Why Is My Dog Very Anxious After Meeting a Dog?

Some people try to socialize their dogs, because they know that dogs are social animals, so they think their dogs want to interact with others. However, some dogs become anxious when exposed to other dogs. Dogs are evolutionarily predisposed to forming packs and work together to protect the pack from other dogs. In addition, the ways in which dogs experience other dogs when they are puppies and the dog's breed can influence whether the dog feels anxious around other dogs.

  1. Adaptation

    • Dogs sometimes have bad experiences with other dogs at an early age. This causes the dog to feel fear and react with anxiety when interacting with other dogs. The dog's brain develops rapidly, and dogs eventually develop patterns that become set. In addition, dogs are evolutionarily predisposed to certain behaviors, so most training cannot change that which is inherent in the dog. If you're worried about your dog being anxious around other dogs, you can adopt a dog that already has its personality formed and has a calm temperament.

    Experiences

    • Dogs are less likely to be anxious around other dogs when they interact with dogs that are not aggressive or intimidating to them. Therefore, owners should introduce puppies to calm dogs. Dogs can become afraid of specific breeds of dogs, dogs of certain sizes or dogs with a specific color, resulting from negative experiences. When a dog has a negative experience with one dog but a positive experience with others, it is likely to be wary but still trust some dogs.

    Associations

    • Dogs sometimes associate negative experiences with certain areas. When a certain dog often jumps on your dog at the vet, your dog could fear going to the vet altogether. When dogs are stressed out when they meet other dogs, they might feel anxious because they associate other dogs with that stress. Introducing dogs to each other when they are not stressed can cut the overall anxiety they experience with other dogs.

    Hierarchy

    • Some dogs behave more aggressively when they think they are on their own territory. When you introduce your dog to another dog, on that other dog's territory, the other dog could be more aggressive, which can lead to negative experiences. Dogs sniff so they can identify each other. When you do not allow your dogs to do this, they might feel anxiety. Dogs create their own social structures, called dominance hierarchies. When one dog is not in the dominant part of the dominance hierarchy, that dog might feel anxiety toward the more dominant dog.