What to do with a dominant dog

Hi

Hoping someone has some help/advice. Ruf is now 1 year old and is still great but he is becoming very dominant with other dogs in a pack situation.

We go on socialisation walks now and again and have never had any problems with Ruf on these, other than him being big and boisterous. Today there was a male labrador and he and Ruf got into a bit of a tussle - it happened behind us, so I didn't see how it happened or if anything started it. There was a second incident with the same dog - the owner of the lab had another dog who went up to Ruf and barked, Ruf barked back and the lab went nuts and another tussle ensued. On the walk I was talking to the lab's owner who was saying that they had real problems with him with dog aggression etc and they had him castrated which has made it all slightly better. The trainer told me that I should get Ruf castrated to stop his dominant/aggressive behaviour.

I have a few problems with this primarily because it has never happened before - Ruf, although big and boisterous, has never shown any signs of aggression and has on more than one occasion been told off by other particularly dominant dogs. So to my mind the behaviour is out of character although I accept the point that the longer it goes on the more normal the behaviour could become. My other concern is that I am wondering if being in a pack situation (there are usually about 10-20 dogs on these walks) makes him more dominant - certainly when we meet other male dogs on walks etc he's never displayed any such behaviours. And this is the first time on these walks that he's been involved in any kind of trouble.

Ruf is a lovely dog - we've often been complimented on his very soft nature - and castration seems like quite a drastic course of action. Wondering if anyone has any thoughts/ideas/alternatives to castration to deal with this or if it could just be a case of dog personalities? He didn't have any problems with any other dogs on the walk.

Thanks

I'm sorry I read that 3 times now, and I can not understand why you think he is dominant or aggressive. Maybe I am missing the point, but I don't see anywhere in your thread that says Ruf starts anything.

We have a male that is neutered, and he doesn't start anything either, but if another dog barked at him, he'd bark back, if another dog set about him, he'd hold his own.....I don't class him either dominant or aggressive.

Sounds to me as if he is just finding his place when you walk in packs, just what sounds normal.

Are you saying that you want him to just ignore another dog pushing the boundries with him.

Sorry I am confused

I am as confused!* I don't think he is aggressive - he does display dominant behaviours but never aggression.* However, because the trainer on the walk suggested he was becoming aggressive/too dominant, she suggested castration and I am wondering if that's the best thing to do. I don't think we do have a huge problem because he doesn't ordinarily display this behaviour but she did tell me I had to nip it in the bud before it becomes normal behaviour and more of a problem.* So really my question is should I wait and see if this becomes more commonplace or just take the trainer's word for it and get him castrated now.*

personally hun, I would speak to your vet, who may suggest a injection (which has the same effect of castration) this will indicate whether he needs castrating.

Personally though, I think he is just being a teenager and probably just being bouncie boy.....talk to your vet, sorry but this seems your Trainer's ideas, this doesn't always mean that is the way he is going ie dominant.

i would change trainers if she thinks a dog responding to another dog going for it is dom or agressive
two incedents with someone who says they have a problem with their dog, dosent sound like your dog is the problem at all

anyway i wouldnt automaticly whip their bits off as that can make them less confident and more agressive

keep an eye out on walks to see if there is a problem then treat the problem

I would personally steer clear of any trainer who advises castration as a mean of stopping dominant and/or aggressive behaviour, it can make aggressive dogs worse, the problem is in the dogs behaviour and not in his testicles! As you have seen by this lab, who IS castrated and still not 'cured', its not the answer and I wish people would stop thinking it is (that is not aimed at you btw).

Aside from that, from what you have said, I fail to see where he was dominant and/or aggressive? He sounds like a normal 12 month old to me? When you say he displays dominant behaviour, what exactly do you mean? What is it he does?

Agree with everything above. Can I recommend you read a bit about positive training? Jean Donaldson`s `Culture Clash` is a very clear and practical guide to behaviour and training which never once mentions Dominance.
Your dog sounds lovely. The trainer doesn`t.

Hi Holl you say..

I can't see that your dog Ruf did anything wrong, he is a boisterous adolescent dog who retaliated when an aggressive dog barked in his face and you are saying the trainer suggested castrating him because another dog was aggressive ?

There are many people who call themselves 'trainers' or behaviourist and seem to attribute all agression to 'dominance' when the agression is frequently caused by fear. It sounds to me as though the owner of the Lab is the one with the problem .

If you meet the Lab again I would turn smartly and walk in the other direction so that your dog doesn't start to become afraid of aggressive Labs.

If you choose to neuter your dog that is your choice and there are reasons for and against doing this but i would not do it for the reason you state.

My male Berner is 3 this month by the time he hit 18 months he started to stand up for himself, he has always been humped and pestered then one day it all changed as he grew older he became more confident he will retaliate if another dog starts barking etc., at him sometimes even if they don't if he doesn't like their attitude or just sometimes dislikes them for whatever reason he can see but I can't he will bark and keep them away. So I always have control of him.

Ollie was neutered at 6 months old so neutering doesn't necessarily stop certain behaviours. Your'e dog sounds fine just growing up and finding his feet.

Thanks for all your comments. As a first time dog owner, I do tend to take what a trainer says as gospel and have only just started querying and questioning so its good to know that perhaps my instinct not to castrate him now for these two incidents is a good-ish one! In terms of his dominance with other male dogs - its certainly not shown with all male dogs and there doesn't seem to be any pattern in what kind of dog he shows dominance towards - can be big or small, castrated or not....his main sign of dominance has been his humping of other dogs....also another trainer said the way he stands quite tall over other dogs is a sign of dominance...mind you as an enormous ridgeback he tends to stand tall over most dogs! but these are not all the time incidents by any stretch of the imagination and tend to happen only either in these socialisation walks we go on or occasionally in our training classes....on a walk just the two of us he's generally pretty good - when he sees another dog coming towards him he usually lies down and waits until there's been a doggy you can come and play and then he'll bound over....not sure if that lying down is dominant or submissive?!

anyway i am due to talk to the vet about it anyway today but think i will stick with my instinct and hold off and monitor what happens....