Thread: cant work this one out? dominance

How old is he?

How many previous owners has he had?

Sound like the leg thing is a problem that was never corrected.

Also sounds like he decides when he wants a belly rub as well...lol

Its hard to tell without actually seeing the dogs body language.

Hopefully some others can shed some light for you.

Brad,
Staring u in the eyes can be dominance....Pawing you on the Leg can also be dominance.... Its hard to say if it is or isnt without seeing the dog, but from experience I'd have to say it is...
it sounds like he responds to you so the battle is half won.
DONT put yourself in the position of having to challenge him front on with staring competitions and so on as you could end up in a spot of bother..After all we re taking about a very powerful animal...
Take your time and bond with him properly and with time you will assert yourself as a pack leader without too much confliction....


hope this helps
george

I think others advised you against getting this dog, no good giving you advice if you do not take it on board.
If you got the dog from the woman i think you got it from , well that is a dog with no history , or maybe to much dog for an entry level handler.

yeah rob i got it off her., i didnt like the other one off the other guy...

.. Its a more of a submissive pawing than anything else

Hi Brad,
This is Jen not Rob writing this. Hope things work out for you and your new partner. My advice would be to get a trainer that you are comfortable with and stick with it. You must stay consistent from the start. It is going to be quite a few weeks before you know the real dog that you have. I have always found that it takes about 5 weeks before you see the real thing. A few weeks of them sussing out the situation, then a few weeks of seeing what they can get away with and then finally settling in to their old self. Anyway good luck and I hope you are looking at a long term committment with your new dog. Just remember that you will be needing him to watch your back at work, so remember to earn his respect so that he wants to put his life on the line for you. Wishing you both well.

Cheers
Jen

I wouldn't be too quick to say the leg thing is dominance, imo, it's also a submissive gesture. Montu does it all the time.

Dominance is a funny thing. I've had people tell me Montu is dominant over me because he won't recall once he has "won" his tug. That's not dominance, that's me being lazy and not putting effort into his training.

I agree with Midol that sometimes dominance is in the eye of the beholder, and it's impossible to tell what's really going on without actually seeing the dog.

If he's doing to to control your actions or force you to act the way he wants, and especially if you think he'd escalate into aggression if you stopped him doing it, then I'd suspect it was dominance. But I also wonder if he might just have learned that it gets him attention or affection, or he might even just be wanting reassurance.

My mally girl can be a stroppy little PITA sometimes, but if she turned round and looked at me and put her paw on me, I'd personally be wondering what she was trying to communicate, rather than just jumping to the conclusion of dominance.

I'm not an experienced trainer though, especially not compared to some of the people here, and have not actually seen your dog, so feel free to take everything I say with a grain of salt.

Sounds to me that it may be a learnt behaviour to gain attention this would be a habit you would need to break.

there may be a couple of things you can try.

If he is a dominant dog and you are worried about him testing you ignore the bad behaviour and reward the good. If he turns and faces you and puts his paw up and you pat prais in any way you are encouraging this behaviour i would be more inclind to ignore it walk off foward giving the dog the heel comand once in the right heel position give the dog the sit comand once sitting at heel then reward (with prais, toy or what ever you do) if the dog does not sit at heel do not reward simply repeat the exersise.

If he is sitting wide or ahead or you are trying for a auto sit without a comand there is also a few things you can try.

slide your hand down the lead and hold him close so he does not have the opertunity to sit out of place or use food or toy to direct him where you want him.

The other problem i read is that the dog comes to you for efection again this should be ignored especially if you are trying to establish dominance.

you need to be a pack leader, the pack leader tells the dogs in the pack under him when to eat and play ect. you should allways start the game/efection and finish it on your terms not his.

I hope this helps.

I'd have to say that the description provided of very submissive and also very dominant behaviours, in addition to the stiff body you described doesn't sound real flash.
Get a knowledgable trainer that understands your end goals w the dog clearly to have a look at him, cos without seeing it happen its too hard to make a call.
Stop the compulsion and work on the bond as previously suggested.
If you live nearby I'd be happy to have a look and give you an opinion, maybe some ideas mate.
I will say that if you are starting out with less than adequate genetics you should seriously have the dog professionally assessed and have an open mind to beginning from scratch before you become emotionally attached! A little upset now compared to a lifetime of fixing problems can be a fair trade, especially with your end goals in mind.
Hope I was helpful in some way,
BG