Hope someone can throw some light on this please.
My 9mth Westie male is great chums with brothers 6yr old female Scottish terrier. They've only been friends for 6wks or so. A couple of times when we've been out walking one or the other will jump in (not aggressively) if another dog becomes interested in one of them. Today my brother had them both out and mine (Westie) attacked a very passive dog. He is normally the most friendly slushy animal you could imagine. It's usually him who makes a playful fuss of other dogs.
Do you think he's becoming possessive of her and is this behaviour likely to continue.
He's booked in for neutering on the 20th Dec.
Brother (when he finally caught him) grabbed him by the scruff and lifted him off the floor for a second or two and spoke sharply to him. Is this the right kind of treatment to teach him no or should i be doing something eles if it happen again.

Please give some advice as i don't want him to become nasty with other dogs.
Budmag.

At 9 months he's battling with his hormones, and yes - castration will probably help - however being picked up by the scruff and spoken to firmly when he is caught will NOT help - it will only serve to make him more determined not to be caught. It sounds like more work needs to be done on your brothers ability to get him to come when called - and this should be practised plenty when out on walks - when he should be rewarded by being released to go and play again, after all, why should he come if it always means the end of the fun and games? You should also be aware of not always calling him back to go on the lead in the same place every walk, as he will soon catch on that this is where the fun stops.

I hope this makes sense.

Fran

Thanks for reply Digger.
Training Buddy (Westie) to come back is proving to be a real problem and not just for brother. Buddy will come back when called when no other dogs are around but if he's playing he becomes stone deaf. It is so annoying. Have you or anyone eles any suggestions as to how i can get on top of this.
Should he be fully trained up by now(9mnths) or is he still ripe for training.

Hope you can help.
Budmag
PS, have ordered a Dog Behaviour book by John Fisher which i hope will help.

At 9 months he is only just growing up and will try it on just as teenage children do. Do not rely on the castration making any difference it may not. Jackie

Hi,
I have a young dog who used to do some thing very similar. (I say used, but he still would, i just know how to stop him these days).
Dont rush out and get him neutered just yet, that could in fact make him worse. If he loses all that testosterone, he could lose a lot of his confidence, which might in turn make him more aggressive with passive dogs.
My Rocky was brilliant, until i had him done, then he hated dogs, but notably, just the ones that he didnt really think where a big threat to him. He wouldnt put up with any kind of aggro, from the smallest of dogs, which he used to ignore, and very nervous dogs would also get 'shown who's boss'. That said, he would ignore any dog he felt capable of doing him serious harm, as long as it didnt challenge him!

If you think that neutering may help, ask your vet as there is an injection that will temporarily do the same job. If you try that and it doesnt work, then dont get him snipped. If it does then consider the snip.
I now prevent Rocky from being a git in several ways. I try not to walk him in confined areas, such as narrow paths etc, I have seriously im proved his recall, and also got him very toy orientated, so he really wants teh ball i keep in my pocket. He now knows, that by sticking by me when he sees another dog, he will get the ball game he wants.

Emma

I, personnally would not get a 9 month old puppy castrated, he is still a baby, have you ever taken him to training classes? if not, find out where your nearest are now. My westie (male) is 10 months and is much the same and he has been to training classes. He will probably see other dogs (male) as a threat to him when he is with the bitch, I have found that westie males are much harder to train than females they need very firm handling, and I would not have lifted him off the ground by the scruff of the neck for running away, you want him to learn to come back to you and by doing this you can make him frightened of coming back in case he is going to be punished, what I do is have plenty of bits of cheese out with me and when I let the dogs off the lead usually in a quiet place, I call all of them back and when they come I tell them to "sit" and I give them a tit bit and lots of praise, I try and make it into a game with recall and I only shout "dogs name and come", but I make sure they know that I have titbits with me, when I take them off the lead I make them sit for me to do this and give a titbit as well. Have you joined our westhighlands site? if not click on my name and e mail me and I will give you the details we all have westies on this site and you will get some good information about our breed. Please remember its a terrier and terriers were bred to hunt rats, rabbits etc.

Thought i'd let you know that i have cancelled Buddy's castration and will re think it when he's older.
Also have been reading a dog psychology book by John Fisher. Seems i'm getting most of it wrong. The fact that Buddy is Not a head case must be down to good breeding stock and nothing that i've been doing. I'm now in the process of un-doing what confusion i've caused him and educating myself in how dogs minds work. I honestly thought i'd read all i needed to read on how to train a puppy before i got him.
Just goes to show you eh. I find it amasing that such things as not letting your dog walk through a door before you or letting them feed first could reinforce their belief that they are Top Dog.
I'll keep you all informed on his progress.
I'm off to read some more of the book.
Maggie.

Good for you Maggie - good luck with Buddy for the future. Do keep us posted;)

Pam n the boys

I don't know which book you're reading, but John Fisher died about 10 year ago - and before his death he was questioning his own research, and he. along with others, had started to realise that 'hierachy' isn't important to a domestic dog, so more confusing stuff I'm afraid :-( Have a look here - http://www.dog-dominance.co.uk

We make our dog wait while we go through doors first. I am convinced it has helped his general behaviour and also it is safer. He used to shoot through our legs so he could barge out the door first and it was a dangerous trip hazard. Making them wait and sit while you go through is simple good manners. As for the rest of the pack ranking stuff, we started off eating before him but got fed up with it as we weren't always hungry. I don't think it has made any difference.

Yeah,
I was gonna say that about John Fisher....
But, even though that kind of thing might not make a difference to the dogs percieved status in the household, it doesnt really matter, cos most of what he says makes sense for having a well mannered dog around the house!
Try clicker training your dog, its great, mine love it, and i am having to think upnew stuff to teach them!!!!
My own opinion on training is this , be firm, but not harsh; be consistent, but not boring: be FUN! reward the good, and where ever possible, ignore the bad. One of the most important things is to try to prevent bad behaviour happening... ie, dont want dog chewing shoes, pick em up. It really can be that simple! also, learn to think like a dog, get into his head, and you might see why things go wrong!

Good luck,
Emma

I've been trying out a few things John Fisher suggested with Buddy for the last couple of days.
I must say he is taking it well. I've had some really good responses from him.
Making him sit and wait for me to go through doors first has been so easy. Not letting him jump all over me when i come in from work but to sit at my feet and let me pat his head, rub behind his ears etc. (this one was more difficult for me cause i liked this reaction as i thought it was a sign of his love for me. JF says it's a sign of dominance in a dog. Buddy does seem to react my commands quicker now.
JF's suggestions may be out dated as some have said but i feel they make sense and will continue.
A huge break through came this morning in the park. Myself, buddy, brother and daisy were out walking when Buddy was put to the test. He spotted another dog heading towards us while he was off the leash.
Normally Buddy would head of in it's direction without a second glance at me and totally ignore my calling him back even with the promise of treats. Today he saw the other dog and started to go towards it- i called him and he stopped looked at me then moved further towards the dog again. I kept calling to him to 'come', he stopped and started a couple more times then eventually ran back to us. I got him on the lead with lots of praise and a treat. I was thrilled. My baby is getting the idea at last.
Plenty more work to be done i know but i feel i'm making progress.
Budmag.

That is such good news. Well done - keep up the good work. To get a recall like that is a really big step forwards.:D

I find the effective technique to stop them jumping when they come to greet you is to totally ignore them when you walk in - don't look or acknowledge in anyway - I think this is one of John Fishers too. It does work and usually starts to have an effect within a couple of days or so. It does need everyone to act the same way though - and that's the hardest bit I find. After a few mintes when they have wandered off - call them to you and say hello. The objective is to make it on your terms.

Pam n the boys