My dog is almost 18 months old. He is usually very sociable, but lately his behaviour towards other males has become quite worrying. As soon as a dog approaches and tries to sniff his rear end, he hates it and snaps at them – even if the other dog is only a 2 or 3-month-old puppy. Why is he doing this? Could he have been traumatised as a puppy? Where we used to walk him, there was a dog that tried to hump every other dog, so maybe he was traumatised and it's all coming back to him now. What can I do to stop him from snapping at other dogs when they do this?
Thanks!
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Kikaah, nobody likes forcing their dog to put up with things that bother them.
I have a dog who would be constantly starting scraps if I let her.
For me, it’s zero tolerance from the get-go (just as if I had a dog that tried to bite every person who tried to stroke them, I can assure you I’d know how to make them let themselves be stroked without flinching, even if I personally don't see the point in stroking every dog you walk past).
Out of all the dogs I’ve ever had, this is the first time this has happened to me.
I’ve used physical control five or six times in her life; I meet a power struggle with a power struggle, and I’ve got no qualms about it lol.
Right, so instead of needing 15 repetitions or less to grasp a new concept, he only needs 5 or less (S. Coren, 1994). Mind you, the physical control approach can work. But it’s still a bit sad, really.
I’ve got a mate who gets her Border Collie to submit just by raising her voice. It’s quite something. Next time she’s at the park, I’ll get a video of it. I find it much better / less confrontational. She shouts “Edward, EDWARD!! Here!!” and he comes crawling over and stays put, I’m telling you LOL.
I’d keep him still while they’re sniffing each other, and if there’s been an unprovoked attack, I’d even pin him to the ground to encourage the other dog to come over and have a sniff.
It’s a win-win: your dog learns a bit of humility, and the victim doesn't lose their confidence entirely.
I’m really not a fan of that technique. I don’t agree with forcing a dog into a situation that clearly bothers them, especially when we don't know why they're reacting that way... what if the dog starts to panic? Or what if, after being pinned down to be sniffed, they snap and attack the other dog? Could they end up taking it out on the "nuisance" dog after being forced to interact? If they're fine on the lead, I’d start there—let them get to know each other on-lead, see how it goes, and then let them off?
Energiesolaire, if you’d read my next post, you would have seen that I use positive reinforcement for the vast majority of the time, I think. My girl loves being praised as well; it works really well with her. But the few times in her life that she’s gone for another dog, I can tell you I really gave her what for. Not because I’m worried about her doing any damage – she doesn’t bite to cause injury, she’s just being bossy – but because one day she’ll run into a dog that won’t stand for it, and I don’t want her getting killed, even if it’s always my little madam starting the trouble.
Well, basically, he doesn't go looking for a fight; if the other dogs are just minding their own business, everything's fine. But if another dog comes over to sniff his bum, that's when it all kicks off. As long as no dogs sniff his bum, everything is usually okay.
How is it that he's not sociable even though he has seen other dogs almost every day since he was born?
We're going to give this method a go tonight and see how it turns out.
Cheers
According to science, part of a dog's social behaviour depends on associative learning picked up along the way. So, there’s a bit of an element of luck to it all (Bradshaw et al, 2009).
However, science also suggests—and I’m going to slightly disagree with Docline here, for whom I have a lot of respect—that certain more "physical" methods can result in aggression from the dog towards the human (Herron et al., 2009):
Please don't shoot the messenger! LOL. Besides, this happened to someone I know only yesterday; she was bitten by her Shiba after trying to physically restrain him.
Keep in mind that it's insecurity that causes your dog to react like this. Forcing him into these sniffing sessions might work, but it could also go horribly wrong. Let's just say there’s a risk involved. I mean, you can still give it a try—it's not a crime—it’s just risky according to the statistics, shall we say.
In my opinion, the best control you can have in this kind of situation would be putting him back on the lead.
But my preferred technique for a case like this would mainly be R+ (positive reinforcement), especially if the dog is treat-motivated. Simple as that. It then becomes the owner's responsibility to be "on it" and mark the behaviour at the right time. In other words, we unfortunately often obsess over unwanted behaviours while completely ignoring the desirable ones. So, you need to mark/reward every time he lets himself be sniffed, regardless of the other dog's gender. Make a massive fuss every single time.
An Aussie? It won't take him long to realise that you get all excited and happy when he lets himself be sniffed. Bit by bit, he'll get there.
Hello,
Muffy30, does your dog only do this when he's on the lead, or when he's off-lead as well?
I agree with Docline—some dogs just aren't big fans of every other dog (just like us humans, really). Mine doesn't like everyone; at first it was a total nightmare, she’d go for any dog she didn’t take a liking to!
Now that the issue is sorted, she’s still not a massive fan, and she shows she's unhappy being near a dog she doesn't like by twitching her whiskers and giving them a wide berth.
The stress I used to feel about a potential scrap has gradually turned into simply keeping an eye out for signs that my dog is uncomfortable.
It'll be the same for you (if it turns out he really doesn't like everyone). Once he learns how to say "hello" (I think Docline's advice above makes perfect sense), you'll learn to trust him and stay alert to his reactions: "Right, he doesn't want to hang around, let's move on."
Anyway, I'm just going by what your posts suggest regarding on-lead encounters.
No, my dog only does this when he's off-lead; he's never tried to go for another dog while on the lead.
Yeah, I'm going to follow Docline's advice and see how it goes.
Muffy30, does your dog only do this when on the lead, or when he's off-lead too?
I agree with Docline; some dogs just aren't that keen on other dogs (just like us humans, really). Mine doesn't like everyone—at the start, it was a total nightmare, she’d lunge as soon as she didn't like the look of another dog!
Now that the issue is sorted, she’s still not a massive fan, and she shows she's unhappy being near a dog she's not into by twitching her whiskers and giving them a wide berth.
The stress I used to feel about a potential scrap has gradually turned into just keeping a watchful eye on my dog’s signs of discomfort.
It’ll be the same for you (if it turns out he really doesn’t like everyone); once he learns how to say "hello" properly (I think Docline’s advice above is spot on), you’ll learn to trust him and stay alert to his reactions: "Right, he doesn't want to hang around, let's go."
Anyway, I’m only speaking from what I’ve gathered from your posts regarding encounters on the lead.
