[rmillstein]

We've known since we adopted Marley a year ago that he is on the dominant side, and we took some classes to help us teach him that we were the dominant ones. That mostly worked... he down-stays really well, and heels OK (with frequent reminders). But when he meets a new dog, he still tries to establish dominance over the other dog. That usually goes OK -- either the other dog backs down (even much larger dogs) or the two dogs just end up playing pretty roughly with each other (I think this is what Marley likes best). But once or twice now it's gone bad, with another dog snapping at him in a very aggressive way, and we've had to save Marley from the situation. This morning, I literally had to pull a much larger dog off of Marley, something that probably wasn't too smart on my part, but luckily for me the dog wasn't truly nasty. Marley had barked at the other dog, who had wandered onto our property. I hate to blame the victim, since Marley only barked, whereas the other dog had him on the ground with his teeth on him, but it seems as though Marley can be an attractor for a certain aggressive type of dog. The fluffy tail doesn't help! (I think it acts like a beacon).

So, I'm not sure where I'm going with this or what sort of advice I'm looking for. I guess we still need to work on the way he acts when he meets a new dog. But we think that Marley was picked on a lot when he was a puppy, and so has reason to think that the best defense is a good offense. Maybe what I am really asking is what is reasonable behavior, both on Marley's part and on the other dogs' parts. Is barking loudly a provocation? And if so, what sort of behavior does it justify on the other dog's side?

 

[Pamela]

If the other dog came on your property Marley was barking to let him know this was his space and the other dog must be agressive to have attacked him. He should have run off. I learn a lot from watching the Dog Whisperer on the National Geographics channel. If you don't get it you can go on line to his site and watch episodes. I have had occasion to use some of his methods when I have been walking my dogs. One time a dog came out of his driveway and Ginger went nuts - I had to let my daughter take Teddy and I made Ginger lie on her side until she was calm and let the other dog, who was a friendly dog and calm submissive, sniff her while she laid there. Later they became friends. It her fear - she walks with me looking around to see who's gonna get her lol

 

[rmillstein]

Thanks for your reply. Yeah, I agree in this case that Marley was right to bark and the other dog was out of line. But he's still got issues with barking at new dogs, especially when he and/or the other dog is on leash. I know it's common for dogs to be better off leash than on, but still.

The other thing he will do is to try to break up other dogs when he thinks that they are fighting (often they are just playing rough). He'll bark loudly and try to get in between them, even if the other dogs are much larger than him. I think the barking sometimes just makes the situation worse, although other times he does manage to break things up.

I guess I'd just like to see him "turn the other cheek" (literally, in dog language!) from time to time. We've tried having him sit, or sometimes, as you suggest, having him lie down. That's semi-effective. Again, I think part of my confusion is determining when loud barking is reasonable. Definitely on his on property -- but any other time?

 

[Pamela]

hmmmmm, I don't know. I know I try to stop the barking - mine bark at everything - squirrel, leaves, themselves in the slider window. I haven't seen much on barking from Ceasar - just in the case like I shared. I have seen him sit the dog with its back to the other dog too. Sometimes I wish I lived in Cal. so I could send them to Ceasar's pack for a week! lol

 

[rmillstein]

Ha! Yeah, he needs to do a show on barking. Other than what I've said above, Marley doesn't really bark much (doorbell, neighbor dog coming by to play... that's about it).

 

[rmillstein]

Speaking of the barking at the window, what's up with that? Marley doesn't bark at his reflection in the mirror, but sometimes he will growl at his reflection in the window. We can't figure it out! Maybe it looks more like a dog outside than the mirror does???

 

[Pamela]

I think that its like they see something out there - woooo - and they just bark. Its a rio!