Correcting submissive behavior

[pcarfan]

My 6 month old Shepherd/ACD mix is very submissive around people. He is pretty much over his submissive urination, but whenever he comes into contact with strangers his ears are tucked back, his head is down and a lot of the times he ends up rolling over with his belly up.

To fix this so far, i've been trying to praise him whenever he is alert and his ears are up. I don't really know what else to do for the time being. On a side note, because he is submissive, does this mean that he won't be a good guard or watch dog?

Any suggestions on correcting this behavior would be great! :thumbsup:

[Pit Chick]

You're on the right track by praising him when he is alert. He needs to have his confidence built up, so don't coddle him when he acts scared or submissive. Enrolling him in a training class will help also. I fostered an ACD and she was very submissive, including the submissive urination ( I've heard ACDs already have very active bladders, then you add submissive behavior... ) In her new home they've taken her to classes and she is doing very well and has gained more confidence and is learning some manners. They say they are considering doing agility type activities with her once she has the proper training.

It is possible for your guy to be a good watchdog. If he sees someone or something outside the fence or out your window, he'll probably bark. That's the purpose of a watchdog (barking). As far as being a good guard dog right now, it's doubtful. Guard dogs have to have confidence and that usually comes with age and proper handling. He's still just a pup so being a guard dog isn't a big priority. When he gets older and more secure with himself, he'll realize that he has the ability and duty to protect his territory. So be patient with him and do everything you can to boost his confidence. When he meets strangers, have them get down on his level and tell them to give him praises, use his name a lot and act like they are the happiest people in the world to be meeting him. I hope this helps.

[Scooby4]

My dog Shaggy had the same issue. Still going through it with my dog Benji. It does take time and plenty of patience.
First, do NOT pet/rub his stomach and tell everyone else NOT to do it!!! This is the MOST submissive behavior. Once you accomplish this things should change progressively.
Shaggy is a smaller dog so this method worked on him. Everytime he would roll over I would PROMPTLY turn him over to his feet. I would NOT pet him while exposing his belly ONLY on the head/back. I did have to physically grap his tail and head flip him onto his feet. It did not hurt him and would have to repeat the process a few times. Each time I would tell him "No petting belly" or something like that. Later, I was able to just ignore him when he rolled over. This method will need to do continously.
Basically IGNORE the undesired behaviors and PRAISE the wanted ones. I do think eventually the "Attack Strangers" mode will kick in once the submissive behavior is eliminated. ALWAYS MAKE SURE YOU ARE THE ALPHA DOG!!! There will be a point where this could backfire and the dog can try to put dominance on you. Nip that in the bud. The dog will respect and understand that.
I wish you luck. My dog Benji is a Border Collie and her insistance on having her belly rubbed ended up with her paw in my eye! Scratched my eyeball! Once your dog understands it's place in your household it should improve.

[bckrazy]

Originally posted by Scooby4
Everytime he would roll over I would PROMPTLY turn him over to his feet. I would NOT pet him while exposing his belly ONLY on the head/back. I did have to physically grap his tail and head flip him onto his feet. It did not hurt him and would have to repeat the process a few times. Each time I would tell him "No petting belly" or something like that.

hm.. I wouldn't ever do this. it sounds pretty mean, and like it would further freak out a submissive dog.

Building confidence, ignoring submissiveness, and praising will probably work very well though. Taking him to Obedience classes should help a lot! Later in his life, Agility, Flyball, competitive Obedience, or Frisbee would also give him a lot of confidence by giving him a "job". I wouldn't expect him to be a big "guard dog", but what exactly do you mean by guard dog? Is he outside or in the house? Do you want him to guard property or just alarm bark when some one aproaches the house?

[pcarfan]

Well you know how vicious Blue Heelers can be. From other Blue Heeler owners i've talked to, it sounds a lot of them won't even let strangers on the property. I was just kind of hoping he wouldn't be like that since he was submissive. He already does bark, and even growl on a few occasions. He seems much more protective of the bark yard. One thing i'm worried about, our golf course walks right out to a country club and in the summer there are golfers and CARTS driving by everyday all day. This is the primary reason I wanted to know if he was going to be protective of the property because I don't want him going out after a golfer or golf cart.

[pcarfan]

Oops didn't proof read. That was suppose to say "our back yard walks out to a golf course".

[Pit Chick]

If that's the case, then I wouldn't leave him alone outside when no one is home.