My Dog is Becoming Increasingly Territorial at Meet and Greet?
Hey there! I've been sitting very regularly on Rover for over a year now. From the get-go, my dog would growl initially at the meet and greet for a minute or two, then proceed to play and get along great with every dog so far. In fact, she always seems really depressed when we don't have a rover guest for her to play with. However, lately she has been exerting more dominant behaviors and it has been taking longer for her to chill out and get along. Today, for the first time, I had to send a potential client away because my dog just wouldn't let her dog get close (we're going to try again when it's not dark outside). I know her well enough to know that once the ice is broken they'll be partying it up big time romping around, but it concerns me that this has gone from mild bossiness in the beginning to outright snarling and snapping. Have any of you experienced increasingly dominant behaviors in your own dog towards guests?
I suggest you try introducing dogs on a walk rather than standing face-to-face. Walking allows the dogs to get used to the other dog's presence and calm down a bit before they really face each other. It also establishes a pack mentality because they are now part of a single group traveling together