# Dominance when playing



## Dexter107 (Dec 13, 2011)

Hi- hoping someone can help with some behaviour problems we are having with our 18month old male vizsla( he has been neutered). He is very well socialised and plays with many dogs. However sometimes when playing, he chases and bites at the collars of other dogs (he never causes harm) and he barks at them constantly whilst chasing. Even when the other dogs are submissive and want him to stop he does not seem to get the message. Other owners think he is being over aggressive. We call him away and put him on his lead until he has calmed down, but this does not seem to be stopping this behaviour.
Would appreciate any advice.


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

Call him to you every time he misbehaves. Praise lightly when he comes to you, hold him by the collar, say things to him l(do not yell or reprimand) and let him go again, but do not give him treats.

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However, this is what I'm really thinking...
What he's doing is normal, he's a game finder and a retriever, chases and grabs pray. Submission is weakness in their eyes. 
At least your boy is on top of the pack, if he was more polite, wouldn't be any different, except the roles would be reversed. 

Why fight nature, stay out of dog parks and take him on LONG off-leash walks off the path  , he will thank you for it. Let him be himself, even if you choose to not hunt.


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## MilesMom (Jun 21, 2012)

This sounds pretty normal to me... Video would help. You can work on recall , avoid dog parks, and just set up play dates with higher energy dogs with owners who understand play behavior. Ours plays hard too. When we know we will be around older dogs we run him first and then he is calmer with them. Dog parks are hard because there are a lot of people there wíh different opinions on dog play and with poorly trained dogs. It can make fr a bad scene. We learned the hard way unfortunately. If we go now we specifically meet up with friends and stay to the side, and leave if we see a dog causing problems.


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## MisterRed (Mar 29, 2013)

My V is two years old and exuberant!! - we have had the same problem with barking - he is a male, neutered, and barks to engage other dogs to play and chase - sometimes he gets so excited and barking so much, he doesn't doesn't hear me calling him so sometimes, I have put him on a short lead and if I can't grab him by the collar, I step on his lead, and pull him to my side, make him sit/stay and speak calmly to him to calm down.....and let him return to play - this has been working for us.


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## lonestar (Jun 2, 2013)

This sounds normal to me, too...this is the way younger dogs play. A lot of confusion results from not understanding dog language. When your V engages in this, what's the response form the other dog? Dogs all speak the same language, and if the other dog had a real problem with this, he'd let your V know. In the absence of that, frankly, I'd suggest you make friends with other outgoing dogs and more relaxed owners.


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## Dexter107 (Dec 13, 2011)

Thanks for all the advise.. good to get opinions of others. Dexter starts agility training this week so hopefully, this will help with the obedience element.


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## BexP (Jun 20, 2013)

Hi, I am so glad I found this :-\ I have a similar problem but mine is actually causing harm to my older dog. Any help/advice is appreciated. This is in a nutshell: I have a 2 year old Vizsla/Weim and a 4 year old Weim who, in the house, is definitely top dog. They are both female and spayed at young ages. Outside of the house the younger Vizsla is a lot faster and more energetic and extremely excitable. We know this is normal for Vizslas but she constantly bites at my older girl and actually pierces the skin. We immediately get her on the lead to correct her and have tried all methods of distraction. She does it more when she is excited. She is of a very dominating nature where my older dogs is much more placid and a real softy. The older one tells her off in the house and keeps her place above her but outside she can't seem to manage this. It has got to a stage where I need to muzzle my younger dog to protect the older one. Other than this, they get on quite well and know their places in our home. Any tips other than distraction and recall would be great. Thanks


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## dig1tal (Jun 3, 2013)

Good to know I'm not the only one having this problem. My V is 14 weeks and has the same issues with rough play/biting. He constantly tries to face/neck bite puppies his age. He tries the same with adult dogs but they put him in his place. (probably best thing for him). He is polite to older dogs. Thanks for the tips in this thread.


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## Must dash (Nov 15, 2012)

We have an 11 year old english springer spaniel and our vizsla who is 10 months. Our V constantly plays with our springer by mouthing around his neck and actually holds on to his collar and drags him around. He tolerates all of it, even though he's a dog that doesn't play. However he is definitely top dog in our house and will put our V in her place when he feels it's necessary. Funnily enough she doesn't do it to any other dog. I'm sure I've read elsewhere that this is typical vizsla play. It's other owners perceptions that need working on  We worked hard on her bite inhibition as a pup, so I'm sure this helps.


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