My ridgeback pup raises the hair on his lower neck and just before the tail pretty frequently, without displaying any other signs of anxiety or aggression or anything. He does it when we step outside, when the wind blows, when there's a strange noise, when he meets a new dog, new person, sees a new thing, etc. He's doing it ALL the time.

With my other dogs, this would be a cue to make sure I have them under control, because for Digger it means he's sensing danger of some sort...but the puppy will do it even while he's wagging his tail excitedly and otherwise seems perfectly fine.

I have two questions:

1) Do dogs raise their hair when they're cold? That's one of the connections I was making, and wanted to see if anyone else has experienced that...

2) Am I under or over estimating the important of the hair-raise? Like I said, he'll do it while wagging his whole body in excitement and licking someone...do you think he could just be initially nervous and then calms down but the hair doesn't go down?

Sorry if my post is a little non-sensical, the whole thing is sort of confusing to me.

My Boerboel pup would do the same thing with his hair over this past winter. Maybe they get the goose bumps too when it's cold out.

Hi Heather, Oscar (my RR) does the same thing when he is "uncomfortable" - it applies to physical stress (like cold temps), or situations where he is just nervous or unsure of his environment, like meeting new dogs or people that are not immediately friendly, or if he gets a sniff of something in the air he doesn't like. I think it's sort of like goosebumps - it isn't associated with a thought-out reaction, rather it's an immediate respose by the body to it's environment. Since your guy is pretty young, he's still building confidence when out in the world and there may be numerous triggers for this sign of unease, even if he seems otherwise happy. Nothing to worry about though!

Funny note: Oscar is ridgeless, but the hair directly down his spine is a slightly darker shade of red, almost like a substitute for the ridge - and most times, this hair doesn't stand up, only the hair directly above and below where the ridge WOULD be. If he's feeling really uncomfortable around another dog, it ALL stands up, but most times, it's just the top and bottom of his ridgeless back!

~Natalya