hair standing up!

[BCkris]

I took my puppy out for a walk today, and i admit it has been about 2 weeks of no walks due to the heat and other physical restraints that i had, but today a few dogs barked up a storm as i walked past them (they were in the house barking out the screen door) and my puppies hair stood straight up! as we past he looked at them and kept walking but then i noticed that his hair was up.... im sure i need to socialize him more, but he is only 5 months old! i hope thats not a sign of aggression? so this thursday we are going to hit the puppy class.. i hope that'll help!

[Ms.DaisyDuke]

Don't worry, it can also happen when the dog is excited or stressed too. It's usually a sign of fear not aggression. This would happen with the foster I just had. When she was playing and got really excited her hair would stand up. It did also happen when she was scared to, but she liked to play a lot, so we saw that version of it a lot more!

So, socialization, yes, you should step it up, but not because your dog could be aggressive, because he could become fearful.

[Laurelin]

Don't worry, it can also happen when the dog is excited or stressed too. It's usually a sign of fear not aggression. This would happen with the foster I just had. When she was playing and got really excited her hair would stand up. It did also happen when she was scared to, but she liked to play a lot, so we saw that version of it a lot more!

So, socialization, yes, you should step it up, but not because your dog could be aggressive, because he could become fearful.

 

I agree. But hey at least all your dog's hair stands up. My past sheltie, Nikki, would only make her butt fur stand on end. It was highly amusing yet at the same time, the opposite of scary. Oh yes Nik, you're going to frighten them away by having an enormous butt.