Dibby you could be talking about my oh! He is a bloody nightmare sometimes with Ben and frankly if I was Ben I would have bitten him. He never praises him is his worst fault or if he does not enough. His worst offence in my eyes is the foot nudge! Exactly the same as AA's old man. It's bad ... I nudge Ben with a hand or my knee ... usually a hand. A warning index finger in Ben's face puts me in a very vulnerable position which tells Ben that I am in charge simply because I am not scared of him and I trust him completely. Such a confident gesture speaks volumes. I would never use my foot to nudge him ... mayybe now we are in such a good place with Ben I might very gently nudge him from behind to make him go forward but nothing else with the foot.

I totally agree Gnasher! That's what I learned with Callie. He'll still get wound up playful and leaps at my arm sometimes. If I was wearing a bite sleeve no worries...But I have learned to make the proper face. Narrow my eyes and raise my fist. Of course I wouldn't think of it...but the gesture alone is enough for him to drop his head instantly like " Oh dear I don't know what came over me"

Again I don't have much time to post much. I need to get to sleep.

Here is a quote about wolfdogs though.
"After being reprimanded, the wolfdog will probably want to apologize. Let him. He will do this by coming up to you with his tail and his head lowered and with ears flattened somewhat to the side, and he will then begin licking your chin. Let him. This is VERY important. It lets him know that you forgive/love him, making the bonds that much stronger."

Taken from:
http://www2.fiu.edu/~milesk/behavior.htm

So true of my wolfie boys. This is exactly what Hal used to do with his ears .. flatten them and put them out slightly sideways. It looked very comical and sweet. You've got a good dog there AA ... you just need to train your husband!!

I am so excited for you .. you have this amazing opportunity which came to us too late to make Ben more sociable with other dogs, but you will achieve what we achieved with Hal if you carry on as you are. I would love to see some piccies of him!

You might also like to read ... "Dog Evolution, Behaviour and Cognition" by Adam Miklosi

"The Evolution of Canine Social Behaviour" by Roger Abrantes Ph.D who has also written another book which I've yet to read called "Dog Language, an Encyclopedia of Canine Behaviour".

If you look online at "thefamilydogproject.elte.hu under publications you'll also find some of the latest research and differences in training wolves and dogs.

And for anyone who has behavioural problems with their dogs I'd recommend reading "Stress in Dogs" by Martina Scholz & Clarissa von Reinhardt.

So do ALL dogs of whatever type or breed, lowering the head and ears is an appeasement gesture, its telling whoever, human or canine they are no threat........... same with the lip licking they are showing they are no threat........ they are not apologizing, a dog or wolf, would have to have the ability to reason out a behaviour, you apologize when you do something wrong and thought it through...

Dogs /wolves react on instinct, they act out in the moment, if they pick up a bad vibe from another dog or human, they act instinctively... they don`t think about it and they say sorry

regarding the quote.... anyone can write any rubbish on the internet , it does not have to be true.

And for arguments sake, lets say its right, and wolves will apologize to each other.. the flaw here is this is not pure wolf nor is the human he bit .

I'm going to second AA on the 'apologising' behaviour. You'll know it if you see it. Yes, all dogs might show it-- it may just be a little more obvious in the wolfier bunch. You'll see the physical stance: body held low, a cautious, quiet approach, feet moving slowly and setting down carefully. Ears back, eyes forward but not staring. A gentle lip-licking. Everything about it screams 'contrition'.

Of course a dog doesn't apologise like a human would, nor does a dog keep lists of things he did or didn't do should and should not do. He's not thinking 'OMG, I ate that coconut cake the humans made for Aunt Sally's 80th birthday party. I had better not do that again'. He's thinking 'I messed up. Oops'. Or perhaps even 'I should pay more attention'. Or maybe even 'I have no idea what has gone wrong here, but something has. Can I make it right?' And perhaps on a side note: 'Why am I pooping coconut?'

When you accept the appropriately offered contrition, you're restoring balance. It can be done without a word. It can be done with barely a gesture. It's actually better that way. Humans are effusive. Dogs are subtle, so much more so the wolfdogs and the so-called 'primitive' breeds. They do a great deal to meet us halfway, but we do them a raw disservice if we don't do at least as much.

Thank you to everyone who said nice things to me! I do appreciate it!

I live and learn... just hope my experience can help.

Another excellent post strangechilde. You are spot on.

I disagree.......

All the gestures you have set down are not gestures of "apology " , they are gestures of appeasement/ calming signals, these gestures are for survival, , to suggest a dog can apologize you are in danger of placing human emotions of the dog.

It matters not whether we are talking about wolves/dogs or crossbreeds, it important to understand what their body language is telling us.

Going back to the dog in question in this thread, the poster has suggested she is looking for this apologetic behavior in the dog (which he does not give) towards her husband when the dog bites him.

This is never going to happen, the dog is being put under stress and backed into a corner , time after time, and will continue to protect himself.

Given the laws in the US, I would doubt this dog will be able to be re homed, due to their "bite" policy.

The poster has said herself she is not experienced in problem dogs, unless she can get her hubby to change his behaviour, then she has two options, send the dog back to the breeder, or sadly PTS..............

Placing human emotions on animals will only end one way in cases like this......... she is expecting the dog to say sorry after the human has given the dog no option but to protect itself.........

I.E........ the bloke forces it off the bed, the dog bits, then he gently nudges it with his foot, the dog bits again, and so on........... then they are looking for the dog to show signs of it being sorry

These are not good signs of someone who understands dog/wolf behaviour.

just a quickie post -

Look, lets not argue about this here the Op is exhausted and its not going to help her .

perhaps theres not much difference between saying appeasive and apologising.

Best to start another thread where we can enjoy a good civil discussion .