@thinkingcanine: Some shelters and trainers use fake dogs to see what a dog might do if they encounter another dog. And honestly, when done right this is a good way to learn more about a dog’s behavior and what they are capable of. #dogbehavior #reactivedog

Summer Dog’s Adventures :

My dog loves other dogs. But when she came across a stuffed dog she was reactive. Why?

User67676767 :

What breed is the second dog

:D :

My dog barked at a stone dog statue 😂 tbf, it looked at her weird

Shane :

it's giving uncanny valley- dog version

Summerbreeze87 :

I agree, your dog shouldn’t have a drive to kill anything. Saw a vid of a woman whose cat almost got killed by a husky bc she was walking it in a leash. A cat got into my home, my dog sniffed it, then lost interest in true beagle fashion.

. :

my dog is scared of a stuffed dog but is aggresive to dogs

Paula_88 :

Wolfy paws96 :

You guys realize that this test isn’t accurate right

Wren :

But the stuffed dog is very stiff, tense, and staring forward all wide eyed. Some dogs interpret this as a threat, yeah?

Diesel_lover :

how can you see if the dog is okay with cats before actually meeting

Buymeabutterfly 🦋 :

But we should know that those tastings with stuffed dogs can be false in some cases. I have a pitty in my training who failed the fake dog test ala Sternberg, but plays with real dogs (any size) with no issues. I was surprised myself and now I try to figure out how reliable this testing actually is?

..... :

I trust this works because my dog doesnt know a Halloween scarecrow isnt a real person... he's always very sad when they dont say hello.

.x.x.x. :

if a dog is truly aggressive then they're more Abt eyes than smell.

Mooky :

1st dog is a liability. Second one is dog friendly/safe.

Mellifluous (The Pied Piper) :

most dogs know the difference between a real dog and a toy, i know many dogs who do great with other dogs but would shred a stuffed animal without a second thought.

sharonmackay7 :

I have Many dogs and they never do that with new dogs. I also have Introduced kittens and never grab the real thing . They do grab and shake their stuff toys.🤔

Greyson :

When I started dog reactivity training with my dog the trainer put a fake dog on the other side of the field to see how close we could get before she began to show signs of reacting and I was geniunely so surprised that she reacted EXACTLY the same way she does with a real dog, how do they not know it isn't a real dog??😭

Sazamz :

I had a neighbor who had one of those big lab plushies on his front porch for 4+ years and for years my dog thought it was a real dog and would bark at it every time she passed that house until like the one time she got face to face and realized it was a toy

~sami~ :

I'm gonna try this with my dogs. Regardless if my dogs "know" it's a toy, they shouldn't try to destroy it before I give them the go

Ev_smithy :

My dog does that second one but is still aggressive in the right situation

Warrior kitty :

Maybe a toy dog would be a good training tool to identify if they can be socialised or not

Jes H :

My dog would eventually rip up her own toys but one of my son’s old plushies ended up in the cat’s toy box. Our dog found it and would simply walk around the house with it in her mouth- sometimes trying to trade it with us for a treat. She WAS very leash-reactive, so no walks around other dogs, but she was great at the doggie daycare and played with the cat very gently.

Ace🇨🇦 :

Stuffed dogs are not something I would ever use to assess if an animal is dog safe. Interesting perspective tho

🥐 :

It definitely fools them for a second 😭