Why does my dog... dislike certain breeds?

It's not uncommon for a dog to take a dislike to a whole breed or type of dog for seemingly no reason. We've all known a dog that absolutely loves other dogs, except for a select few, but why?

Dogs are the masters of body language and non-verbal communication, but with the wide range different shapes and sizes in the dog world, each has their own unique “accent”.

If a dog doesn't have a wide variety of doggy friends when they are young, they may struggle to understand some of the more unusual accents, and this can lead to conflict.

For example in dogs with flat noses, curly hair or dark faces, their facial expressions are much harder to read, so a fellow pooch might take that playful glance as a threatening stare.

Some dogs such as bull breeds or elderly dogs have naturally stiffer body language, which some dogs look at and wonder why that dog over there is so tense and posturing at them. Dogs with very short noses have restricted airways which leads to unusual snorting and grunting noises, which a dog may misunderstand and think they're being growled at!

When a spaniel happily walks into a room, their body language is all loose and wiggly and they might say something like “hey guys, I love you all and want to be your best friend! I'm just gonna get all down low so you can see I'm not a threat and just here to have fun!” A boxer dog or a dobermann walking into the room with exactly the same emotional state but with a very different body posture might come across as “HI! I'M HERE! YOU THERE, BE MY FRIEND!” It's the same intentions and message as our spaniel friend, but it can unfortunately come across very differently when spoken in their specific accent.

Not only do dogs have their own accents, but different breeds favour different play styles depending on what they are originally bred for. Greyhounds might enjoy a good run and chase game, golden retrievers often like to parade their toys around and many staffys love nothing more than a good wrestle. Dogs naturally tend to favour other dogs that like to play the same game as them and speak in a similar accent. It is always the most beautiful thing in the world here at K9 Anytime when two dogs of the same breed meet eyes across the room and greet each other joyfully saying, “you just GET me!”