Content
- Characteristics of a dominant dog
- Dominance and/or behavior problems
- 1. The dog is dominant and aggressive
- 2. My dog is dominant with me
- 3. My dog is dominant with food and its territory
- 4. The dog is dominant with other males or females
- Fix and train a dominant dog
Many owners say that their dogs are dominant when they have a fight with other dogs, become aggressive, disobey their owner's orders or develop some behavior problems. They also usually refer to this term when they begin to show territorial behavior. But what is dominance really?
It is very important to understand that, despite carrying out the actions mentioned above, not all dogs are dominant, as it is a term that often generates confusion.
In this article by PeritoAnimal we will explain how to identify and handle a dominant dog, according to their characteristics and how to work in training to solve the behavioral problems that this may cause.
Characteristics of a dominant dog
As we have already mentioned, the term "dominant dog" often used wrongly in most situations. This is not a character of the dog's personality, dominance occurs when, in the same space, several individuals are related. In this meeting of two or more dogs, a hierarchical relationship is established that can result in dominance or submission of each of its members. This does not mean that there is only one dominant dog and that all the others are submissive.
Example: Laika is dominant with Timmy and in turn Timmy is dominant with Llop. Therefore, a dog can be dominant in one relationship but submissive in another.
Although some puppies usually act like dominant dogs, not all dogs with a dominant tendency will be dominant in all of their social interactions.s. It may be that a dog is dominant with some the same size but not with larger ones. Likewise, a dog can be dominant with females but submissive with males. It depends on each specific case.
In addition, a dog with behavioral problems or deficiencies in its education and training may have a dominant tendency in certain situations, but be totally submissive in others.
Example: Llop is a dominant dog when Timmy tries to take his toys away from him and when he interacts with other smaller puppies, however, Llop is totally submissive when other larger dogs try to ride him or when Timmy approaches them without their your present toys.
Finally, it is worth mentioning that in some cases, males tend to be dominant with other males when they are females in heat present. If dominance in these cases is a problem for us (and we also want to avoid an unwanted pregnancy), you can think about neutering your puppy, a way to enjoy a more stable and positive behavior.
Dominance and/or behavior problems
Once the meaning of dominance is understood, it is important to mention some behaviors that are often confused with the dominant dog and that may be related or not with this trend. Next, we'll explain the most common ones:
1. The dog is dominant and aggressive
This is probably the most common phrase related to "dominance". It is important to clarify that a dog is not aggressive by nature, this is due to different problems that arise during its puppy stage or in its adult stage. The most common causes are:
- Due to poor socialization of the dog, the dog does not know how to properly relate to other dogs. This makes him reactive (act aggressively) to stimuli that cause him fear, uncertainty and discomfort. In this case, we must work on socialization in its adult stage.
- After a fight, an incident, or a very stressful situation with another dog, the dog's fears can also generate a reactive attitude. The dog tries to keep other dogs out of his area and intimidate them so that he doesn't suffer the traumatic experience again.
Aggression is a serious behavior problem which must be treated when the first symptoms appear, since that is when you have more chances to be treated and be able to educate our dog to have a calmer and more sociable attitude.The rules to follow will depend on the type of aggression the dog has. We recommend consulting an ethologist or dog educator for help.
2. My dog is dominant with me
At this point many people confuse the fact that their dog doesn't care or correctly follow their orders with dominance. This is a very serious mistake, since they tend to resort to incoherent and ineffective techniques found on the internet to try to minimize this situation. The most common examples might be tagging the dog, putting it on its back, kicking it, entering the house first, or submitting it.
Carrying out this behavior when our animal suffers from a serious behavior problem such as stress, victim of animal abuse (using a hanging collar, electric or punishment) can lead to very serious behaviors in the dog that result in a strong aggressiveness or self-rejection. Forcing your puppy to do activities he doesn't want, treating him abusively or expecting something from him that doesn't correspond are totally inappropriate attitudes and we should not continue to do so.
For this, it is best to work daily on basic or advanced obedience (according to the case), provide long walks and different activities that promote their well-being and improve the relationship with them, always making use of positive reinforcement and avoiding punishment. We must understand that the puppy is not a robot and that, therefore, we cannot expect its behavior to be exemplary and perfect if we do not educate it from the beginning. resort to a canine training course it can be an excellent option to improve your communication.
3. My dog is dominant with food and its territory
In this case, we are not talking about dominance, but about protecting resources. The dog suffering from this problem is in constant tension and responds with reactivity when trying to take something from him. he considers his property. Can respond with growls and even aggressively if necessary.
This type of problem should be dealt with depending on the cause that causes it: food, territory, bed, other dog, us, among others. Remember that it is always important to consult an expert.
4. The dog is dominant with other males or females
Here you can enter several factors. Before we mentioned that it is normal for puppies that are not neutered to act in a dominant way with others for the away from a possible female in heat. A female can also act as a dominant when she is in the presence of another female who is also in heat and other males around. In all these cases it is recommended to castration of the dog.
With the exception of these cases, a dog can be reactive with others for the reasons mentioned in point 1. If this is the case, the ideal is to go to a specialist and try to improve the dog's well-being for a more positive and relaxed attitude.
Fix and train a dominant dog
Dominant behaviors cannot be corrected because are not something negative, is part of the natural communication of dogs. Although castration can dampen the dominant drive, the truth is that some of them continue to be dominant after the operation. It depends on each case. What is guaranteed is that our dog, once recovered, will have a calmer and more stable attitude.
Something we can do to improve the problems that can arise from the dominant trends, is work education and training of our dog, always in a positive way, to get a better response from our partner and thus avoid uncontrolled situations. Teaching him to come here or to be quiet will not help us avoid conflict, but it will help to improve our relationship, foster his intelligence, and help him feel in tune with us. We are helping him to understand what we expect from him.
Don't forget that when facing any problem, the ideal is consult an expert, which through observation, will explain to us what problem the dog really suffers from, will improve our mistakes and will offer us concrete and personalized rules to follow.
