"Alpha-Male" syndrome

[KielS]

Hello,

 

My name is Nicole and I have some questions about my dog Ozzie. Ozzie is an 8 year old German shorthaired pointer and he's originally my fiancé's dog. I've only been in Ozzie's life for about 2 years now and naturally he doesn't listen to me as well as he does my fiancé. Ozzie is a very smart and well trained dog, however, he wasn't neutered until he was about 3 years old and has some dominate/alpha-dog behaviors. He's a hunting dog and has been trained to walk off-leash. I like to take Ozzie out by myself on hikes, however, I'm always very nervous when we come across other dogs. He usually interacts fine with females, but almost always jumps/lunges and barks/growls at males. He has never actually bitten another dog, but I fear if the other dog is also an alpha that it will result in biting or a fight. This is difficult for me to manage because he is an off leash walker and isn't very motivated by food rewards. I do always take a leash with me and when I see other dogs I put him on the leash before he notices, but this only seems to make him more defensive/protective and his behavior is worse when the dog passes. I've read your articles about aggressive behavior towards dogs and on walks and would like more information or options I can try. Ozzie will listen to me when we are on walks and do everything your articles suggested, but the second another dog comes in the picture he has a tendency to ignore me. He also refuses to eat any treats/food when we are on walks... even people food, and I don't know how to positively reinforce him if he does behave when other dogs are around, or get his attention away from the dogs. Also, since he is an active bird hunting dog, he is trained to walk ahead and look for animals. He is also very fast-paced and often gets focused on looking for animals and not listening to me. Sometimes his hunting behaviors get in the way of our regular walking when its just me and Ozzie. I don't want to damage any of the skills he learned for hunting... but I also want him to be focused and respectful when we're walking. For example, staying closer to me, coming to me when I call him-when he gets distracted with little animals he finds. Any more advice for how I can change these behaviors on walks?

 

Earlier I said that Ozzie doesn't respect me or listen to me as well as my fiancé, I'm wondering if this is because of his alpha like behavior or because I haven't been in his life until more recently. I've been doing a lot of your basic training modules with him (even though he is already trained) just to try to create a better/more respected connection with him. He is very intelligent and nails all those games right off the bat! When its just me and Ozzie he listens to me relatively well, however, when my fiancé is around its like I'm kicked to the curb. It seems like Ozzie is trying to be the alpha over me. Ozzie has a very big personality-which is why I love him so much. I often describe him as a cat-like personality because he is too smart for his own good. He knows exactly what he is supposed to do but won't do it if he is upset with you for some reason. Any other tips for helping me create a stronger bond with Ozzie and increase his respectful behaviors towards me?

 

 

Thank you!

 

 

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hello Nicole,

Welcome to the forum!

 

What a handsome dog you have, I always loved this breed!

 

I generally restrict off leash freedom on hikes or trails to a limited amount of dogs and those dogs are the ones that have proven to be highly-trained dogs under excellent voice control with non-agressive tendendies. Being off leash is a priviledge and it should be warranted only when the dog has proven himself to not get into trouble when there are people or other dogs around. Ideally, a dog walked off leash should be not interested in meeting other dogs and rather stick to the owner's side. It takes lots of practice to reach this level of training.

 

For dogs who haven't reached that level of control, but whose owners wish to have them have a bit more freedom on walks to sniff around and explore, I suggest for safety to have the dog walk on a long line, (never texting or talking on the phone!) while always carefully scanning for approaching people and dogs. A long line should not be confused for a retractable leash, which is something I don't recommend using.

 

A long-line is a long, light rope or cord that may range anywhere between 10 and 50 feet long. You can often find these in horse and tack stores as the one for horses may also work well for dogs, but nowadays more and more companies are crafting long lines specifically for canines especially for tracking purposes.

 

Unlike a restractable leash, a long line encourages engagement with your dog and provides you with a "life line" for emergency situations. It also prevents putting your dog in sticky situations where things can get ugly quickly (for example an off leash dog who doesn't appreciate your dog's way of interacting). A long-line as well can help in modifying Ozzie's behavior because it prevents him from rehearsing troublesome behaviors that may lead to a bite one day. Yes, he might still growl at a distance but at least him and the other dogs walking by are safer. Now, if you are walking in an area where other off leash dogs approach him, I would avoid those as these encounters would deeply interfere with your training. I can't emphasize this enough: I don't know how many dogs's training are ruined each year by such encounters. I can tell you that we had a nicely trained service dog who now is fearful of other dogs because of an encounter gone wrong with an off-leash dog.

 

Now, there are certain general guidelines when using a long line. Generally, I start with the shorter ones and increase length as the dog proves himself worthy of more impulse control. When using a long line, you will always need to be scanning for triggers ahead so that you can quickly reel your dog in closer to you for better control. I like to wear gloves to protect my skin from rope burn, but it's nice to see that lately some companies are making some in leather which are much more gentle on the hands. However, the rope ones offer the advantage that you can tie knots every few feet that you can use to gain traction and hold on to have a better grip in case your dog takes off running. You will also have to keep a close eye that the line doesn't get wrapped betwen your legs or your dog's legs. Ideally, the line should stay to your dog’s side so to not interfere with movement.

 

I always prefer to have dog owners train a cue that tells the dog to come closer rather than reeling the dog in. You can read on how to train a strong recall using a long line here:https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/recall/ This because equipment should not be a substitute for training. Equipment is more like a "crutch". We also want to have good voice control (or why not use a silent whistle which can come handy as well when out hunting?) to help Ozzie make good choices should that day come where he may have proven himself to be ready to being off leash on hikes. The long line again can be used to your advantage in obtaining a "feel" on his level of training.

 

Since you mention Ozzie seems to be in another world when you ask him to come to you and that he doesn't take treats on your hike, it sounds like he's overstimulated and over threshold. Here's a read on threshold levels:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/

 

Being the good hunting dog he is, he's likely overly aroused by all the scents and his adrenaline is running. To train a dog like this, you wil have to invest some time in training him in lower distraction scenarios first. A good place to start is in the home, then in yard, then in front of the home and then on walks nearby the house and then on trails. Use high-value treats in areas where he is calmer. You can use the places he takes treats as a gauge for him not being overthreshold and take advantage of starting in those areas. Move to more distracting areas only once you have obtained a fluent response in the less distracting ones.

 

If ever needed, if you call your dog and he appears distracted, you can reel your dog slightly putting pressure on the line to get his attention and the moment he gives in and moves towards you, provide loads of feedback and encouragement until he comes to you culminating in several high-value treats delivered in a row.

 

One of my favorite distraction proofing exercises for hunting dogs is having a helper toss rocks in a tall grass area and work on getting the dog to come to me (making my smacking sound or using a silent whistle). You also want to train attention heeling and make this behavior very fluent starting first in low distractions areas. (This can also help your dog eventually learn an alternate behavior to carry out that will help take his mind off growling at dogs on hikes). All these tips on reducing chasing can be found here:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/chasing-things/

 

More to come....

Edited July 22, 2018 by Adrienne Farricelli

[Adrienne Farricelli]

To answer your question about his relationship with you, you can relax: Ozzie is not trying to be alpha over you. Here's a read on this:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/dominance/

 

Now it is true that there are some dogs who are one-person dogs, but they can form strong attachments with other family members. It may take awhile for a strong bond to form, but you'll get there. You can play a more integral part in his life by feeding him, playing with him, training him and also joining your boyfriend in his hunting outings (I see you are already doing this, kudos to you) and actively participating.

 

When it comes to training and getting him to become responsive to you, consistency, clear comunication is very important to help him make good choices. Here's a guide on troubleshooting various reasons dogs may seem to ignore us:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/ignoring-commands/

 

It 's important that he learns to attend to your requests. For example, the fact you are trying to call him away from other dogs and are unable to, only teaches him that he can ignore you. Your voice soon becomes irrelevant like the birds chirping in the trees. This can play a role in the perceived "attitude" towards you in ignoring some of your requests. With a long line he has no choice, but you want to also help him make good choices.

 

You want to train positively yes, but you also need to make sure that he has boundaries and rules to follow. Instilling self-discipline and control is fundamental. This is a serious hunting dog breed, generally they do not do too well with stranger dogs, especially those of the same sex.

 

As you can attest, German shorthairs also have a distractable mind of their own, and you have quite some challenges because they are not the easiest dogs to train. It takes some experience and loads of patience, so please don't feel overwhelmed if you don't get results overnight. Things can get challenging when you have a dog who was trained for thousands of years to follow a hot trail and give in to strong instincts and then to suddenly have expect the dog to have a superior level of control over those instincts. But you can help him differentiate when he's working on controlling those hunting instincts from when he's not, by letting him wear that long line just as service dogs learn when it's time to work upon wearing their harnesses. Your boyfriend may also want to use a cue (such as "free!") that informs your dog it's hunting time when you take off that long line.

 

Hope this helps, let me know if you need further assistance!

Best,

Adrienne

Edited July 23, 2018 by Adrienne Farricelli