Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My male dobe is now two and a half years, Max, he is becoming very aggressive with other dogs at times, he doesn't approach other dogs that much as we keep him entertained but if another dog comes running over to us he really sees it off, he chases trying to nip the back end of other dogs, and he doesn't give up until we get hold of him. We have a Boxer bitch the same age and they are fine together its just other dogs. He seems to have a problem with rotties, labs, and other big dogs, he is a big dobe ( 100 lb ), he was attacked by a big German Shepard when he was six months, could this be the root of it or are Dobes just male aggressive.

>>My male dobe is now two and a half years, Max, he is becoming very aggressive with other dogs at times, he doesn't approach other dogs that much as we keep him entertained but if another dog comes running over to us he really sees it off, he chases trying to nip the back end of other dogs, and he doesn't give up until we get hold of him. We have a Boxer bitch the same age and they are fine together its just other dogs. He seems to have a problem with rotties, labs, and other big dogs, he is a big dobe ( 100 lb ), he was attacked by a big German Shepard when he was six months, could this be the root of it or are Dobes just male aggressive.

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You need to get into a good obedience class with him, where all the dogs are kept under control. With some training you can control his mouth with a head halter and won't have him biting at other dogs. Dobes are good at training, and it's never too late.
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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

Kathy, head halters are not a good idea for a breed that is predisposed to cervical invertebral instability (CVI) as is the Doberman. They put too much torque on the neck, not to mention that the appearance of those "collars" make people think the dog is a muzzled "vicious" dog.

Male Dobermans can generally be expected to be same sex aggressive. That is a breed characteristic. Adult male Dobermans should not be put into situations where they are off-lead with other male dogs, period. Neutering the dog may help somewhat, but will not be a "cure".

Thanks for your views, I understand what you are saying regarding he shouldn't come into contact with other male dogs but when you are out it's not that easy, one minute our dogs can be playing with no other dogs or people about, and then out of the blue a dog appears, the problem is other dogs like Labs just come running over to us ignoring their owners, its then when Max has a problem with them, I don't know if he would hurt them or whether he is just really rough when playing, but it always ends up with the other dog lying on it's back and Max on top, but is that play or is he really serious.

My 11 month old male will put some other dogs on their back. Just showing dominance, establishing that he's the alpha. (But doesn't always work, lol.)

And if other dogs are running over to you, he's probably being protective too. Dobermans are very protective. It's great.

Here's my guy showing who's the boss!

And then they're friends again.

He looks great !! He's going to be a big lad.
The problem is that other dog owners fear for the life of their dogs, you see in England Dobermans had a really bad rep in the 80s - 90s, and most people we come accross just turn around and go the other way when they see us.
Your dobe looks really great but I can't imagine Max with cropped ears, I think it makes them look more aggressive, but that is because we are not used to it over here.

It's a pretty well known fact that the world is full of fools letting their dogs run loose to get in other dog's faces. Therefore, it's up to us as hopefully responsible dog owners to train our dogs to reliably come when called so we can remove them from the unwanted attention of loose dogs. If your dog is loose when another loose dog comes along, call him out of the situation, and/or physically get him and at least warn the other dog owner that your male may not appreciate the attention of another male.

It's not worth standing around waiting to see what may happen.

If you don't know if he's serious or not, we sure don't. Don't wait to find out.

"could this be the root of it or are Dobes just male aggressive"

Yes
All it takes is one bad experience and one fight and a dog can be dog aggressive for the rest of his life. Dobes are dog dominant and males do like to play rough unless theres somthing wrong with them.