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It's funny that this has come up. Crumpet has just got back from a walk with a group she goes out with a couple of times a week. The walker said that she's started to become quite protective of the group as a whole and today got really funny with a dog outside of the group trying to get involved. She's not aggressive or reactive normally but was really telling this dog off for no good reason. Crumpet is usually pretty ambivalent and tolerant towards dogs she's not met before so there's clearly some sort of weird behaviour coming about as part of a "pack" that she's familiar with.
If anyone has any suggestions for how to discourage that sort of behaviour I'm all ears!
ltc-
I clearly don't have a dog science GSCE but when Nori's been the aggressor it's always been one on one situations. However she's been attacked several times when joining in with other groups. Being that she's the bull breed and fights back it's nearly always viewed as something she's done wrong or that she's the problem. We discussed this and the pack thing came up. There's a nice guy local to me who has a mountain dog that hates Nori if she comes near the pack the dog is part of. My only suggestion would be to keep it positive. This guy clearly feels bad about it but we try to avoid it being a thing or him telling her off as his dog is clearly uncomfortable (Nori doesn't really pick up on this stuff until it's nose to nose).
jono84
Broadly speaking engagement/disengagement skills and the ability to interact with dogs outside of that circle/environment. My local park has a regular group that does exactly what you describe with one another but are reactive with dogs that don't engage in the same way. Other dog walkers i know in the area give them a wide birth and quite often don't feel like they can be in the same space as them. Of course it's normal to let dogs play and blow off steam but the reality is too many people don't mix it up with the walking, playing etc. Sadly i've seen quite a few puppies develop behaviour problems as they go through teens into adult dogs because of this.
There are at least a half dozen dogs i regularly come across that are the sweetest, goofiest most playful characters i've met. However i've barely had a nod from their owners as they rarely stop and simply call there dog away once its said hello. At no point does the dog look like it's being robbed of a good time. Nori gets lots of praise and a treat for a sniff and leave and almost always looks thrilled by the interaction!