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Socialising - Dominant Dog?


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I have had my dog for 2 years now.

He seems to be a well adjusted individual overall however there is one behaviour that I am unsure about (and what I need to do to rectify it).

Socialisation…

Basically when he sees other dogs he whimpers (I’m assuming out of either anxiety or excitement). Now if he meets a dog who is submissive he is happy to play and seems ok.

However when he meets dogs that are a bit more dominant he will often show what I interpret to be signs of aggression – and if there is food involved (even if the other dog has food) it will escalate to barking and trying to “go” the other dog.

What would you do in this situation???

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My main rule of thumb is that if I think my dog won't get on with the other dog, we don't meet it. This means knowing your dog and being able to read your dog and others, but is a good way to avoid problems. Your dog does not have to meet every dog it sees.

If you want to improve your dog's behaviour towards other dogs, I would seek help from a trainer or behaviourist.

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I agree with what you are saying - Its not like i introduce him to every dog he sees and when we are walking i make a point of just keeping on walking.

I guess the issue is that i compete in showjumping and enjoy bringing him along. The issue is that there are a lot of 'unknown' dogs that run around off the lead.

What would a trainer do?

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I'm not sure what you can do with unknown dogs off lead - I would leave him at home when you cannot supervise dog to dog interactions, as you also don't know what the other dogs are like and what they will do.

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