Potential dominance

[Marlene]

Hi, I haven't been here in a while, as things have been good with Apollo.

However I am needing help with an issue I am seeing.

He is super friendly, and loves people, dogs and adventures.

We go on regularly walks around 2-3 hours most days, which consists of walks, hikes, mostly of leash and play dates.

We also attend some dog parks 

I also attend dog behaviour class once a week in an open field, where he does training around lots of dogs.

My question is whilst he loves to play, I am finding he is a bit on the pushy side.

He meets a dog, does the sniffing thing, when they start to run and play, he chases them and is seems  as if he is  herding sheep, is seems he takes nips at their bums to keep going.

Secondly when he he along side a dog he tends to rest his head on their back, close to their head.

He also has been trying to hump.

And yes he is nurtured.

I do correct if by either telling him no, leave it and then pulling him off the other dog.

I attach the leash again, sometimes make him sit calmly, and allow him to play again, if he does the same thing I take him away from the area and play and begin a training session away from other dogs and head home.

I have asked the trainer's, they have seen his interaction with other dogs and aren't particularly worried and  say dogs do this, but if done to the wrong dog a fight can happen.

They advised that you just have to keep correcting him.

I am always watching him and do command him to go slow and to not jump ext, whilst he is playing, he does seem to listen but there are the times he doesn't.

I feel it becoming more frequent as if he is showing who's boss.

He has been corrected by some dogs but doesn't seem fazed.

He does seem to back off other times.

My question is how do I train him out of this before it gets worse.

Should I be doing something before interaction with dogs.

After a short time he does stop and plays normally and then stays with me.

He is 2yrs 5 months

 

This is him when he plays Apollo is the Shephard/ husky.

 

 

     

 

 

 

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hi Marlene, welcome back! Please see my comments in bold. 

"He is super friendly, and loves people, dogs and adventures. We go on regularly walks around 2-3 hours most days, which consists of walks, hikes, mostly of leash and play dates. We also attend some dog parks  I also attend dog behaviour class once a week in an open field, where he does training around lots of dogs.

This is all wonderful! It sounds like Apollo has a nice array of activities and social life!

My question is whilst he loves to play, I am finding he is a bit on the pushy side. He meets a dog, does the sniffing thing, when they start to run and play, he chases them and is seems  as if he is  herding sheep, is seems he takes nips at their bums to keep going. 

Dogs with a herding lineage tend to engage in "pushy types of play."  Their "type A" personality refers to these dogs' need to take control. No it's not the type of "dominant dog" control, but more about about these dogs' predisposition to wanting to bark, chase and possibly nip anything that moves so to move them in a certain direction or gather them in a group. This may include chasing cats, joggers, cars and even trying to "round up" other dogs at the dog park or expecting them to behave in a certain manner. 

Herding dogs in particular are notorious for assuming what's known as "the fun police role," where they act as "moderators" just as they do with stubborn sheep. With these dogs, it's impossible to completely extinguish their desire to herd, but it is possible being one step ahead of them, always ready to intervene and redirect. 

Secondly when he he along side a dog he tends to rest his head on their back, close to their head. He also has been trying to hump. And yes he is nurtured.

On top of having some herding heritage, Apollo has now reached an age where dog-to-dog interactions may start to deteriorate. We often see the most significant signs during social maturity.  Social maturity takes place when dogs are around 18 to 24 months.

You can read more about this critical stage here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/survive-dogs-adolescent-stage/

You likely have seen some of the first signs of this already, specifically when Apollo was 16 months old and was playing with a smaller dog and you felt  "he was too rough, and being the bigger dog he would stand over the smaller dog" as seen in the tread below where the "T posture" was discussed and importance of preventing its rehearsal. 

 

I do correct if by either telling him no, leave it and then pulling him off the other dog. I attach the leash again, sometimes make him sit calmly, and allow him to play again, if he does the same thing I take him away from the area and play and begin a training session away from other dogs and head home.

I have asked the trainer's, they have seen his interaction with other dogs and aren't particularly worried and  say dogs do this, but if done to the wrong dog a fight can happen.

 

They advised that you just have to keep correcting him.

I am always watching him and do command him to go slow and to not jump ext, whilst he is playing, he does seem to listen but there are the times he doesn't.

I feel it becoming more frequent as if he is showing who's boss.

He has been corrected by some dogs but doesn't seem fazed.

He does seem to back off other times.

My question is how do I train him out of this before it gets worse.

Should I be doing something before interaction with dogs.

After a short time he does stop and plays normally and then stays with me.

He is 2yrs 5 months

ideally, I would prefer to "preempt" a problem behavior rather than correct it. There are several possible problems with the corrections. For instance, here are a few of them:

1) The dog is still allowed to rehearse a troublesome behavior. Sure we may interrupt it, but even just starting a behavior still involves a certain level of rehearsal, only that it's not allowed to progress and culminate. Practice makes perfect, so the more they rehearse, the  more they'll want to perform the behavior. 

2) When the dog has started to perform the behavior, it tends to be more difficult to interrupt, versus interrupting it *before* it has had the chance to start. 

3) If a dog is allowed to perform a behavior, sometimes yes, and sometimes no, the behavior tends to become stronger and establish. This is the power of a variable schedule of reinforcement. For sake of an example, imagine a person who approaches a group of people playing cards at a table. This person invades the people playing and doesn't even ask if he can join them, he just grabs a chair and pushes himself in between them and starts telling people what to do and how to play. 

If the players allow him to get away with this, that's a victory, if they don't allow him to join them or they send him away, that's a non-victory, but the victories always seem to be rewarding enough to allow the behavior to persist. Actually, the victories seem to make him bolder and bolder by the day, as they reward his persistence. If for instance, a person refuses to have him sit nearby, he may try  sitting next to a different person who complies, so he'll be more likely to use this strategy next time, allowing the behavior to further establish. 

4) Correcting the behavior may fail to inform the dog what we would like him to do instead. 

5) I agree with the trainers that, one day, he may encounter the wrong type of a dog and a serious fight may ensue. Not all dogs are accepting of "pushy behaviors." The reaction if strong enough may leave an impact on him emotionally and possibly physically, so you want to protect your dog from going to that extreme.

I wasn't able for some reason to see the first three videos, but from what I see, I would like some faster responses to his recall and "off" cues. Ideally, getting really good at reading his early pre-T-posturing and pre-mounting body language so it's easier to stop him in his tracks.

The encounter with the chocolate Lab could have turned ugly if the Lab objected. The female Irish wolfhound-looking dog is very soft and even shows inguinal presentation, but despite this, she seems somewhat interested in him. 

 I would therefore suggest working more on polishing those responses and not allowing full rehearsals as those allow the behavior to get stronger over time. I would also carefully evaluate what triggers the mounting. It can be overstimulation, so adding some breaks in between play can help. 

In the meanwhile, I would be wary of his interactions with other dogs possibly until you have more fluent responses and then working in a very structured environment under the professional guidance of the behavior team. Make sure to give praise/positive feedback when he is responsive to your cues!