Lately there have been several blog posts circulating, written by herding breed owners/enthusiasts, stating that sociable dogs are the scourge of the dog world. Of course what they really describe are obnoxious dogs - interestingly labs are singled out in all the posts as being the worst offenders.
I think the part that really irritates me is that the stand-offish, resource guarding,reactive herding breeds supposedly demonstrate the ideal behavior.
Really?
When describing the behavior of the 'ignorant' and 'foolish' Labradors they say it's like the person that's too in your face. Hmm bring on the goofy sporting breeds please.
Using the analogy with humans, I guess that makes the herding breeds the uppity, stand-offish bitch that looks down on everyone and flies into a rage when approached by the presumed lower classes.
Knew her in high school, and no thanks, not interesting in a dog like that.
I am ever so happy with my friendly dog.
He doesn't hump other dogs or jump on them, he doesn't bark in their face, or bare teeth to try to claim the stick, ball, human or other item.
He will politely greet small, medium & large dogs. He loves puppies and knows to be careful with older dogs too.
He'll ignore the nasty behaviors and ask me to move on by turning away from the nasty herding breeds, or the small dogs with the Napoleon complex. He will ignore the idiot trying to hump him.
He will be non-plussed when your wonderful herding breed attempts to take a chunk out of his neck after the owner asks if he wants to play frisbee and he dares to join in.
Please give me a sea of wagging tails/nubs any day!
Keep your paranoid, edgy, unsocial dog.
I love that my dog truly is friendly.
And I don't mean obnoxious.
He's sociable and happy.
No matter how poorly behaved your dog is, he's not going to retaliate.
I have no idea why the new rules for canines are that they shouldn't be approached by other canines and its reasonable to be reactive and guardy.
I suppose it's a reflection of a wave of paranoia and distrust in society. Where no one should politely say hi as you pass.
For the record, some dogs will always be 'nervy' and unsocial and others obnoxiously boisterous - for those dogs a behaviorist or professional is recommended.
But let's keep some perspective here, a friendly, well-socialized dog is a very good thing.
Stand-offish, reactive and resource guarding are negative traits and behaviors, certainly not what should be held up as correct.
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