What is a dominant dog?
Some people attribute all problem behaviors to “dominance“, while others do not want to use the “dominant dog” label at all. The truth, as always, is somewhere in-between.
It is useful to recognize dominant behaviors in our dog, so that we can better manage him, keep him safe, and set him up for success. Refusing to use the word dominance, or denying its existence in dogs, is unhelpful.
Any pack animal including humans and dogs, have to deal with dominance issues, because it is part of pack dynamics.
Similarly, trying to explain everything away by using the dominant dog label or excuse, is also unhelpful. To really fix a problem behavior, we want to fully understand it, and correctly identify its source. For example, a dog may show aggression because of dominance. However, dog aggression can also be the result of fear, stress, play, curiosity, boredom, or something else.
Dog Dominance
Dominance is a fluid concept.
Dogs are not dominant all of the time.
For example, many dogs will show greater dominance when they are on home turf, or when their owners are around. Under different circumstances, these same dogs may become less assertive, or may even become submissive.
Observe our dog carefully, and identify when he is more likely to show dominance, and why.
Dominance is a relative concept.
My Shiba Inu, for example, is more dominant than most dogs I have owned. He challenges me more frequently, and is constantly testing his boundaries. He has a dominant body posture, and he will not back down when challenged by other dogs.
My Siberian Husky, is a more submissive dog. She usually stops whatever she is doing, when I tell her to. She very quickly backs down, and uses submissive body language, when confronted by other dogs.
However, this does not mean that my Husky will always back down, or never show any dominance behavior. She simply prefers to avoid conflict, and has learned that she usually gets more, by seeking a peaceful resolution. I make sure to encourage this behavior, by rewarding calmness and conflict avoidance very well.
What is a Dominant Dog?
- A dominant dog will likely respond with aggression when he is frustrated, or when he feels threatened. He may also redirect that aggression onto us, if we try to physically engage him.
- A dominant dog is more forceful when it comes to fulfilling his own needs and goals. He is not afraid to challenge those around him, and to continually test his boundaries. My Shiba Inu is always testing to see if particular rules, such as the no getting on furniture rule, still hold true.
- A dominant dog is more likely to fight, and less likely to submit or run away. My Shiba Inu likes playing with other dogs, but he generally does not get along with dogs who try to dominate him. If challenged, he will not back down, and this can result in a dog fight.
Dealing with a Dominant Dog
1. Calm and decisive pack leader
Being angry and shouting at our dog, will only worsen his behavior. Fear and uncertainty will increase his level of stress, and cause him to behave in a more erratic fashion.
The best way to deal with a dominant dog is to remain calm, and firmly remove him from the environment or object, that is causing him to act out.
2. Avoid physical corrections
Contrary to common belief, physical force or physical corrections is NOT a good way to deal with dominant dogs. If not perfectly executed (with perfect timing, force, and technique), a physical correction may further frustrate our dog, and cause him to get more aggressive.
Instead, stay calm, keep physical interactions to a minimum, and quickly leave the stressful situation. In addition, using physical force against a dog, may end up teaching him the wrong lesson; in particular, use violence against violence.
True alpha dogs lead by controlling the pack’s resources. We can control our dog’s resources by following the NILIF (Nothing in Life is Free) program, and using reward obedience training.
3. Management and supervision
We want to step in and stop any aggressive behaviors, before our dog escalates and loses control. Prevention is key when dealing with a dominant dog. It stops him from practicing aggressive behaviors, and it enforces the important lesson that we are calm and in charge.
4. Consistent rules
To become a good pack leader, it is important to develop a set of house rules and some structure, for our dog to follow. Always be consistent with enforcing all of those rules.
My Shiba Inu’s most important house rules include –
- No getting on furniture,
- No biting on people,
- No leash biting, and
- No food aggression or resource guarding.
5. Frequent obedience training sessions
Schedule at least two or more short (10 – 15 minutes) obedience training sessions with our dog, every day. It is a good idea to keep up with obedience exercises, throughout a dog’s life. This keeps him mentally sharp, and makes it clear that we are in charge.
6. Use proper equipment to control our dog
When dealing with aggression, safety should always be a primary concern.
Use whatever equipment is necessary, to keep all the people around our dominant dog safe. A drag lead may also be useful because it gives us good control of our dog, without having to lay hands on him or his collar, and without resorting to chasing games.
If our dog has a bite history, it may be necessary to use a muzzle. I like the basket muzzle because it does not overly constrain a dog’s mouth, and is more comfortable. A basket muzzle will still allow a dog to eat and pant.
Be careful not to aggravate our dog’s aggressive behavior by overly constraining him, and causing barrier frustration. When in doubt, consult a professional trainer.
7. Set our dog up for success
Try to minimize the number of dominant displays. Identify objects (e.g. other dogs, cats) and environmental conditions (e.g. loud noise) that trigger dominant behaviors, and avoid those triggers.
Then, gradually desensitize our dog to those events, in a controlled fashion.
Many dog behavioral issues, including resource guarding, biting people, dog-to-dog aggression, sensitivity to handling, growling at humans, and general disobedience, are often attributed to “the dominant dog”.
However, each of these problems are unique, and complex. They are usually the result of many factors, one of which may be dominance. In fact, many behavioral issues are the result of stress and fear, and have nothing whatsoever to do with dominance.
When dealing with dog behavioral issues, it is best to keep an open mind.
Observe our dog and his environment carefully. Identify the triggers for his aggressive behavior, and try to understand why he is responding in this way. If his aggression is extreme (e.g. he is breaking skin, and/or causing puncture wounds), hire a professional trainer to help us carefully trouble-shoot the problems.
Hopefully you can be of some help in this strange situation we have going on in our household. Our 4 year old pit was spayed about 5 months ago. Since then, she has started to hump people and our poor chihuahua, who is a male(p.s. they get along on a regular basis). I’ve never seen a female do this, ever. Also at times, very rarely, she has snapped at a few of us. Usually because we try and move her (off the bed or couch ect). Before all this, we always were able to brag about how she has never been aggressive towards anyone. Now, I have to take a squirt bottle on walks to ensure she doesn’t attack any other female dogs. Its sad that things have changed like this. Any advice would be great. Thank you.
Hello Amanda,
Many apologies for the late reply. I have been doing a lot of site updates, and as a result, things are a bit up in the air. 😀
In terms of the behavior that you describe, it is not something I have encountered before, so I don’t have any firsthand knowledge.
One possibility is that she may still be feeling pain/discomfort from the spay procedure. Is she showing any other signs of pain/discomfort while walking? How has her activity level been? Is she jumping or running around in a normal way?
As for humping, yeah, female dogs do that as well. In addition, humping is not always a sign of dominant behavior. One of my female Sibes, Lara, does that sometimes during play. Even though she does it in play, it is not a behavior that I want to encourage, so I always supervise and stop her.
For getting off couches, I teach my dogs the “Off” command. They get rewarded very well for doing it, so they are happy to work with me. Then after “Off”, I give them the “Down” command, and give them some nice affection for lying close to me on the floor.
Instead of giving my dogs their food for free in a bowl, I make them work for their food throughout the day by doing commands, grooming, being calm, lying nicely on the carpet, etc. This is also called the Nothing in Life is Free (NILIF) program and it works very well for us.
Let us know how it goes for your girl.
I like this article a lot. I am the owner of two dogs, both who are related by the same mother (but different fathers.)
One is sweet and overly submissive. She is not the problem. Our problem is out male who is a chow/border collie mix. He is now 10 years old. He is extremely intelligent but also extremely dominant. Lately it has gotten worse. He tends to respond to me more than my mother, but I have instances where he will suddenly snap at me. (EX: if I am petting him and I touch his paws, he hates that.) ..I usually can make him roll on his back just by staring him down, but he is very stubborn and growls while doing it.
He has continuous attitude. Even when he listens, like when I order him off my bed, he does it but all the while growling. When I am not around he is even worse. He had bitten my mother and broke skin when I was away working in China. This was a result of him stealing human food and her trying to take it away. .. We try to be strict with him. feeding time especially. He has to sit and lay down and wait until we say he can eat. He dont let him force himself on us to be petted. We make him lay down and wait to be called.. and other little things. But he is still a time bomb.
Is there anything else I can do? He is very good at tricks, but is not interested in fetch or other games.
With touching and petting, what has worked well for Sephy is help him associate those actions with positive outcomes and events-
http://shibashake.com/dog/hug-dog-teach-your-dog-to-enjoy-hugging
Here are some of my experiences with food guarding-
http://shibashake.com/dog/stop-food-aggression-stop-resource-guarding
As for getting off the couch or furniture, I teach my dogs the “Off” command and reward them well for following my commands. I follow the NILIF program and maintain leadership through the control of resources and not through physical force.
i have 2 pitbulls they got along great till a few months ago my female who is 8 attacks the male who is almost 1 over food or him smelling the carpet or getting attention its gettin pretty bad and i dont know how to stop it does anyone have any ideas how i can get this to stop i think she does it to show him this is her house and not his
Hello Aimee,
Conflicts between family dogs usually arise out of disagreement over resources – e.g. food, toys, access to people, or space. Some things that help with my dogs-
1. Clear rules of interaction.
I establish clear interaction rules with my dogs. In this way, they know what is a good and positive way to interact with each other, and what is not. I teach them these rules and reward them well for working with me.
2. Set my dogs up for success.
I supervise and manage them carefully so that interactions are positive or at worst neutral. I do not expose them to situations that I know they cannot handle. During eating time, I supervise and prevent stealing. They each work on their own interactive toy and I body block them away when they get too close to another dog. In this way, I can prevent conflicts before anything starts.
This also teaches my dogs that I will handle and resolve conflicts. Whenever there are disagreements, they alert me and I quickly come and take care of things. In this way, they do not need to do it themselves with aggression.
3. Link Other Dogs to Positive Experiences.
I also do group obedience training and show them that they get the most resources by working together rather than through competition and aggression. Dog-to-dog desensitization exercises can also be helpful in creating positive experiences, and teaching the dog alternate ways to deal with stress and conflict.
Here is more of what I do to keep the peace at home-
http://shibashake.com/dog/second-dog-introducing-a-second-dog
Getting help from a professional trainer can also be very helpful. A good trainer can accurately identify our dog’s aggression triggers, come up with an effective and safe plan for desensitization, as well as help us with timing, consistency, and execution of the techniques. Given that the Pitbull is such a powerful breed, getting professional help becomes even more crucial for the safety of everyone involved.
Hi there,
What a great article. Thanks very much for posting it.
I have an almost 2-year old Staffordshire Bull Terrier named Ditmars who had never shown any aggression (and was also very submissive) toward other dogs up until about 2 months ago. He was socialized with many dogs at an early age and now we have moved to a remote island in the Caribbean where he has only about 2 consistent dog-friends to play with.
It happened almost overnight – our neighbor got a 6-month old German Shepard puppy, and after we walked them together, we let them off leash to play with eachother, and my Staffy went for him – no one was hurt, but every time we bring those two together, I can just see that Ditmars feels very dominant towards him. I am very good at predicting when he is feeling dominant and he responds very well to my “touches” – sort of Cesar Millan style – and always submits to me when I give him a correction, which is great, but I don’t know how to take it a step further to get these 2 dogs to the point where they can be together unsupervised. Is it possible he is going through an adolescent ‘stage’?
My dog leads a very disciplined life with us, gets plenty of exercise, walks well on the leash, no food aggression, etc. His only downfall before this was that he got overly excited sometimes.
You seem to know what you’re talking about, so any light you could shed on this would be great! Thank you so much.
Sounds exciting! I always enjoyed my trips to the Caribbean.
When we moved to a new house a few years ago, Sephy’s behavior also changed initially. Because there were so many changes to his environment and routine, Sephy was no sure what the new rules were, and how to respond to all the uncertainty. As a result, he would just try out things to see what was ok and what was not.
Some things that helped with Sephy-
1. I quickly reestablished a fixed routine for him.
2. I supervised him more closely in the beginning. If he was uncertain how to act, I tell him what to do and reward him well for it. I also let him know which behaviors are undesirable.
3. I continue to follow the NILIF program and reestablished old house rules in the new place.
During walks we usually ignore other dogs, and create neutral experiences. After he got used to his new environment, we started to greet dogs who are calm and friendly.
Hello,
I have a 2 year old male German Shepherd who grew up playing with many dogs (always loved it, always behaved and had a good experience). When he got older we restricted him to only a few playmates and then moved. Now he only has my in-laws 2 dogs that he grew up near to play with on occasion. We wanted to get him a friend but when we took him to meet dogs, he fought or growled at all of them except one (who didn’t like him). I gave up on getting him a friend for a while but seeing how happy he is playing with my in-laws dogs makes me want to get a companion! He did great when we brought home a new cat so I am on the fence about introducing a new dog. Part of me thinks if we bring the dog home and have him meet her slowly with positive reinforcement he will accept it properly. Any opinions?
Thank you!
With my Shiba (Sephy) I have found that getting a puppy is easier. Puppies are usually more submissive, and older dogs are generally more willing to tolerate puppy mistakes. However, I still make sure to always supervise and prevent puppy from bothering my older dogs when they do not want to be bothered.
Sephy was also more willing to accept our Sibe puppy (Lara) after he observed her getting along with our other dog, Shania. I suppose he figures that Lara is “ok”, because Shania (whom he already trusts) thinks that she is an awesome friend and playmate.
I think it also helped that we specifically picked a more submissive female puppy (Sephy is a male Shiba Inu).
http://shibashake.com/dog/getting-a-second-dog
Hi!
I got a husky/border collie cross 4 weeks ago from a shelter. He was only 7 weeks at the time. I have been taking him to many pet stores and to a weekly puppy socialization class. We have had some issues with him mouthing to hard both on arms and legs. Recently become overly aggressive, we will be playing and he will go for my hand rather then the toy, I will move the toy in front of him to show which I want him to chew on. He will then almost make a feral sound and continue to attack my hand.
Is this just because we played to much and he is now done for a while or is it the start of something worse?
Hello Melissa,
With my dogs, 2 things help during game play-
1. Many game rules
Having game rules allows me to control the game. For example, they are not allowed to mouth on me or jump on me. If they do so, I no-mark (Ack-ack) and stop the game briefly. If they continue to jump and mouth on me, they go to timeout.
2. Lots of play breaks
I have many breaks during the game so that they do not get over-excited. During the breaks, they do commands for me. This gets them to refocus on me and to calm down a bit. After a short break, I resume playing with them
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-play-fun-games-to-play-with-your-dog-or-puppy
As for socialization, how does he act when at the pet store and puppy socialization class? Is he relaxed? tentative? fearful? bold? Does he play? What is his play style like?
Hey, there. I have a pup, she’s about six months old, She’s 1/2 Springer 1/4 Lab 1/4 Rottie… I am an experience dog owner… Save for dealing with food aggression. I don’t understand what triggered the aggression, and I have tried everything I have seen online… It seems like over the last week she is slowly getting worse… I am at my wits end… I am good about the dominance part… I have her sit and wait until I say ok for her food, I enter the house first, she must sit and wait til I say ok to go outside, sit to be petted etc.. But it seems like out of nowhere she got this food guarding/aggression… I set the bowl down and she came after me…. I stood my ground and she challenged me, I had to make her sit and kennel her… It’s to the point lately that I can’t even go into my kitchen without her coming after me… I tried setting the food bowl between my feet and petting her, but the body stance was stiff and as soon as my hand went near her she started snarling and then when I petted her she snapped… Last night she caught my finger. It took three hours to regain feeling… Thankfully she didn’t break the skin….. What do I do? I have never had this issue with my 150# Rottie, or any of my other dogs…. I am running out of options. Please help! Thank you!
Here are some of my experiences with food aggression-
http://shibashake.com/dog/stop-food-aggression-stop-resource-guarding
http://shibashake.com/dog/resource-guarding-shiba-inu
Hello, I’m 13 years old. I got my golden retriever as a pup from a friend of ours when I was 9 as a show dog. I’ve done considerably well training her in showmanship, obedience, agility, and rally. We are members of our local kennel club. However lately I think she’s noticed how much larger and stronger I am. When I was little I think she saw me as her child, above me, and now that I am strong enough to correct and control everything she does, I think she’s trying to challenge me. When I’m practicing agility in our backyard, every so often she will run away, and flip over on her back and flip around like a fool with her teeth bared. When she first started this I just grabbed her collar, pulled her up and flipped her back upright. For a few months this worked and I didn’t think it was any sort of dominant behaviour. But then she started snapping when I went to pull her up. I decided to stop pulling away one day, and just grabbed her. She ended up snapping at my hand and put three mild puncture in my right hand. When she does stuff like that, I sometimes bop her on the nose even though I know I shouldn’t. It just hurts because I see her as my friend, my little baby, and I’ve always tended to let out hurt feelings and frustration through anger. Since I’ve worked on controling my anger, but I still don’t know how to handle it! I was clipping her nails and got close to her kwick (didn’t cut into it though) and she turned around and snapped! I always clip her nails and have even cut into the kwick and she’s always tolerated it. I’ve tried getting my parents involved, but she doesn’t challenge them and NEVER challenges me in front of them. They said when she does stuff like that too tell her NO and leave. Today she flipped on her back again, and when she got up I “backed her down” (walk towards them). She flipped back over, and I reached down to her collar very slowly as she bared her teeth. I said NO firmly, put her on the leash, walked her inside, then brought her back out fifteen minutes later and worked on targetting (which she likes) to end it on a positive note. I know I’ve done a BUNCH wrong, which is whre I’m getting at here. I’ve messed up dealing with it, how do I reverse what I’ve done and fix the issue? I don’t want to be her pup, I need to be her alpha!
Hello Syd,
In terms of leadership, what works well with my dogs is the NILIF program. With NILIF, I am able to get them to do what I want, by controlling what they want.
As for collar grabs, dogs often learn to associate it with punishment or the end of fun. Often, we grab our dog’s collars to stop them from doing something. The more we do this, the more it conditions the dog to associate the grab with pain or the end of play. This encourages a dog to either run away from a collar grab or to respond with aggression to prevent a collar grab. It may also later cause the dog to become sensitive to putting on a collar.
With my Shiba Inu, I slowly desensitized him to collar grabs by reassociating the event with something positive. I also did a lot of handling exercises with him because he is naturally sensitive to people touching him.
http://shibashake.com/dog/hug-dog-teach-your-dog-to-enjoy-hugging
As for nail clipping, I have switched to using a nail grinder for my Shiba. It allows me to properly shape the nail and best of all it takes the nail down slowly so I am not in danger to cutting too close to the quick. He also gets his favorite fish dish while grinding his nails, so he is happy to let us do it. Otherwise, from his point of view, nail clipping is an uncomfortable, possibly painful event, where he is in a vulnerable position and people are handling his sensitive paws. There is a lot of trust involved when dogs let us handle them so.
http://shibashake.com/dog/operant-conditioning-and-dog-training
http://shibashake.com/dog/how-dogs-learn-how-dogs-think
I have a 6 year old rotator called Honey. She has always been a good dog generally but in March she snapped at me and bit my face. I have a small scar to the side of my eye as a result and had 2 stitches in it.
Last month she snapped at my uncle and last night she snapped at me again.
We have had a dog behaviourist round and taken on board everything she said to us. Problem is, while Honey is a good girl most of the time, this unpredictable streak is getting worse and I no longer trust her. What if next time it is worse? I just don’t know what to do
Hello Jo,
From observing my dogs, it seems that there is usually a trigger to their reactive behaviors. This is good news because it makes the aggressive behavior more predictable. Once I identify what is triggering their reactivity, I can manage it, and then slowly desensitize them to the trigger in a structured environment.
Is there something that triggers Honey’s aggression? What does the behaviorist say? What exercises are the behaviorist suggesting?
What type of training do you usually do with Honey (before the snapping incidents)? Were there commonalities between the two incidents? Sometimes, dogs may also show sudden aggression when there is a physical issue that is causing them pain. Is Honey showing any signs of physical discomfort?
Hi,
This article really helped me with an assignment about dog behaviour at college as I was struggling to find information anywhere else that’s in this amount of detail, It’s balanced and well written.
Thankyou