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My friend came to visit me this weekend and brought her 9 month old Lab/Bernese mix, Yogi. I didn't think it would be a problem, as Rufus (2 year old lab/wolfhound mix) is very dog friendly. We walked down the street to greet them (thinking that an introduction on neutral territory would be best) and then let them play in the backyard. Rufus was not having it. He growled and snapped at the dog multiple times and I ended up having to watch him like a hawk all evening to stop any scuffles from breaking out. The rest of the weekend was fine, with only one growling incident over a toy.
I was dogsitting my friend's 2 year old female Viszla however, and when Yogi met her the next day the same thing happened. Yogi is very good natured, and from what I could tell was just trying to play, but perhaps in a challenging way? He is not yet neutered.
Does anyone have any insight on what the problem might have been? Obviously Olive and Rufus were the ones doing the snapping and growling, but I've read that sometimes the ones with the obvious problems aren't really the instigators. Was I missing some signals that Yogi was sending out? Would the fact that he's not neutered be the problem? It just concerns me because I've never seen Rufus react this way - even for introductions on his own "territory".
I was dogsitting my friend's 2 year old female Viszla however, and when Yogi met her the next day the same thing happened. Yogi is very good natured, and from what I could tell was just trying to play, but perhaps in a challenging way? He is not yet neutered.
Does anyone have any insight on what the problem might have been? Obviously Olive and Rufus were the ones doing the snapping and growling, but I've read that sometimes the ones with the obvious problems aren't really the instigators. Was I missing some signals that Yogi was sending out? Would the fact that he's not neutered be the problem? It just concerns me because I've never seen Rufus react this way - even for introductions on his own "territory".
