I have 3 Staffs...mum and her 2 sons. Sons are now 16 mths old, very sociable, obedient and adore all and sundry including other dogs, cats, horses, you name it!  (As does mum).

My and my OH's concern is one of the sons, Beetle. He is the lowest in the pecking order in the house, including to the cats and is ultra subservient, to everyone, embarrasingly (sp?) so...you would think he has been beaten rotten...  It just seems like he's really unhappy with us...  His brother and mum at home are really bouncy and lively and never cower or runaway, but Beetle does, all the time. He has been raised exactly the same way as his brother ie both been praised the same, trained the same, fed the same, and is always an angel.

But he changes totally when taken out for walks...he is seriously outgoing and bonkers and sooo full of life, you'd think he were a different dog...  His mum and brother are always the same out walking as at home. Which makes us think he's unhappy at home and I don't know what we've done to make him like this... 

In all my years of owning and training dogs, I've never encountered this before and really am considering talking to a behaviourist to try to help him...does anyone have any recommendations on behaviourists, or any other thoughts...we're so upset at the thought of making one of our dogs so sad...our only other thought is to rehome him where he would be the only dog, but that is just breaking our hearts....I don't know what to do... :-( :-( 

I would say leave well alone.  Itr is because he is showing clearly that he is very low in the pecking order that you have peace between the brothers.  If he3 was more of an equal this would lead to conflicet, so he has worked out thet being total Omega keeps his life hassle free.

I would say the same he is obviously the lowest in the pack & sadly there has to be one. He will not be unhappy otherwise he would never be outgoing at all. He is simply bahaving in a way that makes his life easy.

Our lowest ranked dog is the eldeat cavalier, he never starts anything prefering the quiiet life-which reaps it's rewards in him being left alone to do his own thing

As Brainless says...leave things alone.You are very lucky that you have 2 brothers who live in harmony....don't do anything or you may find you have trouble on your hands
Archer

Whilst i agree with much of the above, i also would question why a dog needs to show so much submission and so very obviously. Dogs after all are masters at body language and a subtle lowering of ears, turning away, low tail etc would usually suffice.

If the dog is also showing a lot of submission then i have to say, i would question the whole situation a little bit more. It may well be that the dog is just naturally very submissive and that's all there is to it. If you do go via the behaviourist route, do ensure you get a good hands on one who is experienced in dog body language so that they can help you work out the subtleties of what is happening. IF you are anywhere near Somerset by any chance, Angela Stockdale would be ideal.

Lindsay
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I am wondering if the ultra submisive behaviour is actually for the humans benefit.  For some dogs it is part of getting affection, as they learn not only does it give them a quiet life in the pack, but also extra fuss and attention.  He probably just enjoys being perceived as a doormat, much as some humans enkoy the attention being a 'martyr' gets them, and usually make sure everyone knows how put upon they are :D

My staffy was exactly like the dog in question.He was VERY submissive from day one till the day he died.Apart from making sure we didn't raise our voice unneccessarliy at him he was treated normally.
Archer

Hi Juliet,

I would also leave things alone.  It sounds like you have a harmonious crowd at home and trying to change it does not make sense.   You can always try some confidence building with Beetle, like taking him to obedience, teaching him tricks, playing tug and so on.  However, fundamentally it will not change his personality. 

If Beetle is outgoing on his walks (and I assume mum and bro are on the same walk too) then he is certainly enjoying life.  I do think you are confusing submissive behaviour with unhappiness - they are two entirely different things. 

If Beetle's submissiveness bothers you than you might consider rehoming him in a situation where he is the only dog.  Only pet in Beetle's case.

Stacey

This sounds very much like my dog, he is one of 3 and is the lowest in pecking order and like yours is very timid and cowers for no reason, but when he is out on his own he is a totally different dog and has turned into the best gun dog we could wish for.
So l would leave well alone, I am sure he is very happy.

I think getting in someone to give an opinion as to "why" and whether it is normal may set the OPs mind at rest, which is why i would tend to go down that route. The dog may be really happy, or it may be unhappy; also very submissive attitudes may be clinical signs of an undiagnosed problem eg it is one of the signs of hypothyroid. A behaviourist who is hands on could probably say if the behaviour is due to the presence of the other dogs, or if it seems to have no good reason in which case it may be more clinical ... their advice may also be to leave well alone.

Lindsay
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Lindsay,

If a dog seems depressed I agree it may have a clinical cause, but this does not sound like it.  Especially since the dog is lively and bonkers when out on a walk.

Stacey

I understand what you mean Stacey, but what i always feel is that we cannot see what is happening and if it were me, i would want to look at all options :)

Dogs who are unwell may behave differently in different situations, so it can get confusing!
Anyway JMHO. And i do agree the dog may be fine. It's just if it were my dog i would want to be sure.

Lindsay
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maybe he likes the outdoors more than indoors one of my labs is like that very quiet, well behaved .......outside totally  bonkers and soooooo out of controll we just take him out out alot  and put out in our garden