Getting better with dogs

[Katlin]

So Wylie has been very picky about who he likes to play with. Lately if any dog shows any signs of submission Wylie will take full advantage and stand over them, growling.

Needless to say this got pretty alarming, but I couldn't find a class or daycare that would take him with his intact status and dog parks around here are basically out of control dog pits.

I started a new job about 4 months ago as a groomer and two new girls both started, both have big dogs that are Wylie's age. Both are very submissive. I was amazed that as soon as I stepped back, away from Wylie and let him do his thing, the dogs figured it out themselves! Wylie is now BFF's with the Malamute mix (Grizzly) and Rottie mix (Riley). Here's a picture of both dogs.

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I'm really proud of Wylie for starting to warm up to dogs, and we're going to be doing a pack walk soon with 5 of them

[Sylvaen]

That's great! I find intact males are usually a lot better behaved and less dominant when they are off-leash.

[Katlin]

Wylie does very well on leash so long as the other dogs don't show any response to him. We walk with out group of Whippets, a Corgi, and a Heeler quite often. But as soon as the dog comes up to him, he is definitely WAY more dominant on leash.

[Wittgenstein]

So Wylie has been very picky about who he likes to play with. Lately if any dog shows any signs of submission Wylie will take full advantage and stand over them, growling.....

I was amazed that as soon as I stepped back, away from Wylie and let him do his thing, the dogs figured it out themselves!

Hi, could you elaborate on this? This happened today with Ramsey for us for the very first time. Usually, Ramsey is a social butterfly; he plays with all dogs and if a dog snaps at him, he just goes into submissive mode. But today at the dog park he got really defensive about the water bowl there and started snapped at one other dog. This time the other dog just submitted and Ramsey got even more aggressive! We pulled him away right away. Not quite sure what to do. He's known to be the sweetheart around town! Not quite sure whether this is just a one time thing. Will chat with my dog trainer in couple days, but would like to see how it worked out for Wylie and these dogs.

[Katlin]

Well Wylie was getting very ON leash aggressive, he would bite and jump at the air and growl loudly. If I let him offleash he'd sense a dog was submissive and bully them onto their backs, standing over them growling.

With the lighter dog Wylie bowed right off the bat so both dogs were playing like crazy from the first sniff.

With the darker male puppy, Wylie tried to dominate him but the puppy bit him. Me and the other owner were going to break them up but decided to let them have 3 bites before we got involved, unless they were bad ones. After Wylie got bitten the puppy play bowed, it seemed to click with Wylie and he bowed back, then they started to play.

I also took him to the offleash park after this initial playdate. Wylie was amazing, the best I've ever seen him! His recall was good, and he had a whole pack of 15ish dogs chasing him (his favourite). I think once he discovered that they weren't going to hurt him, he could play with them. He's never been attacked so I'm not sure where he got that idea, but it's working out as we visit more dogs.

[Aislinn2204]

Hi Katlin,

Just as it sounds for me, I think he's more dominant than aggressive.

How old is Wylie now? Is he castrated?

Maybe he gets a "push" over again. Maybe he now wants to know and test "Where he stands?".
I had a similar experience with Cody.

Have a nice day.
Marko

[Katlin]

Hi Marko,

Wylie can not be castrated because he has a heart condition and the sedatives will stop his heart. So I've had to leave him intact. He is dominant that tends to escalate to aggressiveness. Thankfully, he's not doing it as much anymore. The more I take him to meet other dogs, the better he gets

[Aislinn2204]

Oh sorry, I did not know.

If it is now getting better, then it's ok.

[vachel68]

So Wylie has been very picky about who he likes to play with. Lately if any dog shows any signs of submission Wylie will take full advantage and stand over them, growling.....

I was amazed that as soon as I stepped back, away from Wylie and let him do his thing, the dogs figured it out themselves!

Hi, could you elaborate on this ? This happened today with Ramsey for us for the very first time. Usually, Ramsey is a social butterfly; he plays with all dogs and if a dog snaps at him, he just goes into submissive mode. But today at the dog park he got really defensive about the water bowl there and started snapped at one other dog. This time the other dog just submitted and Ramsey got even more aggressive! We pulled him away right away. Not quite sure what to do. He's known to be the sweetheart around town! Not quite sure whether this is just a one time thing. Will chat with my dog trainer in couple days, but would like to see how it worked out for Wylie and these dogs.

Bonjour,
Cela me rappelle un incident avec mon chien, Wylie. D'habitude, il est aussi très sociable, mais un jour, au parc, il s'est soudainement mis à protéger un jouet qu'il avait trouvé, et est devenu très défensif avec un autre chien qui s'en approchait. C'était totalement inhabituel pour lui, car comme Ramsey, il est plutôt du genre à se soumettre en cas de conflit. Ce comportement est arrivé de façon isolée, mais nous avons consulté un dresseur. Il s'est avéré que c'était un signe de stress. Depuis, nous surveillons de plus près ses interactions et lui apprenons à mieux gérer les situations qui pourraient le frustrer. C’est peut-être un événement isolé pour Ramsey, mais il est toujours bon d’en parler à un professionnel. Tiens-nous au courant de ce que ton dresseur dira.