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Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 8
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please help!! dominant dog (sorry - long post)
Hello everybody, I really hope somebody can help me.
I have four dogs, all different and fabulous in thier own ways. My youngest dog is black lab and bull mastiff cross. She is 2 and a half years old, I got her aged six months because she was unwanted.
My problem is that she has become very dominant ( I know she probably always was, but she is really asserting herself now). She has always been very playful with other dogs when we are out and about, and she is very loving with all of our other dogs and us, she just a big cuddly lump. But unfortunately, a while ago she had a fight with a dog, which I'm sure you all know is horrible, but now she has become very protective of us all (humans family and dog family) and now she always approaches other dogs in a very dominant manner, which very occaisionally has not gone down very well. If another dog as much as growls at one of the others she starts pulling on her lead, growling and trying to jump at them.
Now I always put her straight on her lead if I ever see any other dogs about, but I'm sure that can't really be helping her in the long run.....but even worse than that is the fact that other dominant dogs (I can't beleive this, but it's true) spot her a mile off and come running toward her with their teeth bared, trying to fight with her. I have always managed to overt this so far by clamping her head between my knees while the other dog owners get their dog under controll.
There are plenty of dogs that we come across that she plays with fantastically, but they are the dogs that she met before she developed her 'over dominance' and I am not afraid to let her play with them and the other owners just love her because she tires their dogs our so well!
I have been to a trainer for advice, but I was told that it is the other dogs that don't respond to her signals, which I didn't find very helpful to be honest. While it may be true, it hasn't helped my problem, or helped my dog.
I just want to go back to having a lovely walk with my dogs without always looking over my shoulder, making sure that their are no dogs around and putting her on a lead.
I have very happily owned dogs for many years and this is really getting me down. Please can anybody help me?