# Normal behaviour or should I be worried?



## Penny (Sep 22, 2011)

Hi all,
My boy is now almost 2.5 years old and he's always been super confident and friendly, bounding up to every other dog he meets. Recently, however, he has started showing some aggression towards other dogs. After an initial friendly greeting, he starts growling and before I know it, they're going at each other. The majority of the time he doesn't initiate the aggression, but he definitely doesn't back down. It seems to me that he either doesn't read the other dogs cues, or chooses to ignore them. He is full on with other dogs and try's to get them to play with him. When they've had enough of him, they snap and, whereas in the past he'd leave, now he doesn't and a fight ensues. He's never drawn blood or had blood drawn on him (it seems to be more posturing and noise than anything more serious), but I have started to worry now any time we meet other dogs, and I leash him. He then growls as he passes the other dog. Since he was a pup he has spent 90% of his time off leash running and playing with his sister, and I 've loved that. I really don't want him to turn into that snarling dog straining against his leash every time another dog walks by ( not that he is anywhere near that now, but I worry that that'll happen if I keep leashing him). I've always been a proponent of the theory that dogs off leash should be allowed to meet and greet each other, using their own body language, with minimum interference from owner, so that they can learn proper doggy etiquette. I never hang around either - meet, greet, then keep moving. Now, I don't feel like I can risk doing this with him any more. He is intact - could this be the reason for his behaviour? We don't go to dog parks. All our walks are in wide open spaces. Your thoughts/insight would be much appreciated! Thanks so much.


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## R E McCraith (Nov 24, 2011)

Pen - the pecking order begins with me & ends with me - on or off lead - on lead the pup is at my side 4 greet & meet - any sense of controversy - I & the pup move on - off lead - recall - no ?'s in the pups mind - we move on - @ 2/2 yrs old - a V male or female - is the master of the universe - no control over the other pup or owner - when the pup learns YOU are in control - will protect them - it gets easier !


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

It just goes back to the dog learning to follow commands under high distraction.
I agree with REM, move along if it isn't going like you want is the best option. 
With males (most of the time) a fight sounds a lot worse than it really is. More snarling, and wrestling than actually biting. But there is occasions where they will go for blood. At 2 1/2 years your dog should know the signs the other dog is giving, but is choosing to ignore them.

Just yesterday evening on a leashed walk, Cash spotted a pit (also on lead) on the opposite side of the road staring him down. As soon as he did, his whole body language changed. He went from being relaxed to full chest, high head, and tail strutting. I didn't change my stride, but gave a short quick sideways jerk to the lead, and it brought his attention back to me. Without saying a word, he knew what I was telling him.
Cash is older than your dog, so he has had more time to work on following directions around other dogs. If he was left to decide on his own with unknown dogs, it might not work out very well.
I believe in letting dogs work it out to a certain point, but they should also know your word is final. Its easier if you are in control of both dogs, but can get sticky with unknown dogs, and other owners.


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## Penny (Sep 22, 2011)

REM and TR, thanks so much for your advice. It has made me look at his behaviour from a completely different perspective and I've altered our routine accordingly: it never occurred to me that maybe my boy felt the need to be assertive and dominant with strange dogs because I wasn't being clear with him that I was the boss. So since then whenever we are out I call him to heel as soon as I spot another dog and keep him there till we have passed. If he is on leash I let him stop and have a quick sniff, but if off leash I don't allow him to stop at all - is this the right thing to do? He is happy to come to heel (so far, anyway!) and I'd almost imagine he is relieved he doesn't have to be the macho male!
TR, your description of Cash when he saw the pit bull is identical to what Kipper does: head up, tail up, prancing around like he owns the world. He reminds me of a thoroughbred horse when he does this 😀. But now I realise this body language is not an invitation to play, but more a show of dominance, so now I can read his body language so much better. 

I guess I have to adjust my mindset from having a happy-go-lucky playful pup to handling a fully mature male who is still trying to find his inner confidence. I hope that as time passes he will find it. In the meantime, luckily he has a very playful sister who is happy to oblige whenever he feels like being a pup again!

REM and TR, thanks again for your input. It has been so helpful! Will try to attach a photo of my sassy boy taken yesterday ....


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

He's a pretty boy, and I wouldn't call him dominant. He's just learning to be a dog, as the puppy stage has passed. I wouldn't keep him from running with other dogs off lead, just keep greeting short. Let them do a quick sniff, then send him on his way. It works out well with other dogs that have good recall, or can be sent to go run in a little bit of a different direction. That way he has a chance to decide if he likes another dog, without them being right on top of him.
If he gets to acclimate to the other dog slowly, there is a better chance they will like each other.


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## chilithevizsla (Apr 2, 2014)

Bounding up to other dogs is potentially dangerous and actually rude. Your dog should be under control when meeting people you unfamiliar with and even then your dog should greet calmly.
It does sounds like your dog is over threshold when he meets other dogs and that's why things get funny, you need to do some counter conditioning with him around other dogs so he can stay under threshold while assessing the situation.
This can be done by using a long lead, stand in a field with another dog, he'll have a preferred distance where he can look at a dog and not react negatively, work from that point.
If he looks at a dog, treat him, if he looks at the dog and then you treat and really praise him! If he looks at the dog and goes stiff, wait and see how he reacts, he's assessing the situation. If he then does any of step 1 then treat, if he tries to move directly towards the dog then you need to redirect him to another direction and then treat. Just repeat this process with less distance in between each time until you can get right up to another dog. Find a friend then walk in circles making sure you're meeting at some point in that path, sometimes you will keep walking on, others he gets to greet and play. Anything inappropriate and you walk away from the interaction and get to a calm state then try again.

Try not to meet strange dogs for a while, if anything negative happens then you'll be put back a few steps and makes your training harder!


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## Michi246 (Aug 21, 2012)

I started having problems with my male V and other dogs so I started looking for resources to help.
B.A.T 2.0 was very helpful because it helped me to learn to read my dog's body language, and skills to train him.
http://empoweredanimals.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkXvccggf3I

these books were also helpful
http://www.dogwise.com/itemdetails.cfm?ID=DTB798
these two were recommended by a trainer
http://www.dogwise.com/ItemDetails.cfm?ID=DTB850
http://www.dogwise.com/itemdetails.cfm?ID=DTB527


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## Penny (Sep 22, 2011)

Hi all, just reviving my post from a few months ago, when I wrote in about how Kipper was getting aggressive with other dogs. Since then I've gotten very strict with him, recalling him and making him heel whenever we encounter another dog, and putting him on the lead if I think I need to. To give him his due, he has been very good at obeying me and I have no issues with his trainability. However, my problem now is that he has become totally intolerant of other dogs, especially other un-neutered males and puppies. He will play nicely with the odd dog but with the vast majority he just goes for them. Some of them I can see that they've overstepped their mark, usually young dogs who try to engage him in play by racing up to him. He just goes for them and they get the message very quickly! But a lot of the time he will growl while passing another dog while I have him at heel, even if the other dog is not necessarily doing anything to provoke him. I'm getting more concerned now as his heightened state (growling, raised hackles) can last for several seconds after the other dog has passed and he has growled at me, and other random passers-by immediately after. He's fully grown now (will be 3 at Christmas) so I am wondering if this behaviour could be improved by neutering, as I'm sure some (if not all) of it is testosterone - fueled. Would appreciate any feedback. Thanks!


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