Friendly dogs vs reserved/aloof dogs

Laurelin

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#21
Summer has this thing now that if we run she's engaged but when we try to go put her in a crate she jumps in someone's lap. We've done all sorts of distraction work and Summers only distraction was people sitting on the ground. Balls and toys? Loud noises? People being weird and dancing? Totally cool but omg that person sitting is probably my new best friend. The other dogs drink tell had more issues with toys and noises. [\b]

Mia is definitely a little fearful vs truly aloof. But she's perfectly fine in close proximity to people and dogs as long as they don't try to interact with her.


I'm pretty sure that was supposed to say definitely. Should not phone post.
 

Xandra

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#22
Both work for me, as long as friendly doesn't mean pulling at the leash to meet new people. Somewhere in between is best. Roman won't give strangers the time of day, which makes me feel badly sometimes. :p
 
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#23
Now, I say she's my practical ideal because to be honest as annoying as Traveler's intense love for people can be when I need him to focus on me it still makes me happy.

I absolutely love watching him work a crowd, it makes my heart happy.
Yes, this is how I feel about Squash as well. I don't exactly like it and it's kind of annoying, but his joy is so infectious that it ends up making me grin like an idiot.
 

BlueMerle

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#24
I prefer an aloof dog. Not a dog that is afraid of people or aggressive but just shows polite disinterested.

Piper and Sophie- They have issues with people that we are working on.

Damon- Loves people. He thinks everyone should be his best friend.

Max- Loves everyone. He wants to meet everyone he sees. He will sit in front of them and just shake all over from excitement.

Jasper- He is perfect in my eyes. He will stay with me and show no interest in meeting other people. If someone comes up to us and wants to pet him he will polity sit and let them. While he would rather strangers not touch him he puts up with it nicely. :)
 

PWCorgi

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#25
Frodo is the dog who WANTS attention and WANTS to go up to people and say hi, but then when he actually is receiving attention he gets worried about it. I don't ever want that again.


I love Siri's view on people, which is mostly just meh. She doesn't like being picked up, but if someone she doesn't know manages to pick her up, she just gets sad ears and waits to be put down. She's not reactive, she doesn't use teeth, but she's also not loving the moment. But if she knows you, SHE LOVES YOU!!! OMG!!!
 

Flyinsbt

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#26
I like friendly dogs. Which is one reason I chose the breed I did, although Pirate is actually my only Stafford who has the typical out-going personality. And he's still not as "fling yourself at everybody" as some, though he's always happy to meet people. Pretty much my ideal.

Tess is mostly uninterested in people, though she will show some interest in people who make an effort with her. Basically, if they crouch down and pet and talk to her, she'll be a bit friendly. She's entirely shameless about staring at people with food and telling them she's starving, though. It's really rude, because all she wants is their food, and she doesn't mind using her adorableness to get it.

I'm okay with her being like that (Tully was pretty much the same way), I'd consider it still within the acceptable spectrum for the breed. She's not wary of people at all, just not that interested. I actually think some of this is because I spend so much time with my dogs, training etc, so they don't feel as much need to find more humans as some Staffords do.
 

Equinox

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#27
I prefer an aloof/neutral dog but I don't mind a friendly one, either.

Trent is... bipolar. In most situations he is completely disinterested in meeting other people, if they pet him he won't even acknowledge their presence, and the most he gives them is a cursory sniff before forgetting their existence. But other times, it's "ERMAHGAHD PEOPLE!!" and he tries to drown them in kisses. He gets progressively (and obnoxiously) friendlier as the stranger in question gets closer to eye level. I'm pretty sure this is part of the reason why he just goes crazy over all children. He LOVES children.
 

xpaeanx

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#28
I prefer polite aloof. I like a dog that is just not interested in people outside that household at all. Not shy, not fearful, not aggressive just truly not interested.

This I mostly bc I am truly not interested in strangers and I'm also truly not interested in talking to them. If you have a friendly dog who just wants to get pet, it's much harder to politely disengage and not talk to people(especially if you are waiting in line for something). If you have a shy/fearful dog they try to give you advice and/or tell you 900 million rescue dog stories. If you have a dog that just doesn't care the conversation ceases pretty quickly.
 
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#29
I like a dog who's more handler focused and not so overly friendly with strangers, but would tolerate pets from people and not freak out.

Abby she used to be "that dog" who was into every single person we passed on the street. Now she's definitely more reserved and only certain people she will go say hi to just really depends on her mood. Also lately she's started wanting to say hi to people and will go up all wiggles and kisses then when they start petting her she gets nervous and wants to be left alone. So now I just tend to tell people they can't pet her/leave her alone etc

Bo he's fearful of people(until he gets to know you then he'll drown you with boxer wiggles and kisses), but I don't much mind because due to his appearance most people leave us alone which I like. I'm not a people person and don't much care for people touching my dogs in the first place...

Twister he's also more reserved around people and can be fearful/nervous in certain situations(unless he's in the presence of one of the other dogs then he turns into mister not so scaredy cat)...

And Karma oh my... That dog just has to say hi to every single person she sees... She's like "ZOMG people pets me!!!!"
 

HayleyMarie

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#30
I prefer polite aloof, that is pretty much Teagan when it comes to strangers. She really could care less about you, but she will allow strangers to pet her, but when it comes to people she knows she gets pretty happy and wants their attention, but she is polite about it. And she seems to be more accepting of men than woman, which I find really odd.

Mitsu was all OMG People, YAY!! I want them all to love ME!!! Drove me freaking crazy, but she was also a bully breed so it was to be expected.

I also don't really like coming across super friendly dogs than want to drown me in kisses and become my best friend. It really annoys me for some reason. I want a dog to respect my space. I like a dog to ask for my attention politely, unfortunately I can't control that when coming across strange dogs.

I am hoping Pup, Pup is aloof polite and has not stranger sensitivities as he gets older. Socializing him to strangers is going to be a big one for me.
 

Maxy24

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#31
I like super stranger friendly dogs who want to meet everyone. I do want the dog to like me more than said stranger though, but I wouldn't prefer a dog that was aloof.

Tucker wants all strangers to die so...yeah :p
 

JacksonsMom

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#32
Definitely somewhere in between is my ideal.

I don't want a dog who will gladly go with anyone and be like 'see ya!' and not give a hoot about when they're going to see me next, LOL. But I don't want to deal with a dog who could be somewhat aggressive or reactive towards other people either.

Jackson is a bit too much on the shy side for my liking and it's the one thing I'd change about him. For the most part, it's aloof, but there is a touch of fear in there. He's okay with strangers in that he is very easy to take out in public. If kids want to pet him, they can, I just say 'go say hi' and he seems to understand. I wouldn't say he enjoys it but he doesn't mind, and tolerates it, and I wouldn't put him through anything he was uncomfortable with. He's more uncomfortable with strange men though and will shy away.

But he tends to just avoid being pet and prefers you not to say anything at all. He certainly doesn't want anyone picking him up (but, he barely likes ME picking him up, either). So if he thinks you're heading in for a pick up, he backs away quickly.

He's deathly terrified at the vet, but he's very good and just sulks, and completely shuts down which makes me very sad, but it's gotta be done sometimes. But he's not aggressive or a biter in any way.

Once he loves you though, he loves you FOREVER. He loves almost my whole immediate family even those he doesn't see very often (uncles, aunts, grandparents, parents, step-parents, siblings, close friends). But I love that he's still not totally obnoxious about it. But you can still tell he really loves you without him jamming into you, or licking up your nostrils, LOL.

So yeah on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being most sociable, I'd say he's probably a 5. Ideally, I'd like a dog with maybe 6 or 7.
 

Shai

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#33
I don't care as long as the dog is socially stable and able to maintain focus when it's time to work.

Aloofness is fine, shyness or inappropriate guardiness is not. Friendliness is fine, overstimulated attention whoring during work time is not.
 

Toller_08

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#34
I prefer aloof/reserved, but not to be mistaken for shy or unfriendly. Just a polite disinterest.


My Dobermans are my ideal. They're happy to oblige someone if I ask them to "go be friends", but they really have no interest in socializing with those that they don't know. People who aren't used to aloof dogs think that Keira and Ripley are shy. They just don't understand how a dog can not care about strangers at all. Both of them are very snooty out in public and I don't know how many times I've apologized to admirers for it haha. In my home though, they expect that any guest is going to pet them for the duration of their stay haha. I have to tell them to leave people alone.

Dance is far, far, far from my ideal. I hate how she is with people. It's embarrassing, especially considering I am not a novice dog owner and I've done everything I can think of to improve her people skills. And she is better than she used to be, but her aversion to people still gets in the way of things. I can't even really call her shy. I think she's just insecure, and shows it by way of barking unexpectedly at a person. There are some people she loves instantly, other people she'll act like she loves and then 5 minutes later barks at them, and a lot of people she wants nothing to do with at all. If you give her about a half an hour without talking to, looking at or touching her, chances are she'll be ok with you, but she'll likely still give a few barks if you get up to leave the room or go somewhere and come back or something. She's a jumpy, insecure dog in most aspects of life though and her first reaction to anything she's slightly uncomfortable with is to bark/growl about it and run away. I didn't actually realize the extent of her insecurities until this year. I knew she was, but we've done different stuff this year and it really shows just how not brave at all she is despite my trying to give her positive associations with things. Ah well, she's just a weird dog. Probably always will be.

Journey is very friendly. She loves meeting and snuggling with as many people as possible. Everyone's a friend. But she doesn't get distracted by her love of people either and is perfectly fine working with me and ignoring other people when needed. She also doesn't usually solicit attention from people unless they give some indication that they want to interact with her. Unless you're in our house, then of course that means she should shove the other dogs out of the way so that she can get as much attention as possible (and no, we don't allow her to be rude like that, but she still tries haha).
 

BostonBanker

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#35
My guys are on opposite ends of the middle spectrum. I like both just fine.

Meg loves people. She doesn't drag me to them, or even really "seek them out", but if someone makes eye contact with her or puts a hand out, she's very happy to go seek out some love. She won't jump all over them or maul them for attention, but will sit on their feet and put her ears back and squint her eyes and absorb the loving. I've never had her leave me to seek it out, and if I move to leave, she follows, but if I'm in sight - she's happy with anyone.

Gusto thinks people are idiots. He will barely look at them in public. People put their hands out, get down low, coo at him...and he barely glances their way. He doesn't even like *me* loving on him in public, and he spends half his life indoors trying to crawl into my mouth. When I shared a hotel room with a friend, she was blown away when he jumped on the bed with her to snuggle; in two years of seeing her weekly or more at agility events, he's never sought out attention from her.

I sometimes worry with Gusto that it is something more than aloof, but he's sweet to everyone in the house, and he's never "reactive" if someone surprises him or grabs at him - he just moves away.

I'd definitely rather too friendly than not friendly; human aggression is something I don't ever want to deal with. But I love my "middle of the road" guys.
 

sillysally

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#36
Friendly all the way. Jack is very friendly with people, but definitely prefers "his" people and picks favorites outside the family. He LOVES my friend Ann, and DH and I often joke that Jack wishes I'd married Ann instead of him. He also adores the 3 women who clean the training center where he swims. He can be a huge attention *****. When we take him to the "European Market" (basically a super yuppy farmers market) in my hometown he pretty much basks in the attention the entire time.

I love Sally but never want to have to deal with a stranger timid dog again. She really isn't skittish in general, and is not reactive to people, but retreats from strangers and is uncomfortable and anxious in crowds. She was like that when we got her at a year old, and while she has gotten much better I don't see her ever being super social. She is much better with women and kids than men, but can become very friendly with anyone given the time to get to know them. We will often have Jack meet new people first, and that really helps her shyness to see that the strangers are petting Jack rather than eating him.
 

*blackrose

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#37
I do have to say I wouldn't like a dog that is completely disinterested in strangers. I like to share my dog with some people and want the dogs to enjoy that as well. I'd prefer an overly happy/friendly dog to a completely aloof dog.
 

Muttkip

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#38
Beau is the perfect dog......he's aloof when he needs to be but he does seek out people for love. He's not a kisser but he will not jump on people but put his paws on their legs and melt into them, he's old now so I just gave up :rolleyes:. But other times he can be a jerk and pretend that they don't exist.

Unless it's children, when he sees a kid is SCREW YOU I MUST SEE THE CHILD!!!!!!!! He LOVES kids with every fiber of his being, his favorite person in the entire world is my 9 year old nephew.

Takoda.......well she's FA to a point. If she's on her own turf, she'd do some major damage to someone. Outside in public she's fine to the point she seems to love people it's weird. So I wouldn't want another dog like her.

Bear, he hates everyone besides the people that live in the house.
 

Shakou

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#39
I have one of each. Charlotte is very people friendly, where as Ma'ii is aloof. He's not mean, timid, or shy, he'd just rather not interact with strangers. And honestly, that's what I prefer. I appreciate Charlotte's sweetness with people, but I'd rather a dog who's more reserved, like Ma'ii.
 

k9krazee

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#40
Crossbone is polite and friendly in public. He lets people pet him but isn't overly affectionate. Most times we have to tell him to go say hi and he stands nicely and wags his tail.

In the house though...he thinks that everyone who walks through the door is his best friend (probably because he knows the people well who come over often) but he's obnoxious and climbing into their laps, licking faces and way overexcited.

We are amazed at how awesome he is in public and that he's so easy and great to take anywhere. Polite/Friendly is my ideal.
 

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