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Hi Roma, great question!
There are a range of behaviours that dogs use that are designed to establish rank or pecking order with other dogs. However, to strange dogs these can often be intimidating and they can get to a point where of the action continues they will respond telling the dog to ‘back off!’ Jumping on, humping and pushy/intimidating behaviour are the most common ones and so if you see your dog doing this to another dog then calmly intervening is advised. I usually just gently take hold of the dog’s collar and move them away from the other dog a little, wait for their excitement level to reduce and if they do then I release them again. If they return to continue the behaviour I may give the dog one last separation but then they lose the privilege of their freedom if they fail to use some self-control. There is no need to tell the dog off or make a big fuss, just let your calm and consistent action speak louder than words here.
There is a lot more you can do to show your dog that this behaviour is not desirable. My website TheOnlineDogTrainer.com shows you very clearly how to achieve this…maybe take a quick look…its a $1 trial for 3 days…all the best Doggy Dan

Hi Cheri,
there are many reasons why dogs mouth/bite their owners and at 7 months of age, and also being a larger dog, the behaviour really needs to be brought under control as soon as possible. It’s not clear from your post what the scenarios are where he bites you…sometimes it can be attention seeking and sometimes it can be a result of having their personal space invaded. My advice is that if you want to give him a pat/fuss then invite him to you rather than approach him to do so. This may seem like only a small detail but to dogs it’s an important one. If he bites you/mouths for attention then telling him off or making a big fuss can be really counterproductive. I’m not saying to just ignore his behaviour, rather to use calm and consistent actions rather than words. If he bites you then placing him in a room on his own for 5-10 minutes will show him that the behaviour will not gain attention AND if he does it he will actually end up all alone. This will encourage him to start to use some self-control. As I said previously, the ley is to identify why he is biting you so you can then respond correctly to overcome the behaviour. My website TheOnlineDogTrainer.com shows you very clearly how to achieve this…maybe take a quick look…its a $1 trial for 3 days…all the best Doggy Dan

Hi,
Adding a new dog to the family dynamic is certainly a time where both dogs will seek to work out a pecking order with each other. Provided that they are doing this respectfully then there is no need to intervene too much BUT in your case it sounds like you will need to be a little more involved in showing both dogs how you expect them to behave toward one another. It sounds like you have some really great strategies in place but there is certainly more that can be done to help E & T learn to live harmoniously together. My website TheOnlineDogTrainer.com shows you very clearly how to achieve this…maybe take a quick look…its a $1 trial for 3 days…all the best Doggy Dan

Hi Kim,
It is really common for a dog’s behaviour to change towards other dogs after they have been involved in a fight or negative encounter. The reason it happens is that the dog now has very good reason to view all other dogs, and even people/bikes/cars, as a potential threat to their safety. Their behaviour is generally a sign of fear.
When meeting strangers my advice would be to ask them to delay saying ‘hi’ until he relaxes, this includes eye contact, and keep him on a shorter leash besides you. Have a quick chat to the person and if your dog seems more relaxed then you can have the person call him to them to receive a pat. I always avoid allowing strangers to approach my dogs to pat them as that stranger is invading their personal space and that can lead to them feeling unsure. If your dog is comfortable then he will go to them but if he would normally then jump at them, I would have you hold him gently buy the collar as he receives that pat. This way you can manage his behaviour and move him away if he starts to get too excited. Make sure you remain calm yourself and avoid telling him off for his behaviour, simply move him away and end the pat/fuss.
My website TheOnlineDogTrainer.com shows you very clearly how to achieve calm behaviour on the walk…maybe take a quick look…its a $1 trial for 3 days…all the best Doggy Dan

Hi Susan,
I really do feel for this dog as it is a very stressful life when you feel you are the protector of your family and you are panicking with that responsibility. Aggression in many cases is fear driven and an over-reaction from a dog who is panicking. All dogs view strange dogs and people as potential dangers, even though we know we will not harm them, a dog is directed by it’s instinct to survive. Of course I’m not saying that every dog acts aggressively out of this fear of ‘danger’, there are some dogs who appear over-friendly with strangers and this behaviour is motivated apparent for the same reason. It simply comes down to a dog’s personality, past experience and sense of responsibility. The behaviour can be changed in the majority of cases, the dog just needs the right information from their owner.
As far as what you can do to ease this dogs aggression when you are in your yard, you are already doing. Paying no attention to the dog shows it that you are not threat. Speaking to him when he is panicking, no matter how sweetly, would only make matters worse. I would say nothing, avoid eye contact and initially stay further from the fence until he calms down.
When a dog’s sense of responsibility is so great things like e-collars or shock collars do not work and in fact they can reinforce the behaviour by creating a negative physical sensation as well. It’s the reason we don’t advise the use of them to solve any behavioural issue. You need to deal with the root cause of the issue in order to solve it effectively, and this is what we teach owners to do on my membership website.
Thanks for your post….All the best, Doggy Dan

Hi Cherry. Juts be aware that your German Shepherd may be space invading here, leading your Papillon to feel unsettled. Have you tried calling your Shepherd away when they invade the space of your Papillon? This just allows your Papillon to feel that she doesn’t have to be the one to lay out the ground rules. If your Shepherd refuses to move away or returns to repeat the behaviour then you can consider removing your Shepherd from the room for a few minutes as a signal that they will be removed if they continue to space invade. No need to tell your Shepherd off just respond calmly and consistently and they will get the idea.
We do also cover this issue on my website TheOnlineDogTrainer.com …maybe take a quick look…its a $1 trial for 3 days…all the best Doggy Dan

Hi Teresa, my training program TheOnlineDogTrainer.com covers it all off. It is $1 for a 3 day trial. You can cancel or stay on during the trail…Hope that helps…Dan

Hi Tina,
love to help out with this, please contact me directly ASAP cheers Dan

Hi Victoria,

Basically your dog by instinct is loyal to his pack/family alone, that includes cats, and he doesn’t necessarily feel the same towards strange dogs and cats who aren’t a part of his pack/family. Dogs who behave aggressively in this way are generally motivated by the fact they thing it is their job to protect their pack. So to change this behaviour the solution is to show your dog that he is in fact not the decision maker/leader of the pack, you are. Once you remove this job from him he will start to look to you for direction on how to behave towards other dogs and cats. My membership website deals with this issue and shows owners how to effectively overcome this behaviour. Best, Dan

Hi Sylvie, yes I do often find myself reminding owners to use common sense when interacting with dogs, whether that is their own dog or someone else’s. My aim is to help everyone avoid really basic and common mistakes that all too often dogs end up paying for. Best, Dan

Hi Elaine, so glad you like it! I often say that dogs really aren’t the complicated animals that we make them out to be. If you give them the correct information then they can be the calm and happy dogs we all want them to be. Best, Dan