Question on dog behavior...
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We own a neutered male English Mastiff who's about 3 1/2 years old. For a long time, he has been friendly with everyone and everything, but once he reached 2-3 years, he's begun to show some behaviors that worry me.
First, he began to put up HUGE fronts whenever a strange person enters the house-- whether or not we welcome them in. He would run up at them and bark, attempting to circle around them with hair raised on his back. He makes movements similar to play bowing. The more intimidated they are, the closer he gets. When he does this, it is impossible to control him without using some form of "dominant", forceful behavior on him. This only started with guests who were afraid of him, but then he also started to do it with loud people, and children, and now virtually anyone he doesn't recognize. We've tried to restrain him without getting majorly physical (ex. body blocking instead of wrestling him), not allowing him to greet the person until he's calmed down enough. It worked very well when he was beginning to do this at 1 1/2 years, but this behavior has come back in force. I had to physically keep him pinned to the ground until he calmed down enough to not do that reaction before he accepted my friend today, who ignored him and didn't show any weakness to him.
He's also beginning to do the same with foreign dogs now. When off-leash, he'll see the dog, run at it with back hairs raised, woofing and growling. The dogs he's done this to, which are quite small, are scared and run away from the massive thing barreling toward them. This incites him to chase after them and either corners the dog or comes back because he realizes he's too far from me. He fixates a little on the leash, but I give his martingale collar a little tug and he snaps out of it (he's mostly trained to respond to the chains' sound). So far, he has not reacted to any people or dogs he knows and behaves in a friendly manner around them. The behaviors he's been showing do not seem to be fear, as he doesn't show signs I recognize as fear.(licking of lips, lowered head and rear end, defensive posture) When he sees foreign people or dogs, he has head up, ears perked, a fixated look, everything raised. He looks almost like a dog hunting something.
He was a cheap AKC registered puppy from a backyard breeder (it wasn't my choice to get him). He was either bred indiscriminately from a long line of cheap profit-making purebreds, or has some mixes of other breeds underhandedly thrown in in his lineage, as he has a fearful, excited personality despite being a lower-energy dog (runs out of excess energy quickly) and, while is physically well-built, poorly adheres to the breed standard. If he's a mix, we think he may have boxer in him. I think there might be a slight chance of doberman or lab, too.
So, I know there are behavior savvys on here. Can anyone give me advice to pinpoint the cause of the behavior and thus "nip it in the bud" before it escalates too far?
First, he began to put up HUGE fronts whenever a strange person enters the house-- whether or not we welcome them in. He would run up at them and bark, attempting to circle around them with hair raised on his back. He makes movements similar to play bowing. The more intimidated they are, the closer he gets. When he does this, it is impossible to control him without using some form of "dominant", forceful behavior on him. This only started with guests who were afraid of him, but then he also started to do it with loud people, and children, and now virtually anyone he doesn't recognize. We've tried to restrain him without getting majorly physical (ex. body blocking instead of wrestling him), not allowing him to greet the person until he's calmed down enough. It worked very well when he was beginning to do this at 1 1/2 years, but this behavior has come back in force. I had to physically keep him pinned to the ground until he calmed down enough to not do that reaction before he accepted my friend today, who ignored him and didn't show any weakness to him.
He's also beginning to do the same with foreign dogs now. When off-leash, he'll see the dog, run at it with back hairs raised, woofing and growling. The dogs he's done this to, which are quite small, are scared and run away from the massive thing barreling toward them. This incites him to chase after them and either corners the dog or comes back because he realizes he's too far from me. He fixates a little on the leash, but I give his martingale collar a little tug and he snaps out of it (he's mostly trained to respond to the chains' sound). So far, he has not reacted to any people or dogs he knows and behaves in a friendly manner around them. The behaviors he's been showing do not seem to be fear, as he doesn't show signs I recognize as fear.(licking of lips, lowered head and rear end, defensive posture) When he sees foreign people or dogs, he has head up, ears perked, a fixated look, everything raised. He looks almost like a dog hunting something.
He was a cheap AKC registered puppy from a backyard breeder (it wasn't my choice to get him). He was either bred indiscriminately from a long line of cheap profit-making purebreds, or has some mixes of other breeds underhandedly thrown in in his lineage, as he has a fearful, excited personality despite being a lower-energy dog (runs out of excess energy quickly) and, while is physically well-built, poorly adheres to the breed standard. If he's a mix, we think he may have boxer in him. I think there might be a slight chance of doberman or lab, too.
So, I know there are behavior savvys on here. Can anyone give me advice to pinpoint the cause of the behavior and thus "nip it in the bud" before it escalates too far?
Celestial's Dakonic Shepherds (#3992)
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09-5-2011 at 12:47 PM
Disagreeing, I was saying that I've had personal experience with a dog that would react because of his fear/insecurity and he did not display such body language during confrontations unless the person made a move for him.<br /> xD My apologies for bad wording, I'm super tired. @_@ <br /> <br /> In the end I don't think I could say what causes your dog's behavior over the internet, no one can. They'd have to see it on tape or in person to get a better read of the situation.
Steaks (#5484)
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09-5-2011 at 12:38 PM
<i>"a dog can be reacting from fear without showing fearful body language.[...]his tail would go up, ears forward, mouth closed, tight stare and he'd charge up to people, bark, do the playbow-like posture.[...] the only time he showed a fear response was when a guy charged back at him."</i><br><br>I don't understand, are you agreeing that I'm saying this behaviour isn't fear? Or are you disagreeing?
Celestial's Dakonic Shepherds (#3992)
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09-5-2011 at 12:19 PM
Not to be a bug Clay but a dog can be reacting from fear without showing fearful body language. Dakota is a decent example, when people come in the house (this was before we worked on his problems) his tail would go up, ears forward, mouth closed, tight stare and he'd charge up to people, bark, do the playbow-like posture. If someone yelled, it got worse, the only time he showed a fear response was when a guy charged back at him.<br /> <br /> I'm not saying this is the reason by any means, just saying don't throw it out the window.<br /> <br /> <br /> He is a guardian breed, and people believe they need to react like such to any strangers even though they're only suppose to alert, calm, and react if a threat appears. So the backyard breeder could've been breeding for the wrong temperament. <br /> <br /> I'm glad to hear you're open to different techniques, in the dog world especially it's important to be open minded.<br /> <br /> Also you said it's mostly in your neighborhood, where is he kept when you're not home? If in the backyard, could it be possible that someone tried to break into your house and he got a negative experience from it? <br /> <br /> <br /> My mother is like that as well, although not a dominance person, she believes you're suppose to hit a dog for everything they do wrong. :/ So I don't let her touch my dogs and thankfully she doesn't own one herself.<br /> I don't know if you'd be interested in this, but this is a link that many people with a PhD in dog behavior have recommended to me. It talks about the flaws in a lot of dominance theories and stuff like that. It's an interesting read<br /> http://drsophiayin.com/philosophy/dominance/
Horseman (#4055)
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09-5-2011 at 9:15 AM
Thanks for the replies. I appreciate it. :)<br /> <br /> "I'd definitely stop pinning or using any physical force."<br /> Actually, that's the reason why I posted this here. ;) I was out of good ideas and needed a fresh look at the situation so I could try more avenues of training for him.<br /> <br /> "Does he ever bite or grab people when they enter the house?"<br /> No, he never even touches them. He always leaves some space between the two unless he is giving them a curious, friendly sniff-down after calming down. He has done the same with dogs, too.<br /> <br /> "Can they come in and walk around right away without him flipping out?"<br /> Mostly. If he knows the person and/or dog and they're not residents of our house, he will only mildly react and a verbal correction makes him snap out of it. The more often it happens, the less he reacts.<br /> <br /> "I dunno if your dog has a pulling problem or not"<br /> He's mostly good on the leash. On walks, he sometimes spaces out and forgets to follow me and pulls a little, but he usually is paying attention when I change pace or turn. Oh, I forgot to mention that the behavior on-leash is while on walks.<br /> <br /> The problems he's having have only happened in our neighborhood. It seems the more unfamiliar the location, the less likely he is to show these behaviors. The running at other dogs part has been when we let him off-leash on the street (we live in a court and most other dog owners who live here will have their dogs do supervised off-leash play at the dead end of the street. Their dogs are all friendly and mostly sociable, too.) or when I let him greet my dad after coming home through the garage.<br /> <br /> @Clestial- I might email a dog behaviorist if this escalates much further for advice. The big problem is that my dad is deeply entrenched in the dominance theory-style training. He didn't get nearly as far as me in training bad behaviors out of the dog, but he doesn't and will not believe in positive reinforcement. I doubt I could get the dog a trainer if I had to because he's technically not "my dog" even though I spend the most time with him. EDIT: I'll definitely look into your links when I can. Thanks for posting them.
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2011-09-05 09:16:26 by #4055
Steaks (#5484)
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09-5-2011 at 7:30 AM
That isn't fear behaviour. He likely doesn't know how to react around strangers are other dogs.<br>Agreeing with wht Celestial said - don't pin him, don't grab him by the scruff, etc. Running up to other dogs barking and with hackles raised will end up in a fight some day so you kinda need to get that in control now.<br>Does he ever bite or grab people when they enter the house? Can they come in and walk around right away without him flipping out?<br>My sisters friends dogs freak out whenever someone comes on the porch, and to keep them from freaking out and swarming me and leaping on me when I entered the door, I would bring over dog treats - that way they were more concerned with getting a treat than with me entering the house [they knew me for years and weren't aggressive to me in any way, but they were jumpy and rude as heck] and when they saw me, they wouldn't bark or jump on me, they'd start doing a bunch of tricks lol<br>Maybe strangers bringing a treat with them will associate strangers coming in to meet you = good things like treats?<br><br>I dunno if your dog has a pulling problem or not <i>[I can see a mastiff pulling would end in at least one faceplant]</i> but seconding keeping him on a leash. I'm assuming when he runs at other dogs, he's at the dog park. Keep him on a leash and let other dogs come to him instead. Once he's calmed down and the dogs have met him, let him off the leash.
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2011-09-05 07:32:55 by #5484
2011-09-05 07:31:08 by #5484
Celestial's Dakonic Shepherds (#3992)
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09-4-2011 at 10:56 PM
I'd definitely stop pinning or using any physical force. That will likely only make him associate more negative things to people. Never use force with a reactive dog. Although the dog may not be displaying the normal signs, it can cause them to feel nervous and they may act in such a way to protect themselves.<br /> <br /> Have guests ignore him completely, like he's not there. When he stops barking toss him a treat. Give him a reward every time he is acting in a desired way.<br /> <br /> And also I'd keep him on leash, a lot of dogs would not tolerate such a reaction. (and being an owner of a dog who does not tolerate any rude behavior from other dogs, it's more respectful)<br /> <br /> You want him to associate positive things with people and other dogs. You can try this, it may just help him become more comfortable.<br /> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrbA7cyp6K4<br /> <br /> <br /> It's really hard to give advice on these things over the internet, and generally I would not advise to ask these things from random people. Maybe you could shoot an email to a qualified person with a PhD in dog behavior? <br /> <br /> The lady here is very nice, and extremely educated. She helped with my fearful dog who would bark and lunge at strangers and other dogs. He now can walk through a crowd without a problem.<br /> http://www.smartpawsseattle.com/<br /> <br /> Send her an email explaining things, if she feels she can't help you with words then she can tell you if any local trainers can help you. :)