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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?
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?