First Sign of Agression

[shadowlk]

So I need some insight on a matter that I don't know what to make of.

Layla is now almost 6 months old and since she was a puppy has always been submissive to humans and other dogs. When other dogs approach her (even the same size as her), her ears go back and she kind of hunches down. Sometimes she even rolls on her back.

On Saturday, I had gone hiking in the mountains and we were taking a break. I was sitting on a rock with Layla sitting down in front of me. My friend saw a pit bull puppy, clearly smaller than Layla, charging towards me and Layla while wagging his tail. At this point, Layla burst into aggression and nearly bit the pit bull puppy. I hadn't seen her do anything remotely close to this. Was this out of self defense or is she building up a more dominant personality? Honestly, I preferred it when she was submissive and not in the least bit aggressive. What do you guys think.

 

[Sreed]

From what I have learned when a dog shows dominate behavior in front of you that's bad. If it were me I would've broke it up and put her on her side and held her there for starters until she calmed down. She should never show any signs of dominance in your presence.....because you are the pack leader, not her. It looks as if she was claiming you. I wouldn't relate it to self defense. Layla has to know that you'll handle the situation, not her.

How did you feel when you saw the puppy running towards you? What kind of energy was going through your body at that time?

 

[shadowlk]

I remained calm even when the puppy was charging towards us and made sure to keep a firm posture. It does make sense however that Layla might have felt that she needed to take control of the situation. What can I do next time (if there is a next time) to communicate that I am handling the situation and that she doesn't need to get involved?

 

[ELubas]

From what I have learned when a dog shows dominate behavior in front of you that's bad. If it were me I would've broke it up and put her on her side and held her there for starters until she calmed down. She should never show any signs of dominance in your presence.....

Perhaps the puppy just startled her and she reacted??????? Has this ever happened before? Have you done obedience with your pup? Do you practice NILIF? I would not jump to conclusions and I would, with all due respect, NOT pin her down or in any other physical way try to exert dominance-you will just damage your relationship. If you are concerned get into a good class and seek some guidance. I have a feeling this is just her age, the annoying pup (they are annoying !), and not much more. Best of luck to you and your girl

 

[Sreed]

Perhaps the puppy just startled her and she reacted??????? Has this ever happened before? Have you done obedience with your pup? Do you practice NILIF? I would not jump to conclusions and I would, with all due respect, NOT pin her down or in any other physical way try to exert dominance-you will just damage your relationship. If you are concerned get into a good class and seek some guidance. I have a feeling this is just her age, the annoying pup (they are annoying !), and not much more. Best of luck to you and your girl

Those are good points. That a lot of people believe. It's not going to ruin anything believe me. I do obedience with my pup constantly. The other night my 12 week old played with three big dogs. A four year old boxer and lab and a 1 1/2 year old lab. They all went through 10 day socialization training with a pack. They welcomed my dog and showed no aggression to her and tolerated her biting at their cheeks and so forth and to boot played with her for three hours straight. I would first make her lay and stay. If she went into a red zone that the would be a different story. The training we do with our dogs is the same as Cesar Milan. Moral to the story is a well balanced and socialized dog doesn't attack other dogs.

I am not making any assumptions about her training or her dog........just trying to help is all.

 

[Caney Creek]

I remained calm even when the puppy was charging towards us and made sure to keep a firm posture.

It could be that Layla interpreted your "firm posture" as you bracing yourself or tensing up in anticipation of what was to come. OR perhaps Layla has not had quite enough socialization with other dogs and was intimidated by the quickly approaching pup. OR maybe this is just a stage she's going through -- at her age, puppies enter a second "fear period" and can act fearful or unsure of things that have not bothered them in the past. You can read about fear periods in the Articles section above; the articles titled "Puppy Socialization" and "Raising your puppy to be the dog you want" both include info about fear periods.

I do not think that forcing a pup into a submissive position does anything good. The "alpha roll" does not teach the dog how to act/react appropriately; instead it serves as more of a punishment which, IMO, erodes the dog's self-confidence. In the long run the dog only learns to react to humans either defensively OR fearfully.

 

[ELubas]

They all went through 10 day socialization training with a pack. They welcomed my dog and showed no aggression to her and tolerated her biting at their cheeks and so forth and to boot played with her for three hours straight. I would first make her lay and stay. If she went into a red zone that the would be a different story. The training we do with our dogs is the same as Cesar Milan. Moral to the story is a well balanced and socialized dog doesn't attack other dogs.

I am not making any assumptions about her training or her dog........just trying to help is all.

Yes, they gave her puppy license Look, I just think the alpha roll, in any form, damages the trust you are trying to build with your dog. Milan has some great instincts, but also uses some really out dated techniques. Regardless, there is no reason to think this pup was just not startled by a particularly annoying and under socialized puppy. And sometimes dogs just do not like every dog regardless of how well they are socialized...

 

[Jan]

The pit bull puppy running straight up to Layla was pretty rude behaviour. Dogs should not do that and it not surprising that Layla responded the way she did. I would not be overly concerned that she is about to become aggressive.

Streed advising you to use the alpha roll in wrong. That kind of dog training went out a long time ago. Unfortunately some people have not figured it out yet.

 

[TwoDogs]

When talking about inter-pack heirarchy, the "alpha" member actually rolls very few members of the pack and, from what I understand, they are usually other members that are vieing for sexual status (a rather serious offence), not breaking minor rules of social etiquette. Additionally, when the rolls happen within a pack, it is the submissive member that offers the roll, not the alpha member tossing them to the ground and pinning them until they submit.

BTW, most observations about wolf pack structure are almost completely based on observing captive wolves in an artificial environment, not wolves in the wild under natural conditions, so only carry a certain amount of value. Lastly, in most wild situations, wolf packs don't actually come in contact with other packs--in fact they work to avoid it because contact between packs is likely to result in conflict and conflict is a waste of valuable energy. When it does occur, most wild canine conflict, both within packs and between different packs, is resolved through posturing and ritualized agression, not actual fighting.

As for the OP--if Layla is a well-socialized adolescent, I would be willing to bet that she gave the puppy as many signals to stop its charge as she could in the short time span allowed. Because he was a pup, the little pit ignored them--that's what pups do. Because Layla is still an adolescent, she didn't extend any puppy license to the pit the way many adult dogs might and either defended herself against his rudeness or disciplined him for it. Either way, I wouldn't let one incidence worry you. Make sure that Layla has plenty of interaction with dogs you know and trust to be calm and well versed in doggie etiquette so she can learn how well-mannered dogs behave.

 

[jamkaywill]

Im not so sure she was showing aggression. I am also not sold on Ceasar Milan. I read a book awhile ago called For the Love of a Dog by Patricia McConnell. It really got me thinking about the way my dog may percieve things. I really recommend it.