Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello everyone, have not posted here in quite a long time. I've experience some gradual changes in my dog over the past while. He is a 3 year old "mostly" GSD mix i adopted from a shelter when he was a pup. He is neutered. Anyways, until he turned about 2 he loved to play with other dogs, about the most dog friendly dog I ever saw, never any problems whatsoever. He was well socialized, took him to puppy class, then to the dogpark at around 6 months. Between that time he played well with my friends dog down the street. But then when he turned about two he started to get vocal in his play, and didn't seem to like most puppies much when they jumped up on him. Now he has become very dominant with younger dogs(younger than him i should say) although he's jsut fine with older dogs. He wags his tail with joy when this old 12 year old overweight lab comes into the park. And he plays great with mature dogs. But when it comes to younger dogs, he pins them and growls for even sniffing him for too long when they meet. And he postures alot, i.e "teeing" off(putting his head over their backs from the side, tail straight up in the air and him standing straight up, sometimes hackles up. Mind you he has never put a scratch on another dog. He also tends to get carried away when he's chasing the younger dogs, nipping and growling at them. Could be him just playing rough. But i get concerned when a young dog just comes over to greet him and he nips them and growls making them yelp. A couple of people were starting to give me looks at the park so i've decided that it was overdue that i stop going there. He's never hurt another dog, and he's not like this with all dogs. Like i said he's great with the older dogs that he knows. He never plays the wrestling type games where he rolls on the ground and chew on eachother etc. He is into chasing, but will not be chased. I should mention that he got ganged up on by two dogs at the park when he was younger, and that kinda changed him. He also got a nip on his muzzle from a deaf dalmation that i was fostering. He also was recently attacked by a large female that belonged to my aunt and he recieved a couple of punctures and did not fair to well against her. Both of those attacks were accidental ofcourse as I'd never put him in harms way I don't know if that made it any worse but it certainly didn't make it any better. I believe this is a combination of dominance and a get them before they get you mentality on his part. It seems like every time he backs off another dog like this through his intimidation he gains more and more confidence and does it even more. There are spells where he was great and had no problems. But i've finally given up and decided to just take him on leashed walks now. Do you guys have any input on this behaviour? This is problem because I had planned on getting a second dog in the near future. Although i love my pound puppy, I want a dog for competitive schutzhund,ringsport,etc. Ideally i wanted a male and most trainers/breeders have told me that a male would be best and that an intact male and my neautered male shouldn't have problems since he is neautered. But I can't help but worry that he will bully the pup until the pup matures and brings the pain on him. Although ofcourse, it's my job to make sure he's not doing that, but it's not easy. I should mention that my dog backs off to any dog that has the spirit. Has nothign to do with size or strength, he never dared start anything with the smaller or medium sized dogs that were mature and tough. Most of the time, as long as the other dog stands up for him/herself he will back off. That being said, would getting another male be a big mistake in your opinions or should i go with a female? I haven't noticed any difference in as far as how well gets along with either sex, infact he just loves the male lab/sheperd mix down the street and they play together(he's about 10 years old). My dog is kindof a bully, he likes to pick on dogs he knows he can, but if most other dogs fought back for real, he'd be in trouble(seeing that a deaf dalmation, and a female gsd beat him up to the point of drawing blood) He also is possessive around other dogs of his ball, and now even waterbowls so i'm sure he would be possesive of food and attention in the home(He is not like this with humans though_. BUt like i said, when the other dog asserts him/herself he does not do this and gives way. While most dogs would get todl where to go if they got near his ball, he lets this one female shiba mix type dog crawl all over him while he's got it in his mouth! She jumps up on him, paws at his face, and he doesn't even care. I don't think she's a adolescent dog though. Any adolesecent did that to him and he's surely put them in their place. I know this is alot of info here, just looking for some educated opinions here. Thankyou and God bless

I shouldn't say all mature dogs, but it seems the older the dog the more comfortable he is with them. He does play very well with a couple of dogs that are his age at the park when he was still going.

>>Hello everyone, have not posted here in quite a long time. I've experience some gradual changes in my dog over the past while. He is a 3 year old "mostly" GSD mix i adopted from a shelter when he was a pup. He is neutered. Anyways, until he turned about 2 he loved to play with other dogs, about the most dog friendly dog I ever saw, never any problems whatsoever. He was well socialized, took him to puppy class, then to the dogpark at around 6 months. Between that time he played well with my friends dog down the street. But then when he turned about two he started to get vocal in his play, and didn't seem to like most puppies much when they jumped up on him. Now he has become very dominant with younger dogs(younger than him i should say) although he's jsut fine with older dogs. He wags his tail with joy when this old 12 year old overweight lab comes into the park. And he plays great with mature dogs. But when it comes to younger dogs, he pins them and growls for even sniffing him for too long when they meet. And he postures alot, i.e "teeing" off(putting his head over their backs from the side, tail straight up in the air and him standing straight up, sometimes hackles up. Mind you he has never put a scratch on another dog. He also tends to get carried away when he's chasing the younger dogs, nipping and growling at them. Could be him just playing rough. But i get concerned when a young dog just comes over to greet him and he nips them and growls making them yelp. A couple of people were starting to give me looks at the park so i've decided that it was overdue that i stop going there. He's never hurt another dog, and he's not like this with all dogs. Like i said he's great with the older dogs that he knows. He never plays the wrestling type games where he rolls on the ground and chew on eachother etc. He is into chasing, but will not be chased. I should mention that he got ganged up on by two dogs at the park when he was younger, and that kinda changed him. He also got a nip on his muzzle from a deaf dalmation that i was fostering. He also was recently attacked by a large female that belonged to my aunt and he recieved a couple of punctures and did not fair to well against her. Both of those attacks were accidental ofcourse as I'd never put him in harms way I don't know if that made it any worse but it certainly didn't make it any better. I believe this is a combination of dominance and a get them before they get you mentality on his part. It seems like every time he backs off another dog like this through his intimidation he gains more and more confidence and does it even more. There are spells where he was great and had no problems. But i've finally given up and decided to just take him on leashed walks now. Do you guys have any input on this behaviour? This is problem because I had planned on getting a second dog in the near future. Although i love my pound puppy, I want a dog for competitive schutzhund,ringsport,etc. Ideally i wanted a male and most trainers/breeders have told me that a male would be best and that an intact male and my neautered male shouldn't have problems since he is neautered. But I can't help but worry that he will bully the pup until the pup matures and brings the pain on him. Although ofcourse, it's my job to make sure he's not doing that, but it's not easy. I should mention that my dog backs off to any dog that has the spirit. Has nothign to do with size or strength, he never dared start anything with the smaller or medium sized dogs that were mature and tough. Most of the time, as long as the other dog stands up for him/herself he will back off. That being said, would getting another male be a big mistake in your opinions or should i go with a female? I haven't noticed any difference in as far as how well gets along with either sex, infact he just loves the male lab/sheperd mix down the street and they play together(he's about 10 years old). My dog is kindof a bully, he likes to pick on dogs he knows he can, but if most other dogs fought back for real, he'd be in trouble(seeing that a deaf dalmation, and a female gsd beat him up to the point of drawing blood) He also is possessive around other dogs of his ball, and now even waterbowls so i'm sure he would be possesive of food and attention in the home(He is not like this with humans though_. BUt like i said, when the other dog asserts him/herself he does not do this and gives way. While most dogs would get todl where to go if they got near his ball, he lets this one female shiba mix type dog crawl all over him while he's got it in his mouth! She jumps up on him, paws at his face, and he doesn't even care. I don't think she's a adolescent dog though. Any adolesecent did that to him and he's surely put them in their place. I know this is alot of info here, just looking for some educated opinions here. Thankyou and God bless
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A good sport dog needs to be confident and stable. Growing up in the home with a same sex dog like this one will not give you that. A female has a better chance.
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series articles at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=47

Very true, a sport dog prospect must never be dominated by another dog as a pup as it is bad for it's confidence.

You mentioned a puppy class... Have you taken him to any actual obedience classes since then? If not, I would suggest trying a basic obedience class.

Yes, he has advanced obedience. This behaviour is during free play time.

Try this. Since he has had advance classes, start out by giving him no off lead playtime. Instead, use a 20-30 ft leash. (I use a horse's loungeline.) Also get yourslef a squirt bottle full of cold water. (Plain water does not hurt them in anyway - just surprises them - Never add anything to the water.)

Start out only giving him about 10-15 ft of leash. When he misbehaves, quickly take in the leash, bringing him to closer to you, while you are going towards him. At the same time, give a firm "No" and give a squirt or two from the bottle of water directly to his face. (If the water does not work, use a small can full of pennies and shake at him.)

Gradually allow more leash as he progresses. Also anytime he interacts properly with another dog, give him lots of praise.

It usually takes me about 4 days to get this method to work.

Hope it helps you.