Hi I have a 2 1/2 year old entire ridgeback.  He is generally pretty well behaved -excellent in the house - recall generally ok although not reliable around other dogs. My current concern is that he is getting increasingly feisty and 'dominant' with other similar sized or larger males.  He never makes the first growl but gives off extremely dominant (for want of a better word) body language when he meets other males - e.g Stands very straight, tail up, really stiff body language, arched neck, hackles up etc. He then stands very still and waits, if the other dog backs down, he'll play etc nicely or get a bit humpy but either way, no trouble, however if the other dog growls at him he'll get stuck in.  So far its always been 'handbags at dawn' e.g lots of noise but no biting from either party.  Once i've dragged him off, he goes all silly, wagging his tail, ears down etc with a 'how clever am i' look about him.  I show him so ideally dont want to get him castrated but i really hate the fact that he acts like this as when the other dog backs down, he'll usually play really well.  He lets little dogs and bitches walk all over him so i am sure he isn't aggressive just a bit full of himself.  Currently i dont really have enough spare cash to see a behaviourist so was hoping someone on the forum could suggest training techniques / books etc which may help me deal with this behaviour? 

do you generally allow him to run up to dogs and chose his own actions?
and has he done so over a long period?

if so, i would put him back on a lead line or training lead and teach him to approach dogs nicely.

training books by ian dunbar might help, but it's better to get a trainer along if you can?

Ditto the last reply,you really need to get his training sorted.
There's nothing worst than a dog running over to yourwhen your out walking, especially if the dog is dominant and ends up in a fight.
i get really fed up with people when they think it's ok for their dog to come over and they don't know how my dogs will react.
Not having a go at you but your boy will come up against the wrong dog one day and a really serious fight will happen. 
You need to get his recall a lot better so i would keep him on a long line or be very careful and put him on the lead if you see other dogs coming your way. you are the one that should make the choice whether he can go and play with other dogs not him.
i always call my dogs to me if i see other dogs and if close enough ask if their dog is ok or not. i keep cheese in my pocket and reward them when they come to me.
If you can't get a trainer in maybe you could go to some more training classes for older dogs as these are usually pretty cheap. this will help with him being around other dogs as well.
Make sure you are  his leader at home as well as out so he doesn't think he rules the roost.
Best of luck,i'm sure with abit more training you can sort this out.   

When off lead he quite often lies flat on the ground and just stares until they get close, then springs up and stands very stiff legged etc - he doesnt usually charge up to other dogs as i'm aware of his size etc and i do make him approach slowly but to be honest i guess he does really chose his own actions.  On lead i do make sure he approaches nicely but for example friday, a large flat coat ret. came charging up to us off the lead.  Winston was wearing a halti-type lead - its one where you can slip the nose bit off or on as appropriate - he'd been really well behaved (durrrr!) so i had the nose bit off.  The retriever came running up and then they both stood still - obviously appraising each other, i let this continue about 5 seconds before giving W a little come on tug on th lead.  Thats when they started - again no real nastyness, just rearing up and growing.  The retriever's owner came up and grabbed him, and i pulled W off.  It lasted no more than about 5 seconds but its horrible.  I'm kicking myself as if i'd had the nose part on the halti, i would have had far more control.  Up until about a month ago i always walked him on a long line - he just dragged it around and it was useful as an extra brake!  It broke and i never got around to replacing it.  Will do that this afternoon!

I think you are probably right re the trainer but the going rate round my way (Surrey) seems to be around £50 per hour and i would imagine it will be something that requires several sessions hence why i was hoping i would be able to train myself via a book.

Thank you tho i will research trainers in the area and also check out Ian Dunbar's books.

Thanks Bear - will def go back to using the long line. 

He went to classes up til he was about 18 months - trouble was that in a hall environment he was fine - madly one of the best in the class - trouble was it didn't translate to the real world - out on a walk the same cheese/treat that will have him flood my kitchen with drool, he wont even eat!  he also has no interest in toys on a walk either so its really hard to get his interest - on a dog free walk he is really good, comes when he's called, will walk to heal off lead - but another dog appears and he turns deaf!  He's miles better than he was and whereas earlier any and every dog was a potential for play, he will now ignore say 60% - definately not good enough tho - i will see if i can find some outdoor training and also go back to the long line - you are right - i've been lucky so far that a more serious fight hasn't started.  And i totally agree its not nice when another dog comes running up and wants to have a go.

Thanks for your response.

How about doing the good citizens awards ie bronze, silver and then gold. i've just started this with my youngest and the training classes are only £3.50 each session,then i hope to go on to agility.
I would think your boy would benefit from all of this as they need to be really well controlled for the agility side of things. Also it burns off lots of energy through exercise and concentration. Don't know much about your breed of dog but theirs one in our village and he's got lots of energy that needs burning off.
all these things will help you become the leader and burn off a lot of energy that can turn into aggression.
Not being castrated of course can be difficult, even the best controlled dog will run off if he smells a bitch on heat so your have to be aware of this.     
When i went from a long line to letting my dogs off i always left the line attached to them and just let go of it, this meant that if they decided to run off even if i could catch them i usually could get a foot or hand to the line and stop them.
Don't forget always praise his return to you even if he takes ages and never shout if he's being naughty. Say what you want from him in a calm but firm voice.
Have you tried running in the opposite direction when he start to run off and making lots of silly load noises? has worked with mine on and odd time they've not listened. Also if you ignore and walk away they usually want to follow you more than if you follow them and keep talking to them. 

I have very similar girl to your boy so I will be following closely what responses you get.

She is 20 months old now so going through that funny hormonal age and finding herself.

She lays down when she sees a dog and waits for the dog to come to her, if they go past without saying hello she jumps and leaps towards them.
It is not aggressive leap but few times now she has also barked/growled while doing the leap and this of course comes across aggressive and also startles the dog(and the owner) and they definately will not come and say hello after that!
It also makes me feel awful as other dog owners do give you very nasty looks like I wanted her to behave like this&I'm a bad dog owner having this large dog that behaves like that (she is totally under control all times& her leap is basically her trying to leap towards them)!

Does anybody actually know why a dog lays down like this, is it "freezing" action as they are not sure or what?
This is how I read it as my girl until few months ago has always been little shy when it comes to other dogs, she likes other dogs but always goes over very carefully and does this laying down and waiting for the other dog to come over, very puppyish behaviour/body language towards other dogs.
However, just like you Winston3 ,recently I have seen more tail up and standing tall behaviour, which I think goes with the age our dogs are.

I know her behaviour partly comes from not being allowed off lead and being on a limited exercise due to an injury and simply having too much energy. When there is this very exciting situation of meeting a dog(she was not allowed to say hello to other dogs for 2 months either) and when the dog doesn't come to her she just "bursts" and loses control of herself. In a situation where there are loads of dogs she is fine, it is just these one to one dog meetings where she can sometimes misbehave. This is only if the dog does not come to her so far she has been fine with every dog she says hello to but just like your boy I'm seeing more dominant signs than before.
I feel little unsure of how she would behave if challenged, this has not yet happened (before she always backed off if another dog growled). We see more or less same dogs on our walks and to all oldies we see and who tell her off she still backs off but I'm not sure she would do this with a strange dog that challenged her.

She is also same as your boy when it comes to treats/toys etc on a walk...
It makes it very difficult to "be interesting" when treats/toys leaping about sqeaking just doesn't do it!
It is easy to say you need to get your dogs attention to yourself but this is very difficult thing to do if they spot the dog as no treat or toy will make my girl forget the dog. "watch me" works brilliantly at home but there is absolutely no point trying it in a situation like this.

My plan is to go to organised "dog walks" where she will get to meet many different dogs not in a training situation(as I know in training/show situation she is fine, my thinking is these walks would be more like everyday on a walk situation but more controlled) maybe also get one to one training as I need to be told how to behave when she doesn't :)! I don't want to make this a problem by reacting in a wrong way and I also want to have outside advise on why she acts like she does...

Very long post to basically say GOOD LUCK with your boy :) :) You are not alone

Hi Noora - thanks so much for your post - its really good to know i'm not alone.  What breed is yours?  The disinterest in toys/food on walks is really frustrating - i even once placed a bit of his favourite cheese inside his cheek as i couldn't believe he was ignoring it- he spat it out!!!!  The same cheese that he'd do almost anything for in the house!!

Really funny that you say about organised walks - i've literally just found a trainer in my area who does these organised walks - i've just emailed her so i'm hoping that we maybe able to start these - she does a training course along side these so hopefully i can start a new training regime with him!  Your girl sounds so similar - bet she's a ridgeback too!!

Let me know how you get on.

x

My girl is a Leo so similar size to your RR.

I have thrown a treat in her mouth (as it was open)and yes, she just spit it out :).

hey, i have a 17 month old ridgeback, and hes very similar to your boy apart from the aggression/dominance issue. he is utterly obsessed with other dogs, just wants to playwith 100% of them, but when he fixates on another dog it is very difficult to get his attention back. if hes on lead then its fine, he isnt too bad, just wags his tail and gets excited when we walk past, however, if hes off lead, he will go charging up given half the chance, and distance is NO obstacle, he will run to the other end of a huuuuuge field to see another dog (cheeky beggar wont run after rabbits or birds either!) on walks i have to be fully watching out for other dogs, and call him back before he spots them, luckily his recall is brilliant when dogs arent around.

i take my boy to training classes and hes very good in them, passed his beginners no problem, one of the best marks in class, however, outside its a different story as you say, food doesnt have the same attraction and he isnt toy focused at all.

good luck with your boy and perservere!

Hi Winston3

I've got two RR a 3.5 yr old male and an 18 mnth old female.  His behaviour is normal my boy used to do exactly the same (laying down etc - this he still does) the only difference is my boy is completely food fixated so was easier (not perfect) at coming away when food was wafted under his nose!  I did long line my boy for a time as his recall fell to pieces during his 'kevin' phase and he would run after dogs to get them to play which was obviously not acceptable both for me and other owners to have what sounded like a bloody great racehorse running up behind them!

His 'dominance' behaviour sounds very similar though and my male has been neutered for a long time - my fella can be fine with some dogs  displaying exactly the same postures as your boy and can then 'tell off' the other dog quite strongly.  It does look and sound awful but is over in seconds and in terms of dog 'language' I just don't know what subtle points i've missed.  I might add this happens when the other dog has approached him, not the other way round - he's now 90% fixated on me and what i've got in my hand rather than the other dog.

It is difficult to keep a RR interested in 'stuff' both my two will chase a ball for about 5 minutes then get bored and walk off, bear in mind you've got a hound!  I taught mine to go 'find it' when they were in the house (basically hiding food for them to seek out) and translated this whilst out on their walks.  They both absolutely love this game and it keeps them occupied when other distractions are around!

Also, I know all the breed books say this and so do a lot of other owners but male ridgebacks (particularly entire ones) can sometimes be a bit 'funny' with other males as they get older.  They can be trying at times (I know) but are fantastic dogs - he'll come through it. 

Thanks for your response Ridgie - really good to hear of others experiences.  Up until Winson, we only ever had wire-haired dachunds in the family - always male and alway entire - but never experienced this sort of behaviour - and to be honest in a dachsie i'd image its rather easier to control - tho come to think of it they are equally stuborn! 

Thanks again - he is so perfect in so many other ways - just wish i could sort this out!

x