Strange Behaviour

[AlanD]

Hi,

Our little pup Missy is just gone 10 weeks old. I brought her on Friday last to the vet for a checkup. She was in good shape but had a little lump on her head which was worrying me. So the vet said it's a small bacterial thing like acne and will fall off soon (which it has actually). He then cleaned out her ears and gave her a treatment for fleas, ticks and mites. So she was in great shape really. Then we came out of vet's office and there was an adult Rottweiler sitting in the waiting room. So Missy and this massive dog had a bit of a sniff and seemed to be making friends when all of a sudden Missy froze. She walked away from the other dog and crouched down with her front legs flat on the grand and her behind in the air. She crawled along the ground and looked like she was absolutely scared stiff! When I went to leave, I picked her up and she was still in that position while I carried her out. She really was frozen solid and looked to be genuinely upset at something. When I put her in the car on the seat, her behind was touchign the back of the seat and was still so frozen that her hind legs were raised off the seat.

I was really worried about her but after about 5/10 mins she relaxed and went back to her normal self.

So what happened? Did the massive Rottweiler scare her? It looked like Missy was being very submissive and saying to the big dog that she was only a little puppy and to only play with her, but being frozen solid was strange.

I wonder did she have a reaction to the medicine the vet gave her?

I'm bringing her back anyway to get her final set of shots and will ask the vet about the behaviour then, but I'm wondering if any of you could shed some light on what happened.

Thanks
AlanD

 

[hogan's mom]

It sounds totally normal to me. When their behind is up in the air like that it's an invitation to play. She sniffed him out and then said, "Hey lets go at it big boy!" They stiffen like that to wait out their opponent and see whose going to make the first move and then they pounce. I wouldn't worry too much, they do all sorts of strange things as puppies and if you're not used to it; it may startle you sometimes. Wait 'til you hear how rough and loud she'll play with you. Hogan used to scare me because I wasn't expecting it!

 

[jbbtlr]

Sounds like she was ready to play. Especially if her butt was in the air...

Usually if they are scared or intimidated their whole body will crouch or they'll stand behind you. At least Koda would do that when he was a pup and saw a bigger, more intimidating dog.

 

[apollosdad]

sounds like normal behavior for a pup. i wouldn't worry about it.

 

[AlanD]

thanks all. I thought at first it was getting ready to play cos our last dog which was an alsation did it all the time. But the freezing solid was new to me. I forgot to mention that she did crawl in behind another person's feet to hide. So when she was in that same frozen position on the way out of the vet's place in my arms she was still intending on playing? Also, instead of setting up to play and pounce, she got in the position and crawled away from the dog.

Ah I'll keep an eye on it the next time we meet a dog.

 

[apollosdad]

keep an eye on your dog's tail and ears too. tucking in the tail between her legs means fear and uneasiness. tail wagging means happiness and wanting to socialize. ears forward mean alertness and ears back mean fear and lack of confidence.

 

[AlanD]

Hi there,
her tail was definitely between her legs and her ears were definitely back. I'd be good at recognising normal dog play activity alright and can read them pretty well, but because this was so different I got worried.

She's fine now, but I'll mention it to my vet this week and will keep an eye on her when socializing her with other dogs.

Thanks

 

[AnnieHazel]

your pup may have initially wanted to play but then got frightened or maybe intimidated. It may have just been that she locked up inbetween both modes because she wasn't sure which instinct was stronger... fear or play.

I know my girls will focus so hard on something that they will freeze in their position and look like statues. Until something else distracts them... they don't move.

could have just been sensory override as I like to call it. OR she just froze waiting for the other dog to show it's intention before she decided which mode to continue (continue to play or cower more)

 

[basak]

If Krose is like that, nothing, well except a tennis ball :D, wil distract him. I even tried holding his leg or hand, he was like ok nowi leaveme alone, I am at something can't you see??????


ears back don't necessarily mean they fear or lack of confidence.
Krose's ears always go back when him and Baris start wrestling.

basak