Staffordshire Bull Terrier vs. Akita
Discussion
The Daily Mail would be very upset by this.
While out walking my Staffy I bumped into a couple of Akitas. One of them ran over to see my Staffy which gave her a fright. She tried to run away and then hid behind me, tail down. I didn't want to leave her with that experience so stayed and had a nice chat with the owner, particularly about how our respective dogs are generally considered by the media.
The Akita owner has received plenty of grief about her choice of dog it seems, and since Akitas seem to be becoming more and more popular I wonder if they're in line to become the next favourite of knobhead owners, and therefore a target for the hysterical media.
Meanwhile, our dogs got to know each other; my Staffy rolling on to her back - as she does with every single bloody dog we meet - and the male Akita having a good sniff of her lady bits.
After a few minutes the male Akita lay down next to her, and by the time we'd walked on a bit further my Staffy was jumping all over it, so they left on friendly terms I think
Anyway, just thought I'd share this because the owner said, "I wish everyone in the town could see this."
It also got me wondering about our dog being so submissive. It's a nice trait of course, but she doesn't half look vulnerable lying exposed under the jaws of a strange dog. I don't want to discourage it but I simply don't know how good she is at judging another.
By allowing our dog to flop on to her back like a tart, are we leaving her completely open to an attack if the other dog isn't as friendly as this one, or is it unlikely a dog will attack in that situation?
While out walking my Staffy I bumped into a couple of Akitas. One of them ran over to see my Staffy which gave her a fright. She tried to run away and then hid behind me, tail down. I didn't want to leave her with that experience so stayed and had a nice chat with the owner, particularly about how our respective dogs are generally considered by the media.
The Akita owner has received plenty of grief about her choice of dog it seems, and since Akitas seem to be becoming more and more popular I wonder if they're in line to become the next favourite of knobhead owners, and therefore a target for the hysterical media.
Meanwhile, our dogs got to know each other; my Staffy rolling on to her back - as she does with every single bloody dog we meet - and the male Akita having a good sniff of her lady bits.
After a few minutes the male Akita lay down next to her, and by the time we'd walked on a bit further my Staffy was jumping all over it, so they left on friendly terms I think
Anyway, just thought I'd share this because the owner said, "I wish everyone in the town could see this."
It also got me wondering about our dog being so submissive. It's a nice trait of course, but she doesn't half look vulnerable lying exposed under the jaws of a strange dog. I don't want to discourage it but I simply don't know how good she is at judging another.
By allowing our dog to flop on to her back like a tart, are we leaving her completely open to an attack if the other dog isn't as friendly as this one, or is it unlikely a dog will attack in that situation?
Jasandjules said:
IME dogs rarely attack a submissive dog. Nor do they carry on attacking a submissive dog as a general rule.
Cheers for that. I know this kind of thing is never black and white but it's good to hear from somebody with more than the 8 months experience of dog ownership I have 
Great pics,I am on my second Akita who will be 11 next week,my first boy Bandit was one of the first to be born in this country,as for them being the next so called designer dog I am afraid you are probably right as we have a steady influx of dogs at the akita welfare and rescue to find forever homes for and one of the lamest excuses is that the owner didnt realise how big or powerful they get so they just discard them to be someone elses problem.
I would LOVE an akita, but haven't (yet) got the time to put into making one happy...
at your little strumpet, OP! 
It's such a weirdly adorable trait!
As J&J said, the general social doggy etiquette is a submissive dog will get left alone... usually. A dog that lies down (or indeed, flops over and uncrosses the legs! ) should get nothing but neutral/positive interaction from the other dogs she meets, which may well be why she continues to do it. All positive associations from it 
(You can see it when two dogs play... when one dog is "done" playing, they usually signal this by lying down.)
And lovely story! Which our staffy would do stuff like that!
at your little strumpet, OP! It's such a weirdly adorable trait!As J&J said, the general social doggy etiquette is a submissive dog will get left alone... usually. A dog that lies down (or indeed, flops over and uncrosses the legs!
) should get nothing but neutral/positive interaction from the other dogs she meets, which may well be why she continues to do it. All positive associations from it (You can see it when two dogs play... when one dog is "done" playing, they usually signal this by lying down.)
And lovely story! Which our staffy would do stuff like that!
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