Dominant to other dogs? (long)

[JakeB]

Hi,
I have a 21 month old female boxer Mona. She's has been really showing her dominance to all other dogs recently. She tries to stand over them, do the dominant paw in the air, sticks her face in other dogs faces and tries to wrestle them down. This has resulted in numerous scuffles, where she gnarls, shows teeth and acts like she is fighting to death, but she has never bitten any dog yet. This has slowly progressed from a few dogs that she doesn't like to about 80% of the dogs that she meets now. My question is, now that I have diagnosed the problem, how do I fix it.
I tried looking for behaviorists in my area (Denver, CO), but for some reason whenever I find someone more or less credible the magic number is $500+ for private lessons - I even followed the aggression sticky here. I am just not willing to drop half a K to train a dog, that's rediculus - with enough effort I can do this myself. With that in mind I spend half a day researching on the net trying to find out ways to see what's causing the behaviour, how to fix it, etc. I found a few solutions that I am willing to try - more socializing, paying more attention to Mona's signs, rewarding good behaviour, etc. I was wondering if there are other suggestions that you can recommend. (other than you need to see a behaviorist)
BTW this article has shed A LOT of light on the situation http://www.flyingdogpress.com/sayhi.html

 

[matrok]

That was really good. Thanks for including that link. I have a dominant female and she had an altercation this past weekend with a family friend's dog and she was solely blamed. It is frustrating because I clearly saw their dog's rude behavior but since I have the "agressive breed" and she is "vocal", therefore it was Leila's fault and she is the instigator. Sad huh?

 

[cammochick]

hi, i have a similar problem too. But mine is with my two year old boy boxer, he is very dominant, he has at least 4 good scraps which draws blood to my girl boxer a day. I cant seem to break him from the habit, i think its jealousy. The older he has got the more cocky he has got, i cant take him to the beach or parks or anything anymore as he just wants to fight other dogs, now his aggression is turning to strangers . I blame myself because he had very little socialization with other dogs, except our own, which at the time we had 9 , but only two were boxers. People have told me to wrap a choker chain around him and give him a hard yank when he shoes this behaviour, yes this works for some dogs, as i have found with my rotti this works fine( by the way im a security dog handler ). but my boxer is very handler sensitive and if i try this method on him, he hits the ground scared , and then becomes scared of me , and shows submissive behaviour towards me. i dont want a dog that is scared of me. I understand what your going though , and if you find that solution im curious to know what it is.
goodluck.

 

[kjdocs]

I'm sorta a noob, but you may start with a good book, such as the dog listener. It's a quick read and cost you 15 bucks.

Form what I've read, not from experience, most of these types of issues root from the dogs percieved status at home, in the pack.

Again, I'm the last person that should be giving any advice, but hope that my own dogs issues will be addressed when i have some of the basic "must have" type of skills ingrained in the dogs....such as heal, and stay.

Anyway, the book, among a host of others you can find on this sight will give you a lot of great insight on how to handle your situation and provide a lot of scenarios that they have experienced.

Obviously the best solution would be a behaviorlist if your situation is severe, but if cash is a problem I would definatly pick up a book.

 

[icatcher]

Thanks very much for the link to Suzanne Clothier's "He just wants to say hi!"
We adopted/rescued a pair of bonded boxers - male and female - just 6 weeks ago. They are 3 1/2 and 4 years old respectively and have been bonded since she was 8 months old and he just 2 months. We noticed that they are not too fond of other dogs - but having read the article by Suzanne, we have to take a whole new look at their behaviour. In retrospect, our meetings with other dogs had been with a "rude" yappy/aggressive dog that incited an aggressive/defensive reaction by our boxers - thru a chain link fence mind you. The other owner let her dog snarl and yap and bark at our dogs who were playing in a dog park. When I told her that to our knowledge our new dogs were not good with others - she ignored my pleas to keep her dog out of the park until I had both of mine on leash and in the exit gate. She was rude herself and was lucky that my dogs didn't teach her daschund a lesson in manners. Fortunately, we left without incident and fortunately, I didn't scold my dogs for paying back the aggression. I now know better, but a lot more learning on my part is needed.
We were told by the previous owner, who unfortunately had to surrender them to BRLA due to an illness in the family in another state, that they had been attacked by a bull mastiff while they were on leash.
Having read the article, our approach to socializing them and protecting them will be much different. Thank goodness for sites like this one, trainers like Suzanne, articles like "He just wants to say hi!", and owners like you folks who post links to this site from which others like me can learn, and dogs like ours can benefit from my learning. I will now learn to read my dogs and show them that I will protect them.
Thanks again - I printed this article to read it again and share it with my wife. I may just keep a copy handy for that next rude dog owner!

Dana and Brenda
Dad and Mom to Diesel and Muffet
Forever remembered - Jackson and Jazzy

 

[ELubas]

I would recommend Jean Donaldson's "Culture Clash" to anyone dealing with a dog aggressive dog-it really helps you understand the dymanics going on and how we, as owners, can make things worse. I have a one year old girl who has displayed aggression from day one. The approach that has worked best for me is strict manangemnt. I do regular obedience with her and I manage her "world" very carefully. We do not go to off leash parks and we do not "meet"strange dogs. If I find an owner with a good, stable dog (I watch for these dogs-they are easy to spot ) I will ask if we can meet, loose lead, with the other dog sniffing first, etc. I always tell the owner that my girl can be nasty so they can choose to skip the meet if they want. I find dogs like Nysa need NILIF even more than your average dog. She is so confident that she will never hesitate to rush in so boundaries are very important for her. She does have a group of dogs she plays well with and does "want" to make friends but needs a lot of management to do it successfully. I can not emphasize enough how much she has benefited from participating in obedience. She can do a long sit/down/stay in a ring of twenty dogs and never loose her focus. Other dogs will break thier position and go up to her and she KNOWS it is her job to ingnore them-dogs can be so amazing! Comes in very handy when we encounter off leash dogs!

 

[JakeB]

Thank you for your replies. One thing that I know for sure is that she does not show dominance to me or my wife. I never let her go up the stairs before me, never let her enter a room before me, never let her on furniture (well sometimes but on my terms ) she doesn't eat until we're done eating and I make her do simple obedience tricks for food, bones or anything else. So, on the bright side, her problem is only with other dogs, which, from what I understand, is easily solved by more socializing.
Last night I tried something different before I went on a walk with Mona. I did a quick training session emphasising the 'watch me' command, I had her sit and walked around her and she kept eye contact (we've practiced it before). When she started getting it everytime, I praised her, grabbed the leash and took her for a walk - as a 'jackpot' reward. I think it helped me get her attention better while we were walking. Also, when we were walking I saw another dog approach, I then payed close attention to Mona. I saw her tighten up, put her ears forward, chest out and started pulling so I calmly petted her head and stood in front of her - she was trying to dash out but I tightened up the leash & wouldn't let her, after a few seconds she noticibly calmed down and peeked out from behind me to check out the dog and let him pass - the dog & his owner were about 15 feet away. I was pretty surprised, usually she would growl & pull out of control. So not knowing any better I will call that progress

@Elubas thank you for the recommendation, saw some good reviews about "Culture Clash", I'll pick it up from Barnes & Noble after work today, it's just the type of reading I need.

 

[ELubas]

I think too it depends on your goal. If your goal is for her to simply defer to you and behave appropriately as dogs pass you work on that as you are. If you want her to be able to interact appropriately off lead with other dogs then you work on her skills in that department. Right now I am focused on my girl's self control and appropriate behavior when we encounter dogs on lead or we are in the ring, as she has plenty of dog friends and playtime. At any rate, best of luck to you and I must say I have always found the girls to be the worst if they are inclined to be cranky with other dogs-my boy is so easy!

 

[matrok]

At any rate, best of luck to you and I must say I have always found the girls to be the worst if they are inclined to be cranky with other dogs-my boy is so easy!

I second that! I am picking up that book tomorrow too. Thanks for the recommendation.

 

[MaggienDeuce]

I know the cost for a behavorist can be quite a shock. Try checking with local rescue groups or the SPCA/Humane Society. We have used a certified behavorist who was very affordable and she works with the German Shepard Rescue. I believe she could have charged more for her services based on her qualifications so maybe we got lucky. Anyway, try those organizations as they work with behavorists to evaluate the rescues prior to adoption. Good luck we are dealing with agression issues too!