Does extreme submission often turn into aggression?

[dab_20]

Just had a question. My boyfriend's family's pittie, Luna (I've posted photos of her), is extremely submissive to other dogs. It looks to me that she's afraid. She's just turned a year old.
When any dog approaches her, even a tiny chihuahua, she "crawls" and the ground, ears back, licking lips, and turns over to show her belly. She used to bark continuously, but as she has been socialized more she doesn't bark anymore. Other dogs try to play with her but she'll only run a few feet before rolling on her back again. I've seen dogs be submissive in play when the other dog is pushy, but nothing like she does.

I've never seen a dog this submissive before. How can we boost her confidence? Could this turn into fear aggression or is it something we shouldn't worry about?

[luvofallhorses]

She may be uncomfortable around other dogs she doesn't know. Do you mean if it will turn into fear aggression with other dogs or human aggression? Submission doesn't always turn into aggression or fear aggression. I wouldn't coddle her when she submits to other dogs, either but just take her out of situations that make her uncomfortable. Overly friendly dogs that she is not used being around can make her uncomfortable and that is probably why she submits to them. Is she the only dog in her home?

[K9soul]

Raven was this way a lot and still is to a degree. When I'd take her to the dog park she'd run up excited to another dog but as soon as they turned to her she'd skitter away and roll onto her back. In tag games she'd love to chase another dog but if they turned to chase her she got a panicked look on her face and would throw herself on the ground with tail tucked. She did this even a couple years ago when my parents got a smooth collie and we took them all out to play in a field.

Once she gets to know the other dogs, she eases up, but she's always on the cautious side. She's never shown any hint of aggression. She's just a very submissive pup. However, she does seem to be happiest playing with other submissive dogs. She's just not ever really at ease around a dominant dog.

Oh and one other thing I noticed, some other more dominant/pushy dogs seemed to pick up on her nervousness/submission and would start to try to bully her. In that situation I just removed her from those dogs asap.

[lizbud]

She's still a pup really at only 1 yr old. She could still change a lot. You
say she used to bark a lot, but after socializing she stopped. How was she
socialized? What did they do with her?

[Freedom]

Group classes would help - work to get her into Agility, that is a huge confidence booster! You don't have to go into competition, just take the class for the boost.

[lizbud]

Group classes would help - work to get her into Agility, that is a huge confidence booster! You don't have to go into competition, just take the class for the boost.


Excellent idea.:)

[sasvermont]

My dog is terribly submissive. She does bully puppies though. I just ignore her when she starts flipping over when approached. She does it at doggie daycare too. They joke about her spending her day "on her back"!:)

Prue will also yipe like someone is killing her if a dog gets too rough with her. When that happens, if it keeps up, I pick her up and take her home.

Most days she makes the best of being submissive. It isn't that bad most times when she meets dogs. But when they get rough, she gives up!

I wouldn't worry about it. It's just part of the personality.

I would rather have my dog be timid than aggressive. Oh well.

[dab_20]

Raven was this way a lot and still is to a degree. When I'd take her to the dog park she'd run up excited to another dog but as soon as they turned to her she'd skitter away and roll onto her back. In tag games she'd love to chase another dog but if they turned to chase her she got a panicked look on her face and would throw herself on the ground with tail tucked. She did this even a couple years ago when my parents got a smooth collie and we took them all out to play in a field.



This is exactly how I would describe Luna. She loves to chase dogs but the minute they turn around it is different.

[dab_20]

She's still a pup really at only 1 yr old. She could still change a lot. You
say she used to bark a lot, but after socializing she stopped. How was she
socialized? What did they do with her?

Basically just meeting neighbor dogs on leash. There's a pug and another pittie that the neighbors have that she often runs around with. Had a few play dates with Springen.
She wasn't really socialized the first six months because she was very small and had some health problems including UTIs and skin conditions. They found her in a parking lot at around 5 weeks old!

Yes, she's the only dog. I just meant fear aggression towards other dogs. She LOVES people but is pretty submissive around them too.

Thanks for the replies! I'll talk to them about agility, I bet they'd be interested. She plays soccer with his younger brothers. She gets LOTS of activity because they are very active.

[luvofallhorses]

Well maybe get her into some kind of sport to boost her confidence like Dock dogs, flyball, or agility! :) If she sees other dogs doing stuff, she may not be so submissive.