Is My dog too friendly?

One of my dogs doesn't have a aggressive bone in his body. He thinks everyone and every animals is in fact his friend. Not worrying about his friendships with humans, it is other animals that bother me. He will run up to any animal, other dog, cat, horse, domestic or wild, to him they are all his friends. My worry is that one day he will see a "friend" who doesn't want a new friend and he could get hurt. He is leashed on our walks , and we have a fenced in yard, but sometimes "friends" do find their way in from time to time. You would think being sprayed by a skunk not once but twice might have made him a little standoffish, nope not at all, even with the skunks.

No such thing as a too friendly dog. I'm glad to hear that your dog is quite innocent and doesn't have a mean bone in its body. I think a lot of dogs are quite like yours but don't have good enough owners that the dog becomes disrespectful to others over a period of time.

My dog was the same way too, except if she would be eating and someone wanted to take her bowl away. That's the only time she'd be upset with anyone. Don't mess with her food!

I have seen friendly dogs too who would treat strangers as friends. It is not a bad thing really, but if you worry about your dog might get hurt by other animals who don't want a new friend, then you might want to control your dogs when you are not at home. Don't let him go near other animals freely. Although I think all it takes is one or two small unfriendly incidents to wake him up to the reality lol. Nothing harmful is needed, just some unfriendly faces or barking from other dogs might get him to know not everyone can be a friend.

My dogs are controlled when I am not at home and at home. There are occasions when walking them on a leash or at a dog park,other dogs will come into play, who may or may not be on a leash. Things can happen so fast, especially when my dog either isn't aware or doesn't acknowledge there may be trouble ahead. When out, my dogs are never allowed to go freely.

It's not so much being overly friendly as not being cautious that I would worry about. Dogs usually have instincts when it comes to strange animals. They either back off or chase them depending on the situation. It sounds like your dog might not have that sense of caution.

I think it is a good thing that your dog is friendly with people. My previous dog, a Lab, was that way. She loved everyone. When I took her to the vets, she seemed to think they were all there for her enjoyment. She was great with kids and would let them do anything to her.

My Jack Russell is afraid of strangers. She's great with people she knows, but she is reluctant with others. I wish she had more of that friendliness in her. When we meet people on our walks, I have to warn them not to pet her because I don't want anyone getting hurt. People don't always realize that some dogs need to warm up to you.

@tree climber
I think Gix is missing that instinct. Per the 2 skunk sprayings. Either the skunks decided it wasn't a good idea to come into the yard anymore or the tip to spread dog hair in front of the tree line stopped them. Skunks are one thing, but the next visiting animal, it might not be as simple as a spraying.

Gix also thinks a visit to the vet is a play session and all his friends are waiting for him.

I do like the fact I don't have to worry about him be stand offish or frightened, but it's the flip side of the coin that worries me.

(08-10-2012, 02:20 AM)Pocs Wrote: @tree climber
I think Gix is missing that instinct. Per the 2 skunk sprayings. Either the skunks decided it wasn't a good idea to come into the yard anymore or the tip to spread dog hair in front of the tree line stopped them. Skunks are one thing, but the next visiting animal, it might not be as simple as a spraying.

Gix also thinks a visit to the vet is a play session and all his friends are waiting for him.

I do like the fact I don't have to worry about him be stand offish or frightened, but it's the flip side of the coin that worries me.

Do you think we've over socialized our dogs?

I'm concerned at how she will treat intruders. Chooey doesn't have a single instinctive bone when it comes to strangers in her body. No matter who the person coming in is, she will stand up on her hind legs as if she expects everyone who passes by to give her treats or play with her.

When she's with other animals, she thinks they're all going to play with her... I just don't want something bad to happen to her as well.

We used to scare my coonhound mix for fun when she was a puppy, and she grew up to be quite skittish. I hindsight it was mean, but we'd make a giant hand shadow on the wall or ceiling with a flashlight like it was coming to get her and she would freak out and run under the couch. When she started getting bigger and couldn't fit, she would still try and just hide her head under the couch. Also the hair on her back would stand up like a mohawk. lol.

That's odd he's not skittish about skunks, but I also wonder if he's avoided some confrontations with other animals simply because he doesn't come across as threatening too.

(08-15-2012, 06:03 AM)ohiotom76 Wrote: We used to scare my coonhound mix for fun when she was a puppy, and she grew up to be quite skittish. I hindsight it was mean, but we'd make a giant hand shadow on the wall or ceiling with a flashlight like it was coming to get her and she would freak out and run under the couch. When she started getting bigger and couldn't fit, she would still try and just hide her head under the couch. Also the hair on her back would stand up like a mohawk. lol.

That's odd he's not skittish about skunks, but I also wonder if he's avoided some confrontations with other animals simply because he doesn't come across as threatening too.

First, as a child we had a coonhound, he was a amazing dog. I still miss him til this day.

I can't figure Gix out. He just is so friendly or unaware that he doesn't care. Just today he was trying to make nice with a groundhog. Lucky for him that the groundhog thought he was weird, after a few minutes the groundhog went into the woods. It could have been nasty, groundhogs are vicious. I saw one disembowel a cat a few years ago. Not pretty.

I have a rottweiler who is the same way. She never barks at anyone or anything, never bites and is always very friendly with whomever she interacts with. Lately she's been in contact more and more often with our neighbors' dogs, who are aggressive. She has been in, and won, some pretty bad fights but she still treats everyone the same friendly way. My guess is your dog knows how to behave around unfriendly animals and knows how to defend itself. I wouldn't worry.