# What does it mean with another dog crouches and stays put when it sees your dog?



## Johita (Jul 10, 2009)

As I was walking Aolani today a neighbor and his dog (I know both but Aolani has never really "met" them) tried to approach Aolani and me. Aolani still gets pretty excited when he sees another dog so I don't really let him meet too many. Well this one got down, crouched and stayed put when he saw Aolani. He just kept staring at him. I didn't know what to do because to me it looks like he was stalking him as if he were prey. So I told my neighbor that Aolani doesn't really get along too well with other dogs in hopes that they would go on their merry way but instead he continued to approach and the dog continued to get into that crouching position. Finally they were about 10 feet away and I told my neighbor to lets just keep it that way and let them get to know each other little by little. Aolani is still barking and his dog kept pulling to try and get closer to him then I saw his dog starting to snarl (lips up as he too started to bark) so I told my neighbor I think that was enough and Aolani and I are going to go now. I told him his dog was starting to snarl so he understood and kept his distance as Aolani and I walked away. I am left wondering if this was a good idea at all. I do want Aolani to be more comfortable around other dogs and it was nice of my neighbor to try to help me but I don't think Aolani and his dog are a good match. So I am hoping that someone on SM can provide more insight into that whole crouching business.


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## vjw (Dec 20, 2006)

Was it a play bow? You can google "play bow" for images.


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## Johita (Jul 10, 2009)

vjw said:


> Was it a play bow? You can google "play bow" for images.


Nope, I don't think it was a play bow. His butt was not up.


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## MalteseJane (Nov 21, 2004)

I would have been wary of the snarl too. Were both dogs leashed ? I have found that when dogs are leashed they are more aggressive.


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## Johita (Jul 10, 2009)

MalteseJane said:


> I would have been wary of the snarl too. Were both dogs leashed ? I have found that when dogs are leashed they are more aggressive.


Yes, Aolani is always on a leash and my neighbor's dog was leashed too. He tells me that his dog (who is not yet 1 year old) is very friendly with other dogs in the neighborhood. I guess Aolani brought out the snarl in him.


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## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

Here's a great little chart. The play bow is the "I'm Friendly" picture.


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## Johita (Jul 10, 2009)

Ladysmom said:


> Here's a great little chart. The play bow is the "I'm Friendly" picture.


 
Thank you. It almost looked like the "you will feed me" picture:huh: I noticed that on the chart the stalking picture doesn't show the dog down so maybe he wasn't trying to stalk him. Oh, it's hard to tell. Part of it is probably me too. Aolani and I recently had an incident where a bigger dog came off his leash when he saw us approaching and it really scared the both of us. I quickly picked him up and kept yelling at the other dog "no, stay" while his owner just looked on across the street. His other owner finally came and got him and told me that their dog wasn't going to do anything to mine, but I did mention to her that he had a peice of Aolani's hair in his mouth. I checked Aolani and he was okay - must have just been a little knot that the other dog got a hold of. In any case, I know Aolani can sense when I am a bit afraid and that doesn't help either.


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## jmm (Nov 23, 2004)

Any time another dog freezes, that is a clean indication they are not friendly and do not want to play. A lack of movement should always be an alarm to move away.

A solid stare is also a big red flag. 

A friendly dog will look and look away and will have a fluid, wiggly body.


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## Johita (Jul 10, 2009)

jmm said:


> Any time another dog freezes, that is a clean indication they are not friendly and do not want to play. A lack of movement should always be an alarm to move away.
> 
> A solid stare is also a big red flag.
> 
> A friendly dog will look and look away and will have a fluid, wiggly body.


Got it. This was very helpful. Thank you and thanks to everyone else that posted too. It helped me dissect this a lot more.


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## Michie (May 19, 2012)

Seems to me like you got some very mixed signals. 

Normally what I follow is 
tail down and wagging = happy go lucky
tail up high and still = dominance
low creeping like what you described I would always say = playfulness or submission

GROWLING is harder... growling can be used in play... but usually it is a sign of uneasiness/fear they use it to get whatever they are afraid of AWAY without seeming weak. It usually works too. lol. Growl at the groomer when she tries to clip your nails because you are afraid and VOILA! She doesn't do it! 

A mix of tail down with growling though.... was probably complete confusion on the dogs part. He could probably read Aolanis uncertainty and yours as well. Who knows though... sounds like you did the right thing and just ended the meeting. No reason not to wait and find a balanced dog to let Aolani figure things out with.


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