All of a sudden.....

[John64]

I just joined here and bragged how submissive, and friendly my 8 month old rotty has been.
She loves everyone, and is socialized very heavily.
I took her for her walk tonight, and was walking past the local bar, and some guy was standing out front, and walked towards us, and was saying how pretty she was. Usually she would start the butt wagging, and whining for attention.
She flipped!....I never saw her lips disappear before, and all teeth. Growling weas vry loud and deep. I held the leash firlmly, and the ghuy backed up quickly, and she wouldn't let up. She was pulling and trying to get at him.
I started walking the other way quickly, and she kept turning her head, and watching him, until we made a bend and got out of sight.
The next person that walked past us on the way home, she wagged her butt, and wanted pet.
She never did this before, was really strange. I didn't yell at her, or praise her. I just kept firm, and tugged her away, and kept walking. The guy didn't seem to pose a threat, althoughg he seemed a bit tipsy.
Thats the first I ever saw her do this, and two minutes later go back to being my puppy again..

[mel07]

maybe she sensed the guy was drunk and saw a threat?

[fbkeays]

I would not think badly of your dog for this behavior in this situation.
Just an FYI, never let a tipsy or otherwise intoxicated person near your dog. Under the influence people do stupid things. Stupid human behavior is what gets them bit. And that is how good dogs get dead.

[cameus]

It's a fact that dogs can sense that their owner is going to have an epileptic fit and are trained to warn the so that they can get themselves safe. It's a pretty good bet she sensed this fella was something she hadn't come across before and saw him as a threat. I wouldn't worry unduly, just keep it in mind in the future.

[dennisj]

I think our dogs can sense something we are not aware of. I had a male for 10 years who was great with 99 people out of 100, but that one person, for some reason seemed to trigger some sense in him that would cause him to become aggressive toward that person. I always had to be on my toes because I could never tell when that one person might approach that would trigger that response from him. These dogs sense things in people that we cannot.

[Ninasmom]

Nina and Rogue both have only indicated like that on a handful of people in the 9 years they have been around. I am a firm believer in that you did the right thing - walking away asap - because she was sending you a message.

Also, both of my dogs hate the smell of alcohol. It changes body chemistry, so she was also picking up on his unusual odor.

[momasboy]

My rott is 21 months and we are still training him to be other dog friendly and that when he redirects his aggression to me when I correct him it is not acceptable. He wears a muzzle when we are out in public and I am thinking that he might be wearing this for a long time when we are out. It makes it so much easier and safer for everyone, and we can really enjoy being out and not have to worry.

[winniecnm]

I have had the dogs react to three people in this way.

2 were drunk, one was an alcoholic and we actually did not know it till later. 1 was on cocaine. I could never figure out why Jasmine reacted to him so - then the military arrested him later that year!

What you did was appropriate. Maintain authority and control and remove the dog from the situation.

The only thing I would say is to try to learn to read her and redirect her before she can scare anyone to backing up. It is like you are politely saying "thanks for the heads up, but I am still in control here thank you very much" I can usually tell my dog's postures well before anything erupts into a growl. AS you get to learn her, you should be able to as well.

[John64]

Yes, I always keep very good control of her, and even though she is a wonderful sweetheart, and listens to my commands, I still always make sure to never fully trust her not to do anything stupid, even humans do stupid things...
I was just shocked, I didn't think she had it in her to be angry.