Etiquette

Canine Etiquette and Socialization

Is your dog picking fights at the dog park? Getting picked on? Is your dog uncontrollable when he or she sees
another dog? Does your dog practice good canine social skills, or is your dog socially inept or completely anti-
social?

Just like people, dogs need social guidelines. If you are not giving your dog the right guidelines, you are setting
your dog up for social failure – or worse, for a fight. It is your job (not other dogs’ jobs) to meet your dog’s physical
and psychological needs. To do that, you must understand and expect appropriate social behavior from your dog.

I want you to think of your dog’s behavior in two categories - Anti-social and Social. In the dog world, just like in the
human world, socially acceptable behavior is necessary for getting along well with others.

If you were at a bus stop, who would you want to be there with: A bunch of weirdos who were threatening you? How
about a bunch of really overly-friendly, huggy-touchy-feely-freaky folks you’d never met before?

Or, would you rather be at a bus stop with people who were politely minding their own business? Perhaps if you saw
the same group of people at the same bus stop over a period of weeks or months, you would become more
interested in interacting with them. But not that first time, correct?

Dogs, when meeting other dogs for the first time, often need the same kind of social space you need at the bus
stop.

More importantly, your dog needs calm, assertive behavior from you. If your dog sees that you are calm and
assertive (you are in charge of how meetings and greeting go), your dog is much more likely to be calm and
relaxed.

But, if your dog is being anti-social and you don’t do anything about it, chances are your dog will continue its
inappropriate behavior. OR, if another dog is being anti-social, and you don’t do anything to protect your dog, your
dog will have to also become anti-social to protect itself. Pretty simple, right?

But what exactly do I mean by Anti-social behavior? If your dog is nervous, insecure, fearful, anxious, tense, excited,
territorial, dominant, obsessive, possessive, or aggressive when it meets other dogs, it is being anti-social!

Ok, so what is Social canine behavior? A dog who is being social, and that other dogs will usually see as being
social, is a dog who is two things:

1.calm
2. neutral (not overly fearful, dominant, playful, excited - not 'overly' anything!)

Calm, neutral behavior is the only acceptable social behavior for your dog to exhibit when meeting another dog. If
your dog is doing anything else, it is your responsibility to stop the anti-social behavior.

How do you really know your dog is being anti-social? Your dog speaks a language all its own. Your dog uses body
language more than anything else to express how it’s feeling. Let’s take a look at some examples of canine body
language of dogs who are both socially acceptable and those who are anti-social.

Step One: Greetings

“Come a little closer” (Dogs doing these behaviors are interested in meeting the other dog or person politely.)

A dog with good manners avoids a ‘hard stare’ or direct eye contact
A dog with good manners has a ‘soft eye’ – may be squinting or blinking
A dog with good manner’s ears are held back softly
A dog with good manners lowers its body into a sitting or lying down position
A dog with good manners has a loose, low wagging tail
A dog with good manner’s mouth may be open and panting, or closed but relaxed
A dog with good manners has relaxed, loose muscles
A dog with good manners allows sniffing

More Good Manners (Calming Signals & Appeasement…these dogs are giving signals to those around them to
keep everyone calm and avoid conflicts)

A dog with good manners approaches other dogs in an arcing pattern – ‘kidney bean routine’
A dog with good manners moves slowly
A dog with good manners avoids hard stare
A dog with good manners allows and does light inguinal sniffing
A dog with good manners turns head away from other dogs
A dog with good manners licks its own nose & lips repeatedly
A dog with good manners yawns at other dogs, or stretches slowly
A dog with good manners sniffs the ground
A dog with good manners sits or lies down
A dog with good manners rolls onto its back
A dog with good manners stands silently, gazing off
A dog with good manners takes a drink
A dog with good manners urinates/defecates
A dog with good manners grooms or scratches itself
A dog with good manners holds slow-motion play bow
Two dogs with good manners sit quietly, shoulders turned to each other

Appeasement (A dog doing these behaviors feels a bit uncomfortable and is trying to avoid conflict by calming
itself and those around it.)

sitting, making itself small
tail held low and close to body, may wag
ears held back softly
averts gaze
rolls onto back
lifts one paw
lip-licking

“I’m Over-excited”

An over-excited, anti-social dog has its hackles up
And over-excited, anti-social dog is bouncing off people, other dogs, and objects, but not really interested in
them or their reactions
And over-excited, anti-social dog is pulling hard on the leash – jerking in multiple directions without regard to
its human
And over-excited, anti-social dog is vocalizing loudly, excitedly, or frantically

“Back Off!”

A dog who is upset and needs distance has dilated eyes, with the whites showing
A dog who is upset and needs distance has its ears pulled back tensely and tightly against its head
A dog who is upset and needs distance may have its hackles up
A dog who is upset and needs distance has tense body muscles
A dog who is upset and needs distance has its tail held low and tight against body
A dog who is upset and needs distance may be snarling, baring its teeth (teeth often close together, lips
drawn back)

“I’m Tough!”

A dog who is looking for conflict is staring directly at another dog or person
A dog who is looking for conflict holds its ears erect, or held tensely back
A dog who is looking for conflict has its hackles up
A dog who is looking for conflict has a stiff wagging tail, held straight out, up high, or even arched over back
A dog who is looking for conflict may be leaning forward
A dog who is looking for conflict does a stiff-legged, prancing gait with arched neck
A dog who is looking for conflict will ‘T-off’ (T-ing off means putting its chin or front paws over the shoulders of
another dog.)
A dog who is looking for conflict exhibits freezing & body tension, with direct hard stare
A dog who is looking for conflict escalates with baring of teeth & forward momentum

Step Two: Play

Good Play

Dogs playing appropriately will often play bow (stretching front legs forward, rump in the air)
Dogs playing appropriately have a balance between top and bottom wrestling positions
Dogs playing appropriately use low intensity vocalizations
Dogs playing appropriately open-mouth play biting
Dogs playing appropriately will play ‘tag’ or chase games (with or without toys)
Dogs playing appropriately keep ‘four on the floor’ (all four feet on the floor, unless they’re wrestling, with
one dog on its back)

Bad Play

Dogs who are playing inappropriately will try to control all of the play
Dogs who are playing inappropriately won’t quit when other dog wants to
Dogs who are playing inappropriately use mounting behavior (climbing on other dogs)
Dogs who are playing inappropriately box with their forepaws
Dogs who are playing inappropriately slam chests
Dogs who are playing inappropriately run into and body slam each other
Dogs who are playing inappropriately place chin or front legs over other dog’s shoulders