Dogs dont like him!!!

[Zoeythelsot]

Here's a tuffy for yall.
My furbaby Karu loves other dogs. Hes also overly hyper about other dogs, upon other things. Theres two problems and I'm not sure if there is a solution to either, they may or may not be related. First when greeting other dogs he gives the look like hes about to attack them. He will get very stiff, ears back, and just has a very serious look to him. However given a few more seconds hes normally jumping all over the other dog and play bowing and just being goofy. But we dont always get to that point as the other owner normally freaks, the fact he looks so much like a pit bull does not help things at all. Or heck hes even scared me a few times and i've pulled him back, even though hes never attacked another dog. He does this will every dog he greets and its always followed by a not always welcomed jumping on top of the other dog. He starts obedience school in 3 weeks, hoping that will help with the dragging me down the road to get to the other dog. But is there anyway to train him to not look so threating when he greets other dogs? Also I've noticed a trend with him at the dog park, he gets attacked and snapped at constantly. At first I thought it was because well hes overly friendly and dogs were getting annoyed but dogs that he will just go up to will snap at him that play completely nice with other dogs. Hes been bit, sraight up attacked and had to have dogs pulled off him, snapped at, and growled at, by dogs that will play nice with everyone else. If theres 30 dogs, it will be mine in the fight. And of all the times this has happened I've only once seen him fight back, and honestly I think that was in defense as when pulled apart he was calm where the other dog was lunging. Normally he will just brush it off and go else where. I really can't figure this one out. Any Help?

[Karen]

Obedience classes should help with this a whole lot. He needs to learn to walk nicely on a leash, and to give off and read the right signals from other dogs, or learn to take the cue from you.

[Giselle]

There are certainly some dogs who become pariahs. Certain dogs just don't communicate correctly, which can predispose them to being attacked. Very energetic, young adult dogs come to mind...

However, it also sounds like your dog has some fear. Because he's been in so many attacks, it sounds like he has adapted to being overly cautious and aroused around other dogs. So, when he sees strange dogs on a walk, he'll go into a "uh-oh-what-is-that" state of mind. Then, when he sees the dog is producing friendly signals, he himself will relax. I see this with a lot of dogs who don't know how to communicate well. Dog A will see Dog B. Dog A is so concerned/aroused that he'll stand tall and rigid with staring eyes. But when Dog B gives a friendly signal, Dog A will immediately relax and give a friendly greeting.

When he jumps on top of other dogs, does he put his paws on their backs? If so, it sounds like your dog is trying to display dominance and *that* is what's getting him attacked. I strongly suggest hiring a behaviorist to come watch your dog interact with other dogs. They can help you decipher how your dog is communicating incorrectly and give you insight as to why. It's money well spent, I promise!

[Zoeythelsot]

I wouldn't have thought he is being fearful of the other dogs as he is normally the one dragging me to them. And as I said has never attacked/snapped/growled at another dog. But the stand tall and rigid does sound like what he does.

I do feel he has a dominant personality and felt like that may have something to do with it. He pees on EVERYTHING, and is hump happy as times. He is fixed, I get that question a lot. He does put his paws on their back, and well sometimes completely jumps on top of them. But sometimes its a simple sniff that gets him snapped at. Sigh, possible he just smells

[shepgirl]

I agree that obedience classes would be a big help for starters. Maybe he's unsure how another dog will react and he's on guard for the first few minutes of encounter...just enough to read the other dog but it might be that another dog would take it as a threat.

[Giselle]

Fear can manifest itself in different ways. If he's dragging you over to see them, he might not be fearful. However, you have to remember that he HAS been in many scuffles. Even if he has never lunged at another dog under your watch, he HAS been in fights. Therefore, it'd be completely natural and expected of him to be nervous or anxious the first few moments he sees a new dog.

It certainly sounds like your pup is being "not-truly-dominant". A truly dominant dog doesn't have to resort to mounting and humping strange dogs. What he's doing is more overly exuberant adolescent behavior, and the other dogs are telling him to back off. They are giving him warning signs, and, when he doesn't heed them, the warnings escalate into fights.

So your job is to teach him that no means no. If he's trying to hump or engage in rough play with another dog and the other dog turns away/tries to run away/growls, first let your dog walk away. If your dog doesn't walk away and he keeps pestering the other dog, correct your dog and lead him away. Engage him in something like fetch or let him play with a more tolerant dog.

[Zoeythelsot]

Something a little interesting I forgot to add, the first time he meet my aunt's dog, she's 15 too old to play with, he had just come back from 2 hours at the dog park and he greeted her like a normal dog, just sniffed and that was about it. They were even in the back yard together for about an hour and perfectly fine together. The next weekend they met again, same exact place, the only difference he was coming from home so was full of energy, opposed to be completely drained. He did the stiff scarey dog thing with her than proceeded to try to play with her, which he wasn't allowed to do, my aunt's dog is far too old for rough housing. So if he was doing the scarey dog thing out of fear then why did he do it then with a dog he had already met and knew was no threat to him? Its like a teenage boy meeting a 90 yr old woman, while I agree old woman can be scarey, there is nothing fearful about this dog at all.
I like the not truly dominant idea. Like I said I knew he had insecurity and dominance problems from day one, as we had a problem with him marking. He doesn't do it in the house anymore but hes very bad when going to new places. I tried working with him on this by taking him to places like certain large chain pet stores where it is very tempting for him to mark but pretty easy for me to correct him. And he was doing great with this, his heeling, and going crazy around other dogs, but then 4 weeks ago he broke my arm, a whole another story, so I really can't work with him until my arm is healed. I tried taking him out in public last weekend to a pet memorial day event with other dogs and hes completely regressed with this =( and with only one good arm I was really unable to correct him or control him, I was dragged everywhere by a barking jumping crying dog trying to get to the other dogs and to pee on everything. I tried bring him around the other dogs which made things 20 times worse and half the owners were terrified of him. We ended up about I can't express how embarrassing this was. Sorry I'm just venting, thank you for reading my horribly long post

[Giselle]

...and with only one good arm I was really unable to correct him or control him, I was dragged everywhere by a barking jumping crying dog trying to get to the other dogs and to pee on everything.

Uh oh, it sounds like he's become reactive.

I think this problem is deeper than it seems. From what you post, it sounds like Karu is:
- an overly exuberant adolescent with poor dog-dog communication skills
- high-energy by nature
- confident
- strong
- generally dog friendly
- becoming reactive on leash

And, to me, it sounds like your general plan of action is to tire him out as much as possible and correct him when he displays "bad" behavior.

However, these "bad" behaviors are a deeper part of who Karu is. If you really want to hit the core of these issues, you'll have to start training specifically for calming behaviors, proper greeting behaviors, coping mechanisms, and a strong focus on the handler. If this is your first time with these types of things, I strongly suggest contacting a behaviorist. Reactivity, especially with naturally high energy/confident dogs, generally doesn't get better on its own...

[tulip1]

I am so glad I found this forum. I am having the exact same problem with my dog. He approaches other dogs in a very direct and alert manner. He almost always gets rebuffed with a lunge and a snap from the other dogs. it is so discouraging. I hate that I am correcting him each and every time he sees another dog. Do they grow out of this behavior. My pup is 16 months old.

[Zoeythelsot]

I think him regressing on his leash/heel/not pulling training is really my fault. Since my arm has been broke, his fault, I haven't been walking or running with him much, afraid to hurt my arm even more while its trying to heal. Though he has improved greatly on his stay and come and "go get your ball" during this time. =)
I went to my first obedience class last night without the dog, told the lady I want to work on him greeting other dogs, I didnt tell her the real problem is his posture meeting other dogs though. She has alot of experience training dogs, I took her class 15 yrs ago!!! So she should have some good advice. I think my game plan right now is to get him to sit while greeting other dogs, I'm not sure how possible this will be though. Its gonna take a lot of work.....and two working arms.
As far as other dogs attacking him at the dog park I'm not sure what I can do. Hopefully if I can get him to meet other dogs calmly it will help. Unfortunately, he really doesn't have any doggy friends outside the dog park to practice on. This is actually my main reason for the obedience class so he can have exposure to other dogs in a more controlled environment. I'm crossing my fingers it will work.
I had someone mention that it may be his physical appearance in itself. His tail is docked and that may make it harder for dogs to read his body language. Also something about his ears but I didn't really understand that one, his ears look like normal pit bull ears undocked. I still think maybe he just smells bad

[Giselle]

Yeesh. The docked tail debate is REALLY moot.

Dogs don't speak with their tails and ears. They speak with their eyes, their jaw muscles (and I'm not talking about biting), their weight shifts, their tenseness, the *base* of their tails (not the tips), their fur, etc. If one claims that docked tails contribute to miscommunication, then one essentially implies that virtually all dogs are inherently unable to communicate because no one dog really looks exactly like a wolf (except, maybe a Husky/Wolf hybrid ).

The actual problem lies in the dog's exuberance, lack of self-control, and lack of communication skills. It's just something you have to teach and manage. This type of overaroused, overexuberant behavior is most common in adolescent dogs from 1-4 years (so tulip1, your dog likely falls under this case, too) and is most prevalent in higher energy breeds, such as Working, Sporting, and Herding breeds.

I wish you luck in curbing your pup's enthusiasm

[tulip1]

I spoke with my breeder this week about my pup and she feels that I am expecting too much. She said once he matures things will be better. One thing that was interesting is that she suggested that I NOT neuter him yet. And she was very adamant about it. She said that he will mature better "mentally" if he is left intact longer. Thoughts?

It seems like as soon as someone says a dog is aggressive(not that I am saying he is aggressive he is just rude) they say to neuter.

I will be starting a leash aggression class with him next week. I actually think it is more for me than for him. After so many bad experiences I know I am tense now around other dogs and I am probably part of the issue now.