Does Submission = Fear?

[Kirty]

My newest foster is an extremely submissive 8 month old working lines BC. She is a very sweet, gentle pup but her first reaction to most things is to flip over and expose her belly. She has zero dog interaction skills (but Pia is quickly teaching her how to play - albeit like a sighthound!) but again, is very submissive with the other dogs. She was apparently the most timid pup in the litter and I don't think she has been socialised at all since they brought her home. Is her submissiveness due to fear or are they two seperate things?

[Dame Aussie]

That's a hard one Kirty, one of my two acts very submissive but is actually a scheming little piece of work

Would be hard to say without seeing the dog but I don't think submissiveness necessarily always indicates fear. However, if she hasn't been socialised at all it could be more than possible she is scared.

[Aidan3]

By flipping over and exposing the belly she is making sure she avoids confrontation. You can call it submission, but it serves a function. If it serves a function, there must be something causing the need for that function... and you would probably guess at anxiety.

Whether she still feels the anxiety, or it is something that she felt once, the behaviour worked, so she has continued with it despite the absence of fear, we can't really say without further investigation.

In any case, it is helpful to think of behaviours that we describe as dominance or submission as functional behaviours that serve the individual a purpose that isn't necessarily driven by hierarchy, but will result in some position in a hierarchy.

[Kirty]

I would definitely call her an anxious dog. She is very uncertain about everything, poor baby. Hopefully once she builds her confidence, she will quit rolling over at every second!

[JulesP]

Some BC are really, really soft Kirty. My current pup is super submissive. She is probably the best and most socialized of all my dogs. She can however look like someone has beaten the crap out of her! I am currently trying to work out if she is playing me with it. I certainly didn't do the TOT that I normally do with her as I found that really hard to do when she was squirming on the floor and going belly up at a simple wait command. She isn't submissive with other dogs. None of mine have been but I had a pup in my last class that went belly up a lot during the meet & greets.

These dogs are quite tricky to train as they tend to take it very personally if they make a mistake. On the flip side you usually get intense devotion and focus on their special person.

[aussielover]

My dog is well socialised but still submissive- rolling onto back to some other dogs. I don't think its is fear, probably more of a respect/neutralising a potential situation thing.

It is not to all dogs, she is friendly and outgoing with her regular playmates.

I'd rather have submissive dog than a DA one.

[Loraine]

My neighbour has a mixed breed rescue (came as a young pup) who is always submissive. She meets lots of dogs, but on the first few times of meeting she will roll onto her back. Now she is more relxed around my Zedley. When she sees him now she gives him a smile and a lick and then it is game on