# Misreading another dog's body language?



## LifeOfRiley (Nov 2, 2007)

How likely is it for a dog to misread another dog's body language? Something dawned on me the other day and I wanted to see if it makes sense to anyone other than myself.
Riley is still doing great with other dogs. He's come so far in conquering his fear agression that he just amazes me every single day.

There's still one neighborhood dog that he's leery of, though. He doesn't react to him anymore - no growling, barking, lunging, none of that - but he doesn't ignore him or show curiosity like he does with other dogs. He keeps a wary eye on this one when we walk past.
This other dog is a huge black lab. Quite possibly the calmest, sweetest, most gentle dog I've ever seen. I couldn't figure out why Riley was still leery of him. He's fine with other black dogs, so it's not that. He's okay with other large dogs, so that's not it. I just couldn't figure it out. Then I noticed something when I was watching Beau greet other dogs. He seems very submissive and actually crouches, just a bit, when another dog approaches. Like he's trying to make himself smaller.

And it hit me. When Riley used to lunge at other dogs, he would crouch just like that - just the slightest little bit - before he would launch. I wonder if, when he sees Beau doing that, he's seeing it from his own perspective and thinks that Beau is getting ready to lunge at him?

Does that make sense, or am I way out in left field on this one?


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## goldhaven (Sep 3, 2009)

JMO, but I think we are much more likely to misread a dogs body language than they are. Maybe he is seeing something in that other dogs body language that you are missing.


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## LifeOfRiley (Nov 2, 2007)

goldhaven said:


> JMO, but I think we are much more likely to misread a dogs body language than they are. Maybe he is seeing something in that other dogs body language that you are missing.


Oh, I agree. I think we're far more likely to misread than they are.

I was watching that dog yesterday afternoon and again this morning, though. I can't see anything else in his body language that would still be making Riley leery of him. He's very calm, very relaxed, doesn't make prolonged eye contact... none of the usual, obvious things. Maybe I'm missing something - it's certainly possible - but from what I've been able to see, so far, it has to be the slight crouch that bothers Riley.


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## janababy (Jan 2, 2012)

I use to be amazed when I walked into the dog park. I found it fascinating that some breeds just plain and simple don't like other certain breeds. It was always a mystery to their owners. Maybe Riley just doesn't like Labs. I would for whatever reason trust Riley's instincts.


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## BayBeams (Jan 3, 2010)

A behaviorist once told me that my dog was more prone to being attacked because she had "odd" body language due to her insecurities.


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## aerolor (May 27, 2011)

janababy said:


> I use to be amazed when I walked into the dog park. I found it fascinating that some breeds just plain and simple don't like other certain breeds. It was always a mystery to their owners. Maybe Riley just doesn't like Labs.* I would for whatever reason trust Riley's instincts.*


I would tend to agree with janababy's post. Dogs are pretty good at reading each other's body language and like us humans some get on better than others. I would add there are many owners who intervene or interfere without good cause and this can establish behaviours in their dog which would not normally arise. Very often it is the owner who is the problem with "dog to dog relationships" and owners can cause confusion and uncertainty simply by being over-protective and underconfident. Unfortunately some dogs never get the chance to properly learn and practice "doggy" etiquette because their owners don't allow it when their pups are young and learning how to behave with each other.


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## Finn's Fan (Dec 22, 2007)

My friend had a Great Dane who had confusing body language to other dogs. He crouched instead of play bowed, almost stalking other dogs to get them to play. Not one other dog ever understood that the crouch was Willy's invitation to play; they all just thought he was scary and didn't want anything to do with him


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## aerolor (May 27, 2011)

I had a dog who, when he was off lead, always initially went down when he met other dogs. He remained down until the other dog came near, unaware of how big he was and as soon as they were committed he stood up. He was a large dog, who was actually quite confident in himself and I understood his behaviour as his way of saying "I'm no threat - you can approach" but it did appear to be a bit like stalking behaviour. When he stood up his size seemed to put the other dogs off their stride a bit until they realised he was friendly. 
The play bow and invitation to play would come later when introductions had been made. This dog was no pushover where other dogs were concerned and I think it was rather a clever strategy that he developed as an adult; a safety mechanism which allowed him to assess the other dog and it always seemed to give him the initial advantage.


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## LifeOfRiley (Nov 2, 2007)

So maybe I'm not completely 'out there' on this one...




Finn's Fan said:


> My friend had a Great Dane who had confusing body language to other dogs. He crouched instead of play bowed, almost stalking other dogs to get them to play. Not one other dog ever understood that the crouch was Willy's invitation to play; they all just thought he was scary and didn't want anything to do with him


That's exactly what Beau (this Lab) does. He almost goes into a stalking position, but not quite all the way. And I'm convinced that it's a submissive thing with this dog. He really is probably the sweetest dog I've ever met. 
I really do think that it throws Riley off. He sees it as threatening. (And when Riley used to do that, it _was_ a threat.) I'm hoping that the more he sees it, and sees that nothing bad happens, he'll start to be less leery of Beau. He's already learned that there's no reason to return the threat, so I think he's starting to understand.


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