Hi! My 11 months old staffyxlab is starting to display signs of jealousy. He does so mostly with dogs we both have known for some time and he plays with. When we arrive in the park these dogs come to greet me and he tends to position himself in between us and keeps them from reaching me. As soon as I stop patting them he resumes playing with them and can be submissive as well.
He has not shown signs of aggression yet, but in one occasion he ended up towering over a same age as him cocker with whom he has been friends for months; as soon as the cocker would try to wriggle back up my dog would start growling. He was not making eye contact with him or use force, but nonetheless had him on his back on the ground in between his four legs...
I pulled him away so the cocker could get up and they were ok after that.

I would liket to nip this in the bud before it gets out of hands, ah and he tends to do this with smaller then him dogs (cheeky!). He has only started this in the last few weeks and I don't want to go about it the wrong way or make it worse.

So far I have not scolded him except when he put the cocker in submission at which I pulled him off (gently) and told him no! wrong! leave him! and made him sit.

What is the correct approach?

As he is friendly otherwise unless the dog approaches you it sounds like he may be guarding you and as such thinks you are unable to protect yourself.
May have been worth putting him in the submissive position with you leaning over him?
A kind of "I am the boss and don't need your help thanks"- Depends on his temperament of course.
Then let him off to play with his friends again when the moment has passed

Hi dogdina

there are quite a few folks on forum much more experienced than me re dog to dog behaviour who will hopefully be along to give more detailed info on how best to deal with this :)

I simply wanted to mention that your lad is at a classic age where hormones are flying fast and loose and because of this often anything from more bolshy play to clearly dominant type behaviours towards other dogs, specifically of the same s@x, becomes apparent.  Hopefully this is a phase he's going through which will be overcome but it may take a few months to do so because only when the 'Kevin' stage passes do we start to see glimpses of our previously well behaved dogs :)

regards, Teri

See the thing is he has in the past felt like he was protecting me; once a dog I had never seen before started walking towards me a bit aggressively, growling, etc. Ray's (my dog) behavior was very different then, he put himself in between us, held firm eye contact with the aggressive dog and started growling and showing his teeth a bit. He is normally a submissive dog, but in that occasion he displayed protective behaviour.

What he does now is very different, he just stands in between me and the greeting dogs and leans on my legs so that they cannot reach me. If I reach out to pat them he comes in between and trys to get a pat himself, I reckon is more jealousy.
Even when he growled to the cocker he didn't look at him in the eye and was gazing far away, it wasn't agression, but more punitive if you know what I mean... Then they resume playing.

Hi Teri
see Ray is castrated and has been from a very early age. (he is a rescue). Would the hormones still be the cause?
He has this sort of behavior equally with males and females and mostly with dogs we have known for a while and show affection towards me...

Hi again dogdina,

no, if castrated early on I wouldn't think hormones specifically however even castrated males can and do show 'macho' tendencies - he's at the teenage stage in human terms so think moody / grumpy / know better than mum or the world youth >sigh<

IMO also significant is his mix of breeds - he is half SBT which may also be contributing to his behaviour, this not being a breed which is known for getting on well with other dogs.  The fact he is of a mix breed could also mean that one or both of his parents were naturally bold or dominant in behaviour.

I don't want to make this sound like a huge problem as IME all youngsters regardless of pedigree, cross or out and out heinz 57 are very capable of behaving similarly and it's usually a phase which we can work through :)

I'd much rather leave it to those more experienced than me to ask more info from you and by doing so put themselves in a better position as to how to advise.

Hi teri, castrated or not you might still have a point as there are other behavioral changes I have noticed; him being a rescue always had certain issues we had to work with, like he was always scared of bigger dogs and had a tendency to submissive urination. He still does pee him-self when he meets new larger dogs, but he is starting to stand his ground with some of them, sunday he managed to hold on to a ball a doberman was trying to take off from him, I let them get on as I know the doberman very well and the owner was there as well, the doberman was chasing him and ray ended up peeing himself (on the run), but didn't stop after that he would not even run again would just turn his head briskly every time the doberman went for the ball...
The following day he was so bold to get his ball back from a rotty bitch he knows well, but always felt very submissive with. Before yesterday she was always welcome to steal his ball and he would just wait till she dropped it... Again, he does not this with any aggression, in fact in a playful way and have them chasing him... he simply would have not dared a few weeks back!

He is definitely getting a bit bolder, of course I like him not be scared anymore and feel confident as he would feel a lot happier, but I wouldn't want him to get too cocky! Because of his breed I have always been very watchful of his behavior and want to be able to correct things before it becomes a problem.

sorry maybe I am just being paranoid...

Hiya,

Staffs and their crosses are well know for their loves of human interaction, cuddles and snogs :-D and can be a bit I want one too if other dogs are getting a fuss or a cuddle.  However it sounds like reading between the lines like he is a little insecure?  I would start to show him that good things happen when other dogs are about, if a dog comes to you for a fuss ask him to sit and then give both a fuss at the same time - if he starts pushing in or trying to push the other dog out by getting inbetween you then move away from him, so when the other dog stops getting fusses so does he, then try again 30 seconds or whatever later.  If you start to feel unsure at the approach of other dogs then he will likely pick up on it and feel a bit unsure too.

With the situation of the dog that approached you aggresively I would be either turning and walking away or asking him to sit and then standing infront of him so that he feels protected and safe.  He needs to feel that you are keeping the threat away from him not that he needs to keep a threat away from you :-)

His interactions with other dogs need to be good ones and I would in the situation of the Dobe, not let it pester him for the ball.  As like you found the next day he is likley to try all the harder to keep what he wants and if he feels the need to protect what he has then he could start guarding items like that from other dogs.  I would pop the ball away in a situation like that, swap it for a treat so he doesn't think other dog = end of fun.

Be light hearted, with happy voices and praise appropriate interaction with other dogs, make out as if other dogs being around is great.  If he starts to feel uncomfortable with them then end the interaction, distract him and be on your way.

thank you, I will do my best. I want him to be confident enough with other dogs but not to the point of getting to act too protective of either his things or us.
I needed to know how to react when he pushes is your advice sounds very logical/

dodigna

I want him to be confident enough with other dogs but not to the point of getting to act too protective of either his things or us.

A confident and secure dog won't feel the need to be guarding/protecting his things or you, that's a sign of insecurity. If you build his confidence and he starts to associate other dogs with good things and learns that other dogs are fun and mean play time, fusses, cuddles and treats then he should start to enjoy them and not be worried about losing the things he values because of their presence.

Maybe taking him to some good reward based training classes would be good for him or maybe getting a one to one with somone if you are in any doubt about how to handle things.

Good luck :-)

Hi Dodigna
Karenclynes has given you some superb advice and I fully endorse what she says.  Everyone has their own way of doing things/putting their own slant on the basic principles and it's often quite difficult to advise without seeing precisely what is going on.  Gut feel, based on what you have said and reading between those infamous lines again, suggests to me that I would take just a slightly different approach with an insecure dog in the following scenario ...........

With the situation of the dog that approached you aggresively I would be either turning and walking away or asking him to sit and then standing infront of him so that he feels protected and safe.  He needs to feel that you are keeping the threat away from him not that he needs to keep a threat away from you

Personally, I would do everything as described apart from asking the dog to sit.  I would merely ask that he stands still behind me. My reasons are twofold.  Firstly, by sitting, the dog will not be exhibiting a natural behaviour to the 'challenger/aggressor' and will not have full opportunity to demonstrate a submissive demeanour;  secondly, by sitting the dog is one step removed from fllight, which may well be the option he would prefer if the other dog were to come in on him.  Some people would argue that he is also one step removed from fight, but I would counter that if you are there body blocking the other dog and have a good secure 'stay', that should not be a problem. Which option you go for will depend on your reading of your dog's body language and assessment of where he is at;  personally, I would give him the chance at least once and allow him to stand.

Also, I quite often carry a walking stick with me if I am in an area where there are known to be some 'dodgy' canine characters. Much as I may desire to use the stick to beat some sense into some of the owners :-), it is merely to act as an extension of the 'body block', to make myself appear bigger and to protect my two dogs.

Try to make the next series of canine encounters positive ones for your boy - orchestrate them if you have to with known friends.  Also, don't be afraid to curtail a walk and go home if you see a 'dodgy one' in the distance!  :-)  Better a short, successful, happy walk than putting a dog in a situation that he feels uncomfortable with.

Just some food for thought.

Hiya,

Personally, I would do everything as described apart from asking the dog to sit.  I would merely ask that he stands still behind me. My reasons are twofold.  Firstly, by sitting, the dog will not be exhibiting a natural behaviour to the 'challenger/aggressor' and will not have full opportunity to demonstrate a submissive demeanour;  secondly, by sitting the dog is one step removed from fllight, which may well be the option he would prefer if the other dog were to come in on him.  Some people would argue that he is also one step removed from fight, but I would counter that if you are there body blocking the other dog and have a good secure 'stay', that should not be a problem. Which option you go for will depend on your reading of your dog's body language and assessment of where he is at;  personally, I would give him the chance at least once and allow him to stand.

Absolutely see where you are coming from :-) I would do as you say with a fearful dog.  Like you say it's so hard to tell without seeing the dog and owner in question.  Sometimes with a dog that's a bit insecure they just need to see that their person is dealing with things and that they are safe and don't need to worry.  Sometimes for dogs that are just a little insecure but not overtly frightened I find a sit can work better unless they have a good wait/stay, (also depending on how confidently the owner deals with things which is needed using this method full stop) because it prevents the dog fidgeting around or trying to get infront again leaving the owner free to deal with on comer.  Like you say though for a nervous dog a sit can be too much to ask for in that situation. 

Just also I should have added that my legs are parted enough to make me bigger :-D and also so that the dog behind can see how near the other dog is as there's nothing worse than knowing something a bit scary is coming but you can see how close and may prevent the dog trying to move around if they are standing.

It's probably worth working on this as a behaviour to get your dog used to doing it and putting it on cue such as 'behind' or 'hide' so that you're not trying to get your dog to do something new at a time of stress.

I should have added that my legs are parted enough to make me bigger 

:-O
Not even going to go there!  :D  LOL