Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Dog psychology

I've got a 5-year-old red Heeler female, spayed at 5 months, that I got as a puppy. She's a lover---not a fighter--- and sticks to me like glue. She will bark and posture to bluff other dogs and even people walking that pass by the front of the house, but if attacked by another dog she will back off. Like I said, she's a lover, not a fighter.

Yesterday I was uptown dropping a piece of furniture off at Habitat For Humanity and this young gal got in the back of my truck to look at the piece. She started baby-talking to the dog and petting her, which the dog tolerated while wagging her tail but being a little stand-offish because the gal was a stranger---and she wasn't me.

The gal put her face down to within a few inches of my dog's face, cooing like a pigeon, and I saw the dog curl her lips, quit wagging her tail, and her eyes went from straight forward to locked on the gal's face...she looked like she was about to feast on the gal's cheek, so I told the gal to not do that because dogs don't like people putting their face into the dog's face and she might bite, although she never has bitten anyone.

I told her it was like going up to a horse and patting them in the face---how would she like someone to come up to her and start patting her on the face...probably not, huh?

Wel, it obviously miffed the gal, but she didn't get nipped or bitten, so I was glad of the outcome.

My question is; what is it about sticking your face into a friendly dog's face that would cause them to suddenly change their demeanor, and want to bite your face? Is it a simple intrusion of privacy, or something else? Anyone know?

Just curious.

Had a buddy get drunked up and went to smooching on a cow dog; the cow dog bit his face off, and I laughed loudly. People will let a dog lick their face right after it licks it nuts and anus

My dogs don't like it either. It invades their personal space.

Same reason humans don't like it when strangers get in their face - it's a clear signal of agression. Plus your dog was more or less "trapped" in the back of the truck with this (rather dumb) girl.

That'd be my guess---it invades their "space".

In the canine world, this is a plain and simple act of aggression and dominance. Some dogs will tolerate it, and some won't. One never knows for sure which dogs will not tolerate it(and when either) so sticking your face next to any dog, especially one unknown to you is not smart.
Direct eye contact to most any animal is interpreted as aggression and may spur an aggressive response.

This young lady clearly doesn't understand dog getting-to-know-you behavior. She should've got down on all fours and sniffed your dog's butt, and let your dog sniff her butt. Then everything would've been fine.

Hell, if you'd played your cards right, you might have been sniffing the young lady's butt yourself!

It's the eyes, staring eye contact is a threatening, I'm about to attack gesture from a stranger. For your dog a stare with a snarl and a bit of a low growl expresses great disapproval and will often stop unwanted behavior if you catch them in the act. That assumes of course that you're in the alpha position relative to the dog.

Yep when it comes to body language dogs are way smarter than we are.

I'm the same way if somebody gets in my face.

But not to despair, TRH will be along shortly to analyze the psyche behind the dogs reactions for you.

All the cattle dogs and heelers I have known have been territorial and quick wired. Female dogs can get bitchy and unpredictable.

Our best tempered dogs have always tended to be male. That being said the queen of our house is an Aussie mix named Shiloh, she would have acted the same.

Fixed part of it for you.

Bob

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I'm the same way if somebody gets in my face.

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I think we all are - it's the poke in the chest that gets the fingers/hand broken. There's at least one guy walking around with a few metal pins in his hand from that lesson.

Bob

It is written.

stock dogs are funny, if they don't like someone it's usually for good reason. Most of the time they better judges of character than we are.

Yep.

This girl was so fat and so ugly and so lazy I would have stopped her before she could have sniffed my dog's butt, let alone let it continue from there. Butt thanks for the laugh!

You're welcome.