Alright, so Bella usually does really well at the dog park. Like, REALLY well, so much so that other people are always shocked at how well behaved and quiet she is when she plays because she's a husky.

But today...she did something she's never done before.

A white female pitbull came in, just fine, and my dog was doing fine, walking around and sniffing before she decided to take a headlong run into her and star jumping on the poor dog. She actually growled. Like a literal growl where she wouldn't back off as I was calling her.

The worst part? She didn't do this with just the white pitbull, she also did it to a male chocolate lab she had been running with just an hour before.

I can't think of a logical explanation for this. She's has never done this before. I mean, sure, she's body checked a couple dogs, and jumped on a few big dogs in play like her saint bernard buddy, but this was definitely not her kind of play.

Any ideas?

Any idea if the pitbull was spayed? A friend of mine has a female dog who is fine with all dogs at the dog park, expect other intact females, she is done but a trainer I know told me that females tend to be more defensive/competitive with other females especially if they sense that they are in heat, or going into heat very soon.

^^^I was thinking the same thing. She may have sensed that the other female wasn't spayed and of course the chocolate lab also got picked on because of jealousy.

I have no idea if the pit was spayed. I know my girl isn't spayed, so that could play a large part in it.

But after a year of going to the dog park and never having this happen? I was just a little worried.

Understandable, I'd worry too. It could be that the pit was a more "dominate" female or you just got lucky and there were never any females in heat there before. I'd suggest if it ever happens again try to figure out what makes that specific dog stand out

How old is she? My pets were all fixed early, but don't some of those behaviors kick in at a certain age too? Just may explain why you have not seen it for a year and suddenly it popped up.

The pit seemed very timid, she ran from my pup when Bella decided to go at her. I'm not sure about the dominance part. Especially since my pup is more of a loner and off to do her own thing until she spies a dog she likes. (Specifically, another husky named Spartacus. Then she starts roughhousing with him.)

Bella's 11 months old, about to hit 1 year on November 9th.

Some dogs just don't like some other dogs. I don't like every human I meet so I don't expect my dog to like every dog he meets. He can't act aggressively towards them, so if he is being bossy or rude at the dog park or at a dog friend's house, I leash him up and do some walk abouts with him. If he persists in his naughty dog behavior, we leave.

I wonder if the pitbull came in with some insecure body language or something. Sometimes, dogs at the dog park get really riled up when they are running around and being silly foolish dogs. Then, suddenly, the dog park dynamic changes because a newbie has come in. If she comes in confidently, the dogs greet and go about being silly. If she comes in all slinky and nervous, the dogs (in their silly dog park state) come over and rustle up some trouble. Once again, if Bae is doing naughty dog behavior and is harassing a certain dog, I leash him up for a walk about and then try again. If he is still being a jerk, we leave. Try again tomorrow! Hope that helps.

That's pretty much what my mom and I did, except we left immediately because she started pulling and jumping while we were walking her. She had a really off day today :/

It happens!

Try again next time.

Ripley does this every now and then, she has certain dogs that just dont mix well with her. She is always tethered to me at the dog park because it escalated into a fight once, so I know her warning signs well, if she starts the growling then I sort of snap the leash quick to get her attention and walk her away. We will walk a few feet in a circle to sort of reset her and then stop again. It tends to just snap her out of her littel zone and calm her a little.
Its like humans, some peole we just dont get along with.

Is she coming into heat? She could be nearing her cycle and the pit may have been intact as well. Or sometimes they just get uber moody if they're approaching a cycle.

That is a negative on her going into heat. Everything looks normal on her body.