Why Does My Dog Like Some Dogs and Hate Others?

Let's take a look at this question in this way, do you like some people and get annoyed with others? Dogs, like people, have specific personalities and sometimes those personalities simply don't mesh.

Just as some people will rub you the wrong way, some dogs are going to rub your pet the wrong way. Some dogs are more personable than others and some get too personal by sniffing your dogs privates and making your dog feel uncomfortable.

Dogs are always sizing one another up. From the moment that a dog sees another until they come within sniffing range they are sizing each other up.

Some dogs are more aggressive than others and they will react with aggression the minute they see another dog. Others just want a playmate and will act accordingly by trying to pull at the leash and lead you to their hopefully future playmate.

When a dog does this and the other dog is more aggressive, the other may take this as a confrontation. If you don't keep your dog back and the other owner keep their dog back, there could be a dog fight on your hands.

Some dogs will growl and snarl prior to any aggressive behavior, others will not have the same reaction but can still be aggressive.

It's very similar to social structure for humans. There were some kids at school growing up that simply got on your nerves. Your dog is much the same way, some dogs are more laid back and the dog that isn't laid back is going to come across as more aggressive, even if all they are wanting is to play.

We may not recognize how dogs communicates with each other, we can't hear the inflections that they have in their barks. We can't always determine what specific actions mean to another dog.

Body language in is very similar to how we perceive others. Dogs also have specific olfactory cues that can tell each other where they stand in relationship to one another.

If one dog doesn't like what the other has to offer, they may not get along well. A responsible owner needs to learn to take appropriate cues from his or her pet in order to forestall any behaviors that may turn aggressive. Remember also that dogs may have had a bad experience with one breed or another and your pet may assume that all dogs of that breed are bad, even if they aren't.