the situation by defending itself and it gives your dog a sense of security to see that you are reading the situation as he is and you are taking care of it. Until owners of these aggressively "friendly" dogs realize what a menace they truly are to others, it falls to the owners of more reserved and behaviorally mature dogs to be on guard against them. It also falls to this second category of owner to help educate the first category of owner [about] the dangers their dogs present ..." ________ If you start taking your dog to an off-leash area when it's young, this helps both the immature dogs and the mature dogs in their mutual communication. The immature dogs will gradually learn from the adult mature dogs what is acceptable communication (possibly overriding their genetic predisposition to remain immature) and the mature dogs will have their natural communication style reinforced successfully. If you have an overly friendly dog, please keep an eye on it and slow down its approach to other dogs. If you have a normally mature dog, follow the tips outlined in article above to assist your dog in communicating with the overly friendly dog. Go to Suzanne Clothier's article on same subject! |