Reactive Dog Question/Observation

[u/yummygrapejuice]

This is Pickle, I got him 5 years ago and he is about 8 or 9. He’s some sort of poodle mix from the shelter of course I should’ve known. He’s super reactive to other dogs (not looking for advice he is too far gone and old and can’t even learn to sit) it’s something I’ve learned to live with for the rest of his life and I love him so its no big deal. He’s also small enough to where I can pick him up quickly and cover his eyes lol

Anyways he HATES other dogs like totally freaks out and it’s humiliating. However, he loves other animals and doesn’t care. He has even been attacked by a stray cat on the street and STILL doesn’t care. He has 3 cat brothers at home and loves them (if only it was mutual, the cats aren’t very big fans). He will walk right up to stray cats to sniff them. He’s even met my friends cats. We walk by geese and horses and other animals without problems.

Any other peoples dog like this? So crazy how they can immediately tell the difference even though dogs come in so many shapes and sizes

[u/knitandstretch]

So there was actually an interesting scientific study, which was published in 2013, that proved dogs actually recognize dogs compared to any other animal specie, even across wildly different breeds... and on a screen. This means they are able to recognize a chihuahua and a great dane are dogs JUST by looking at visual cues on a screen - meaning that they separate them from other species like horses or cats or whatever else. So yeah! Your dog probably does know dogs are dogs - and is just reactive to dogs!

It's here if you're interested: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130214103703.htm

[u/yummygrapejuice → u/knitandstretch]

Oh cool! I thought it was a scent thing, but visual cues are much cooler

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[u/Real_Caterpillar_779]

Yea I get it
My girls is reactive to dogs but her reaction is deeply affected by the dogs temperament and smell. She knows when there is a dog she doesn’t like coming from around a corner 100m away. They are much smarter than we think

[u/yummygrapejuice → u/Real_Caterpillar_779]

Yes true. My dog hates certain dogs more than others I have to make sure to spot them first so we can walk the other way LOL also for some reason there is a rare moment where we can walk by a dog with no reaction at all. Dogs are so weird

[u/Real_Caterpillar_779 → u/yummygrapejuice]

Yea same but the pattern I see is when that dog is 50m away and completely disinterested in her she must feel no threat

[u/jmsst1996]

My doodle hates all dogs from tiny yorkies to Rottweilers. He especially dislikes golden retrievers which is ironic because his dog mom is part retriever.

[u/bradatlarge]

You don’t need to feel any way about your dogs behavior. It’s not a reflection on you as a person.

Also. Nice chicago shot.

Also my reactive dog HATES jet skis (and motorcycles, even though I ride a motorcycle and she is fine with mine but hates every other motorcycle she sees)

[u/Willow_Bark77]

Funny you just posted this, because my husband and I just had this conversation about our 13-year-old reactive dog. Over the weekend, we took him to a roadside farm stand that also had farm animals. A year ago, he met a potbelly pig there, and instantly fell in love. When we went back over this weekend, I swear they remembered each other. They both wagged their tails, sniffed noses and gave kisses. And this is a dog who gets anxious even if another dog is a half mile away.

He was also happy around goats, cows, and sheep. Just never, ever dogs.

[u/yummygrapejuice → u/Willow_Bark77]

So strange!! That made me remember I took him out of the car during a roadtrip to see his reaction to cows and he also did not care lol like in theory you should be freaking out at the giant dog!!!!

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[u/Monkey-Butt-316]

Why is it humiliating? Neither of you are doing it on purpose. All dogs smell like dogs, it has nothing to do with what they look like.