Help! How do I cure my dog's snappishness?

[Giselle]

Oy. Those extra details do complicate things a little, but they are also very helpful!

Firstly, I don't think using the word dominance is very useful in this situation. I know a popular TV show likes to link everything back to dominance, but I encourage you to take dominance out of this context and simply think in terms of "what is Checkers feeling and why?". Also, please understand that scolding works to a limited extent because it suppresses symptoms. When you said nasty things to a classmate, your teacher probably scolded you and put you on time out. But did you like your classmate any better? No, you just didn't say mean things because that meant your teacher would punish you. That's why scolding appears to work, but it often does not address the cause of the problem.

So, now that we've eliminated the word "dominance" from our vocabulary, why, then, is Checkers feeling compelled to snap? I think you pinned it here:

He just attacks Checkers for no reason, and when Checkers tries to fight back to defend herself, Bubbles comes and scolds Checkers by standing over her and snapping at her until she submits to Bubbles. Bubbles was really spoiling Graham, because even though Graham started the fight, she scolds only Checkers, not Graham.

Something isn't right here. Dogs just don't spoil one another. Older females may be more *tolerant* of puppy antics than, say, a crabby old male, but dogs don't spoil one another by favoritism. It's humanizing them just a tad bit too much. Because I never saw these incidents, I can't say for sure what is happening. I am confused, though, because I feel like there are some crucial details here that are missing. So, Graham, out of nowhere, literally attacks Checkers with intent to harm her (i.e. to cause damage and blood), and when Checkers fights back, Bubbles steps in and attacks Checkers. But where is Graham? What happens when Checkers "submits" to Bubbles? Are there resources involved (i.e. food guarding, toys, attention, etc.)? In this case, it really sounds like Bubbles is being a proper, benevolent leader, but a proper leader does not need to attack to assert her position, which is why I'm a little confused when you say Bubbles snaps at Checkers until Checkers submits.

Regardless of this erratic behavior from the other dogs, I feel this definitely points toward fear aggression. Like I said, eliminate dominance from your vocabulary. Dominance in animal world just means that the most dominant dog gets first dibs on resources (in essence, control of resources). So, if Checkers were truly attacking out of dominance, she would be attacking because she's guarding food, toys, or, even, you.

Unless there is something TRULY TRULY mentally wrong with a dog (very rare), ALL dogs will not snap unless there is a trigger. So when you say that Bubbles scolds Checkers for no reason, I implore you to take into account EVERYTHING in the environment and explore all possible reasons why Bubbles would snap at Checkers. There are always signs and triggers. You just have to be aware enough to notice them. Even "hair trigger" dogs (dogs who fly off the handle at the slightest trigger) display signs of agitation towards their trigger before they attack. Their lips will pucker, their eyes will go "hard", their weight will shift, their muscles will tighten, their facial muscles will tighten, etc.

So, because this is long enough, I suppose the most I can say is: tell me more, and maybe I can help you more, too It sounds a little more complicated than I thought, so more details would be great!

[Giselle]

Also, re: an "aggression gene". You know, I often ponder why dogs are aggressive or reactive because I have my own reactive dog (those lovely brown eyes you see in my siggie). I've come to the conclusion that while reactive/aggressive dogs may not conform to our definitions of "normal", we can never blame unnecessary aggression completely on genes alone and we can never use it as an excuse. Aggression/reactivity require management and behavioral modification, but failures of the dog are our own failures.

So while we're modifying our vocabulary (haha), can I ask what you mean by "attack"? I've seen far too many dog fights than I'd like to recount, but when a dog attacks, it intends to inflict damage/kill and it will not stop until something physically blocks it. So, when you say Checker's siblings all attack humans, what exactly do you mean? Do you mean they guard things like toys and food and will bite a human hand if it comes too close? Or do you mean something like: if the dog is sleeping and a human leans over it, the dog will snap? Like I said, in 99% of cases, there are triggers as to why a dog attacks. VERY rarely will you get a dog who is seriously mentally ill who attacks for no reason (even then, it's usually due to something like seizures or some other brain illness).

Edit: I'm sorry, I love this topic so I can go on about this forever

Alternatives to scolding: Manage the dogs' environment well. Be a strong, benevolent leader. Reactive/aggressive dogs NEED clear leadership and rules. Teach a rock solid recall. Whenever you see Checkers heading for the "red zone", recall her. The rest sort of just falls into place and you modify it as you go along. As you work with Checkers, you'll notice the difference. Just keep trucking along with it!

[PonyPup]

Okay, these are the details:
Graham "attacks" Checkers, because he wants to be the alpha. Checkers doesn't cooperate though, and she also fights back because she doesn't accept Graham as the alpha. And you said Bubbles (who's dead. She got hit by a car) is just being a good leader. But she actually submits to Graham! It's weird. It's as if she wants Graham to be the alpha, and when Checkers fights back at Graham, Bubbles "attacks" Checkers because she's like telling Checkers that Graham's the alpha.
And you're asking about Checkers's siblings. Well, they "attack" people by rushing at them and just nipping/biting their leg of foot. I think it's territorial aggression, because they do that when the person's on their territory. But I also think there's something wrong with their brain. Maybe they have sort of a "craze" gene.
Oh, and I think you're right about the fear aggression. I just looked closer at Checkers when one of our German Shepherds (except Coffee. She's not really "scared" of him) goes to her, she just stiffens and shows her teeth, and when one of our Shepherds is lying in front of a doorway or something, and there's a small space to pass through, she passes through that small opening and tries to stay as far back against the wall from the Shepherd. But I read in Understanding Your Dog for Dummies that if your dog is snarling, and its mouth is in a "C" shape, that means it's dominance aggression. If it's pulled back, it's fear aggression. Checkers snarls in a "C" shape. But she also sort of cringes while holding her tail up high. She's showing both fear and dominance at the same time! It's so confusing!
AND I can't get a professional dog behaviorist, 'cause I live in the Philippines, and there aren't really dog behaviorists here!

Oh, sorry if I took so long to reply. I'm just so busy with high school. Oh, and I just wanted to tell you, you're really helping a lot.

[Giselle]

But I read in Understanding Your Dog for Dummies that if your dog is snarling, and its mouth is in a "C" shape, that means it's dominance aggression. If it's pulled back, it's fear aggression. Checkers snarls in a "C" shape.

Nothing in aggression is ever that black and white. What you read is useful information, but it's extremely limited. Aggression and reactivity are almost never quite that simple. When a dog is growling, you're not looking at what letter their mouth makes. You're not looking at the teeth. You're looking at its lips. Are the lips pulled back or are the lips pushed forward into a pucker? You look at its front. Is the dog putting weight on the front legs or is the weight on the back legs? You look at its rear. Is it shifting weight on its haunches or is it tense and ready to spring forward? It's not just the ears, teeth, and tail you're looking at. You're assessing the entire body and the dog's mental/behavioral history. The differences are incredibly minute and an inexperienced person isn't often able to differentiate the physical subtleties. I myself often have difficulty differentiating the subtleties. I usually need a video camera to really precisely see it.

To be brutally honest, you *need* a behaviorist. Because you have so many dogs and are experiencing so much difficulty with at least 3 of them, you really should contact a professional. A behaviorist will help you decipher dog behavior and help you take back control.
Check this out: http://www.dogscoutsphilippines.com/
He is a positive reinforcement/pro-clicker guy, at least from what I can see. Please contact him.