Is my dog cussing out other dogs?

[heavenlysounds]

We just took our 1 1/2 year old French bulldog to the dog park & every dog he would walk up to & smell, they’d try to bite him or growl with teeth. What does that mean?

 

[marysffas]

@heavenlysounds Hard to say without being there to witness it in person. Either every dog at the park was poorly socialized (unlikely, but not impossible) or something is up with the way your dog is approaching others. He might be ignoring social cues, or maybe it's hard for other dogs to read his cues. Flat-faced breeds like Frenchies can sometimes be challenging for other dogs to interpret just because their body shape/language can be so different.

How was he approaching other dogs? Direct, immediate face-to-face is incredibly rude behavior in dogs, for example, especially if it's prolonged. Over-enthusiastic greeting can also offend a lot of dogs (mine included). Was he hard staring at other dogs? Lying down? Stalking? Attempting to mount? Did any part of him seem rigid or tense? What were the other dogs doing while your dog approached? Raised paws, lip licking, turning the head away, sniffing the ground, "whale eye," tense faces/mouths are all signs that the dog wants the other dog to go away. Did you see anything like that? Did your dog approach anyway?

 

[heavenlysounds]

@marysffas That’s what someone at the dog park was actually telling me about the flat nosed dogs.

He was definitely puffy chest & was tense the whole time. He tried to mount 1 male fellow frenchie but we knocked it off quick. It was his first time at a dog park so today has actually been a complete change than day 1.

 

[marysffas]

@heavenlysounds Puffy chest, tense, and mounting are all definitely inappropriate greeting behaviors. Some dogs get overwhelmed/insecure in dog park settings and cna display this kind of overbearing behavior as a result. Maybe try some 1-on-1 playdates with dogs close to him in size and see how that goes?

 

[kwestter]

@heavenlysounds Is he fixed ? I’ve found that dogs react badly to unneutered dogs at the park.