My BC is well and truely at his teenage stage! He is 15 months, is very aware of girls and is generally pushing his luck. He has had a spell back on the flexi for being selectively deaf around girls which sorted that out nicely, however, the last couple of days he has been a bit 'spiky' around other male dogs...tail right up, posturing, basically trying to prove he is a man!! Today he had a tiny grumble when the other dog didn't back down (other dog came up to him, he was on lead) :/ Having never had a pushy male dog I'm not sure what to do....tell him off??? Keep socializing him with males??? Keep him away until the hormones settle??? Help!!!!

I'm no expert and others will come on with better advice I'm sure, but my boy is 21 months old now and has been similar so I thought I would share.
He is the absolute Casanova of the gundog world, my friend said if he had a theme tune as he walked it would be "I'm sexy and I know it". However there was nothing punchy or sharp about him you could just see he was becoming a man and wanted everyone to know, as you say! And he was my first male dog, so I was a bit flummoxed.
It started around the same age as yours, and I posted on here that I was thinking of having him implanted with suprelorin, but I decided to wait. I attend a lot of doggy events, so I couldn't withdraw him even if I wanted to. I decided to have him around a lot of dogs, but be a little more fussy with his socialising. That is to say, every dog that approached him, I've asked the owner "are they friendly" first (something which I still and always will do)- the last thing you want is a dog to pick on him when he's already on his tiptoes! I also wouldn't let him say hello to anything without him checking in with me. He lost a certain amount of freedom to explore these things and make up his own mind. So I spent some time teaching a new release cue, by hanging around dogs which were under control- ie. on a lead at a show, and clicking and rewarding the "checking in"- ie. looking at me, followed by releasing to say hello (if appropriate), followed by a "come away" command which is clicked and rewarded. I moved this on to a long training line on walks. My boy has one of those faces that a lot of male dogs just want to punch (he is big, black and confident)! But he doesn't take any notice, I have had dogs fly at him, and he just looks at me, I say "did that dog swear at you?" and he'll just go "yeah, what was that guy's problem?!" and move along.
I haven't got it cracked totally, he will still run up to dogs occasionally if I'm stupidly not prepared and will have a flirt, but what I thought had the potential to become a problem was/is nothing more than teenage hormones and as many advised me at the time it is passing, I think you just need to protect him from those situations until he is through it. Of course it must be that some don't come through it, but as others advised me back then, training (and time) first, then think about alternatives.

Personally... I would not tell him off. You are only providing more negative to what he's already feeling in my opinion. If it's nothing more than a little grumble then you should be able to say I recognise your issue with that dog and use the "come away" command and try to move far enough away that you can at least break his gaze. Simple distraction, and acknowledgement that his arousal has gone over threshold. But you will want to do it quickly and confidently because anything like pressure on the collar or you hesitating is probably going to make him more prickly and grumbley. You should be able to read his body language and stop it from getting to that point though, even if you have to ask the owner from a distance if the other dog is a male, and then choose to keep your distance (training opportunity!). In the same way I can spot a dog who is about to have a pop at mine, and happily say to him "come on let's go over here", he now knows (I hope) that he doesn't have to deal with any situation, I will handle it and he'll be fine. I attend a hall once a month with him, there are three other dogs, a spayed female and two entire males all of whom want to punch him in the face, I can have him off lead with the others snarling, bouncing and barking and he can happily carry on working, but 6 months ago his tiptoed stance and stiff body had me worried that he might snap back.

Your boy certainly doesn't sound at the point of no return, and I'm sure is well capable of picking up the tools needed to cope with these situations :) My boy's best friend in the whole world is another entire male, and they never have a cross word between them.

Thank you for your reply :) I had thought about having him implanted (or even snipped) but he just seems a bit young...and wasn't that keen on telling him off so im glad it can be resolved without that! He is usually very good with all dogs, male or female (although the girls get more attention ;) ) and its just been the odd couple of dogs...the rest of the male population is invited to play...im just keen to nip it in the bud before it becomes an issue! I will make more effort with his socialising and try and work through it. When he grumbled at the dog he did stop immediately just with an 'oi!' but then we had to wait ages for the owner of the other dog to retrieve it as it was following us and generally being a pain...obviously my dog wasn't impressed at that! I will teach him to look at me and to come away on command, those are good suggestions, thank you :) Luckily we do 3 classes a week so plenty of opportunity to practice amongst dogs which are under control :) None of my other dogs have ever been so full of manly importance lol so this is a bit of a culture shock!!! 'I'm sexy and I know it' definitely suits Jynx at the moment lol....either that or I'm too sexy...(for this park ;) ) lol :D

Adolescence as with our children will either be a breeze or it can be a nightmare.

It is the time when our dogs instincts are all about proving themselves/finding a place with their own kind, play fights will get more serious, male dogs will weigh each other up when meeting on walks, often ending up with a mature male putting a youngster in its place before it has the chance to sniff, or the more bolder and often stronger breeds showing their prowess to other males.

It can be a dangerous time...... depending on what other dogs are around you.

As our dogs are domesticated, they have no need to go out into the big wide world and put their stamp on it, we do not need our dogs who as pups were playful with others to go through this stage, it's the time to protect them and sometimes to protect other dogs from them.

Training is extremely important, although their hormones are so peeked at this time often recall and commands can be harder to comply with. If you've done the puppy classes, trained him and socialised him well up to now, you've done your job well :-) now is the time to get a long line for him until this stage is over, (not all dogs need this, but often large breeds are attacked by other males at this stage and your BC is too pushy and will probably insight a fight) letting your dog get into a fight at this age can undo all of your hard work of previous socialising.

Allow him to run free with dogs you know he is ok with and are ok with him, but otherwise please keep him on a lead or long line away from other male dogs at this time it's not worth it, once he is fully mature he will settle better and have less of an interest in other dogs, keep him occupied with training and play with you, at this time you must be the main focus for him. :-)

With my brothers GSD's (who could be targets for other males) and a couple of other more pushy dogs I've trained over the years, I just used to do training and play in fields and walk where I wouldn't meet many 'strange or reactive' dogs at this age, I often used to carry an umbrella too to stop a couple of BC's who were pretty keen on going for adolescents around here, I would just open it up in front of 'my' dogs to stop them going for them like a shield, and call the owner to get them.

This time passes, their hormones settle and they become more laid back. It does not interfere with their future socialisation in keeping them reigned in at this age as they have no fear of other dogs......... unless you allow something to happen.

Above all else, everything here is normal........ just wait for it to pass.  :-)

Thank you :) Since his recent spell on the flexi lead his recall is excellent again, he doesn't run up to other dogs (apart from his 2 favourite friends ), these are dogs that are approaching us...I usually clip the lead back on him (leaving my old boy loose) when I see other dogs coming towards us, however, im not sure whether thats making things worse...although obviously I dont want to risk him fighting. I'm starting to walk the dogs separately again so that I can concentrate on him...we do obedience and he is incredibly focussed in his work so maybe its time to ask for some of that when we are out! Fingers crossed this is a phase that passes very quickly....think i may go for a girl next time lol ;)

> I usually clip the lead back on him (leaving my old boy loose) when I see other dogs coming towards us, however, im not sure whether thats making things worse...although obviously I dont want to risk him fighting.

Your're right to wonder if clipping the lead on when you see a potential issue is the right thing. By even doing that you're anxiety levels are clearly raised and no matter how hard you try to "act normal" that anxiety will transmit down that lead. I've been faced with a very similar situation and had to conquer it by leaving the dog off to greet without feeling my raised anxiety first by restraining. If he's not got a fighting nature I'd give that a try. Your old boys may well guide him if they need to.

x

PS. Avoiding reactive situations is not the answer. I was given such advice with my dog and it made matters so much worse to deal with thereafter. So keep up with walking where you will meet new dogs.

This is something I'm considering in the future, not sure if it will be useful or not.
Does your dog wear a harness? I'm thinking that I might get one that has a D ring on top as well as on the chest. I have a very short lead, more of a handle really? I thought I would clip it onto the D ring on the back of the harness and it would become a useful grab handle should I need it. I'm aware that any tension from the owner runs down the lead and transmits itself to the dog, so my thought are that the short lead is always on the harness and might not transmit any human tension from its position on the back of the dog. Have I made sense? I know what I mean, but have trouble expressing it!

Thank you :) We have had a good day today, I allowed him off lead as there was only one dog(which we know) on the field. Another dog came on and I downed both of mine but didn't clip the lead on. He stayed where he was told until I had spoken to the owner and then greeted the dog politely. The coming away when told needs a little work though. I think the time in the down gave him a bit of time to relax, rather than going straight into 'man' mode! Feeling a little less panicky about it now and feeling a bit more positive that he will go back to his lovely friendly self!! :)

And yes he usually wears a harness, although I find it easier to control him on a normal collar. The harness is better for using a flexi lead with, so that he doesn't hurt his neck.

This is the short lead that I mentioned above (if the link works ok)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PADDED-SHORT-HANDLE-DOG-LEAD-TRAFFIC-CONTROL-12-COLOURS-/261162445816

> his is something I'm considering in the future, not sure if it will be useful or not.
> Does your dog wear a harness? I'm thinking that I might get one that has a D ring on top as well as on the chest. I have a very short lead, more of a handle really? I thought I would clip it onto the D ring on the back of the harness and it would become a useful grab handle should I need it. I'm aware that any tension from the owner runs down the lead and transmits itself to the dog, so my thought are that the short lead is always on the harness and might not transmit any human tension from its position on the back of the dog. Have I made sense? I know what I mean, but have trouble expressing it!

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Grab handle is a marvellous plan :)

I use an Ezydog harness with chest plate for my Bassets on long walks, it's comfy for their stature and easy to lead and unlead. I lead and unlead at random points on our walks so they're never sure if we're attached or not. This is a good technique with scent hounds, well it works for me anyway. On street or town walks I use rope slip leads. Bassets aren't pullers so they've never experienced it tightening so I have no moral issues with using them.

My pup will have a long line attached on free walks with knots every meter. I drop this onto the floor, but if he decides to gallop (being scent hounds this is commonplace) I can step on it and the knot will hit my boot and stop him. So he can be an adventurer but I'm still in charge :)

Just works for me, I'm sure others have different ideas.

They look brilliant :D am ordering one to try....thank you :D

I would be very worried about leaving a dog who is already very aroused to make his own decisions when meeting dogs I don't know are safe, all it takes it the odd fight or two at this age in this frame of mind and you have a real problem on your hands, and there are PLENTY of BCs with iffy temperaments- not saying yours is one apachearrow cause he sounds lovely, but as you know they are quick to pick up on things. I would never say stop socialising but I would only let him interact freely with dogs I knew were ok or were told they're ok and body language confirmed it to me- and you should know what your dog thinks very quickly. The way to avoid transmitting down the lead is to attach it and detach it regularly, ask for sits and waits on and off lead when there are and aren't dogs around (so he will learn to sit and wait for a dog to go past eventually,) and obviously reward it. Grab handle would work great too in this respect. Sounds like you are making good progress with him :) but one bad dog interaction can undo the work of many good ones! Protect your boy, it will be worth it. :)
PS sounds like our boys should team up to make an album ;) love the too sexy for this park one!

I agree, he will not be allowed to meet any dog he chooses, I will decide if and when he gets to greet them or not. He gets plenty of dog socialisation at training where I know 100% which dogs are safe...plus he gets to still play off lead with dogs we know (if there are not strangers around). Last night, he was swapped into a different class with a couple of entire males that he doesn't know and he behaved properly....both were greeted appropriately and then he came away when told to. The fact he is a BC is why I've jumped on it so quickly...there are several very iffy collies around here and the amount of snappy ones around the obedience shows is quite scary! I'm determined he will not go the same way!!! And lol maybe they should make an album :D :D

> Today he had a tiny grumble when the other dog didn't back down (other dog came up to him, he was on lead) :/ Having never had a pushy male dog I'm not sure what to do....tell him off??? Keep socializing him with males??? Keep him away until the hormones settle??? Help!!!!

I've not read the other replies, so I'm sorry if I am going over what has allready been said.

When my dog was in his teenage stage I had a few greetings that could have turned into incidents if handled differently (my dog is entire). My dog is always on a lead, mostly due to his size (so he doesn't frighten people by being loose) and partly for safety - he's so big (90kg) it's far too easy for him to accidently injure another dog, especially being that he's so clumsy due to his bad elbows.

We've had a few occasions when a young male dog has charged up to him (different dogs, different times), the situations were tense as the other dogs were visably on the 'testy' side. I've handled this by stepping away from my dog but keeping the lead slack (his lead is 36" long), this gives him room to move to display any calming signals he feels the need to and also means if he has no lead to lunge forward on - this way he FEELS free, but I have physical control via the lead should I need it.
Also, I will say "gentle, goooood boy", he knows gentle means to interact calmly, and the "gooood boy" helps flip him a bit more into 'obedience' mode and also has a suprisingly good effect on the other dog.

Other things that can help get rid of the tension in these situation is to walk infront of your dog - not from an " I am the leader" point of view, just to walk past and block his line of vision (or I have used this to block the eye-stare of somebody elses dog that has been 'testing' my dog).

Socialisation is an important on-going process, so you still need to keep up with GOOD experiences. You've done the right thing popping him back on a long-line for now. If you control his greetings, you can ensure they all go well and avoid him getting into the habbit of being a bit of a 'lad' :)

I know it an be a worry the last thing you want is your dog getting into a scuffle, but leave the worry at home and only go out with him with a positive, calm, confident attitude, having a plan of action for possible situations has always been the thing that helped me keep calm. Best of luck, but I'm sure you'll be fine :)

Thank you for your reply :) I'm feeling much better about this phase :) I think because none of our other dogs have been like this I panicked lol :) We have had another good walk this morning and had no problems :) I will definitely keep him mixing with other dogs and choose them carefully :) Feeling positive :D

Keep up the good work, I'm glad things have improved already :)

Lol it helps that the weather has been rubbish so we haven't had to deal with any random dogs running up to him....its working well if I allow him to settle (on lead, in a down) while I speak to the other owner, then allow him to mix. Its when unexpected males (and to be fair to my naughty mutt, they are normally displaying similar body language) come running up we have the issue. Work in progress, but knowing its a fairly normal stage has made me relax a little about it :)

I always found when dealing with males that keeping greetings short, so not enough time for too much posturing, a brisk come along and it diffuses situations by breaking eye contact between the dogs.

Thank you :) will try that :) well, we would if we ever meet any other boys lol!! :D How is it when you want to train with other dogs around you dont bump into the right ones...all we are meeting are girls/ puppies/ older dogs...all of which are greeted politely!!! :D