Comments for Instinct Dog Behavior & Training

Comment on Is He Friendly? by Nan B.

Nan B. — Wed, 18 Oct 2017 01:46:15 +0000

My dog Clyde is leash aggressive and because he bit a neighbor, he has worn a muzzle for the past year. He IS a very good dog, and your empathetic article is so spot on, because it does not feel good to have to tell people to please keep their children at a distance from him (a. because he sometimes lunges and growls at small running, screaming kids, and b) because I don’t want to take any unnecessary chance that he will hurt or just terrify a child). It is very heartening, however, when someone looks at him sympathetically and says, “What’s the matter, Buddy? You look like such a very nice dog.” Thanks for your advice about what questions to ask, and how to respond to the question, “Is he friendly?”

Comment on Is He Friendly? by Amy C

Amy C — Sun, 08 Oct 2017 13:24:50 +0000

Just yesterday Cleo got startled by a cyclist where there should not have been one. He then started to bark back at her. I told him to move along. He called her AGGRESSIVE and said I shouldn’t bring a dog like that out in public. A dog savvy witness set him straight! She was not aggressive, she was being reactive to something scary. And yes training her in public was a good thing. We had such a great day, she had her little yellow “nervous” vest on, lots of positive interactions and this one jerk cannot take that away.

Comment on Is He Friendly? by Suzanna

Suzanna — Sun, 08 Oct 2017 01:59:10 +0000

Sarah….I cannot thank you enough for this! As Kayla’s advocate around scary strangers, what a pleasure it would be to hear the alternative question to “Is she friendly?” Keep writing and posting!