Is it normal for teen boys to try and dominate?

[Girliefriendlikespuppies]

My terrier cross is almost 18 months old, he's a great dog and we absolutely love him.

Recently his behaviour around other dogs has started to become problematic, he tends to crouch down or stop walking if he sees another dog and will then shoot forward and either bark or growl in the other dogs face. It's not every dog, some breeds he's always disliked (flat faced and beagles for example.)

I think he likes to get in there first and show the other dog he's really tough and it's a dominance type behaviour. He's worse around nervous dogs or puppies.

It's at the point now where he has to stay on lead around other dogs as we can't entirely predict what he will do 😕 although his behaviour generally is worse on lead!

Anyone got any advice? Would neutering him help??

Picture of the little menace.

I would npt see this as dominance more anxiety and fear. I expect that he has been showimg polite go away signals but the dogs and you have nor recognised them. This has meant that he has had to up the anti and start shouting and bellowing at the dogs to go away.

I would try to be his protector so that he does not have to do it himself. If you see a dog coming then at the moment turn around and put more space between your dog and the othe dogs.

Neutering would not help but could easily make things worse.

I understand what you're saying but it really doesn't seem like he's scared or anxious but I understand that obviously dogs show fear in different ways.

All the dogs I know that have been neutered are much less bothered in general about other dogs which would be fine, I'd be happy for him just to ignore other dogs.

Neutering can leave a dog less confident which comes across as more reactive. (They feel like they can’t win in a fight so have to get in there first to see the dog off rather than wait and see what happens.)

I would work with a behaviourist on his issue first rather than just jumping to neutering straight away.

The problem is, if it’s fear based - neutering could make it a much bigger problem.

And... getting in there first is usually fear based... a confident dog has no need to show other dogs they’re tough, they’ll just ignore them if they’re not feeling like socialising.

Also the fact he’s worse on lead would suggest it’s fear based as well - anxious dogs can feel trapped.

Thanks for the replies, I meant to say in op he doesn't normally do it with female dogs just other boys...

I will contact a behaviourist and see what they suggest. I do think there is a hormonal element in there somewhere as he seems to go through phases where the behaviour is worse and then settles again.

I feel a bit disappointed as made a massive effort to socialise him from 8 weeks to try and avoid these issues.

Most reactive dogs are reactive out of fear.

They learn that barking/lunging stops another dog getting too close, so they start doing it to any dog they see - kind of like a pre-emptive strike. And like a PP said, if they're reactive through fear, neutering can end up making it much, much worse.

The fact that he's worse on lead also points to reactivity - most dogs are worse on lead because they're trapped - they have no way of escaping and the lead limits their natural body language too.

Hopefully working with a behaviourist makes a difference but sadly reactivity can take a long, long time to fix. Mine is reactive after being bitten as a pup - he's fine off-lead or on-lead with dogs he knows, but if a strange dog approaches him on lead he often lunges and gobs off I have to spot the other dog in time and either distract him or turn around and walk the other way

he tends to crouch down or stop walking if he sees another dog and will then shoot forward and either bark or growl in the other dogs face
This sounds more like anxiety to me.
‘Dominant/confident’ aggression tends to be still, tense, very high tails, high head carriage, ears forward, direct stare, up on toes etc

He's worse around nervous dogs or puppies
This also says to me anxious.
I can’t remember where I read it, but I read on a forum once a dog trainer saying nervous dogs often react badly to other nervous dogs because the other dog’s behaviour unsettles them and they feed off one another.
I don’t know how true that is though.

One thing I would say as the owner of a dog who is wary of other dogs is forget about ‘socialisation’ in terms of meeting other dogs.
Focus on teaching him to be being happy and calm in the presence of other dogs but without interacting instead.
In other words, train him to happily ignore.
For my dog, it has worked far far better than anything else like CARE or similar.

Scared. My dog was the same and the behaviourist said this. He is scared. And I did the worst thing I could have done and had him ‘ done ‘ at a young age.

Thanks we have gone back to basics with him, he goes back on the lead around other dogs he doesn't know and we encourage him to keep his attention on us and ignore the other dog.

There are some adolescent dog classes close to us so might give those a go as well!!

Perfect Girliefriendlikespuppies

Dont push him into an adolescent class as the other dogs in this situation may be a bit much but if the trainer can give you a few 121's to help you out that may be more successful for him.

They may also have a calm stooge dog which would help to give your guy some confidence again in a 121 situation rather than him having to meet with the unruly riffraff public dogs

He will have a low threshold. I wouldn’t go near a class as that will send him over the edge. Slow and I mean slowly. Imagine if u were petrified of spiders. And one day someone shoved u in a glass box full of spiders. U would panic. And it would set u back weeks or months. U want to do this on their terms and go as slowly as they need to

It's weird because in the summer we had a few days in Devon and there were loads of dogs everywhere we went and he was perfect! So I'm not sure why he's suddenly become reactive?!

Anyway we've just had a very successful walk, we managed to keep his attention on us and other then one small growl at a frenchie walking pass there were no incidents.

Mine.. also 18m started the exact same behaviour back in July. We thought it was related to her being in season but it has persisted. I joined the Reactive Dogs uk group on FB.. the advice there is fantastic (and the same as the behaviourist we met)..and I realised my previously sociable girl is actually a nervous and anxious one.
She can meet and greet some calm dogs calmly.. unknowns she tried to rush at them with a bit of a growl..and is then either fine or panicked.
We have gone back to lots of basic training and she isn't off lead unless we are with a known and trusted dog and gradually it is improving.

She dislikes puppies now, so we give them a wide berth!

@girliefriendlikespuppies Have you had your dog since being a pup. Has anything happened to make your dog anxious for example has another dog gone to attack it in the past. He obviously sees other dogs as a threat for some reason. Personally I don't believe neutering will make him worse but it wont solve the problem either. Did he attend any training classes and puppy socialing classes when he was younger. They do go through a teenage phase where some dogs can be difficult but mine have usually grown out of it by 18 months. I would look at attending some training classes for older dogs as they will incorporate the correct way to meet other dogs if its a KC run one. If you do go down the route of a behaviourist then make sure they are correctly qualified as too many including trainers seem to get their qualifications online rather than hands on.

Sitdown yes had him since he was 9 weeks, did all the normal puppy classes and made a massive effort to really socialise him well.

We are doing agility training with him but it's on a one to one basis with the trainer and my dd. It's been great for both of them but he'd be hopeless in a competition if he can't behave himself around other dogs.

There's been nothing I can think of incident wise other then being barked at a few times maybe.

He has also started shooting into the garden barking his head off at not much 😕 maybe it's all just terrible teens related?!

Many dogs do become less sociable (or less dog-tolerant) as they mature.

Dogs also pass through a second 'fear stage' of development at any time up to about two years of age.

I'd see a good trainer or behaviourist before taking any decision to neuter him and as others have said, work on him concentrating on you and ignoring/accepting the other dogs as opposed to forcing interaction.

@Girliefriendlikespuppies Some dogs just don't like other dogs. Everyone expects dogs to be friendly. For the time being until you can control him tell other people on walks to control their dogs. There is nothing worse than an off leash dog running up to your dog and upsetting him further. If he's going to lunge to bite then get a muzzle and muzzle train him so he cant bite another dog. You will need to address the issue. If you do go to a behaviourist Google their qualifications many not properly qualified and can do more damage than good.

Thanks, we have gone back to basics and he has been fine since then. I think he is the sort of dog that if you give an inch he will take a mile!

Now if we see another dog he either goes back on lead and I keep his attention on me until the other dog has gone by or I allow a very quick hello and then move straight on. I don't believe he would bite and has never gone further than growling or barking so far.....

Interesting re the second fear stage, that would certainly make sense as he has been slightly more anxious of things that generally he hasn't been bothered about before.

I will hold off neutering, my original plan was to wait until he was at least 2 years old and will keep an open mind even then.

Thanks for all your replies, they have helped!

I wouldn’t allow quick hellos personally.
You don’t want to trigger stack him and leads severely hamper normal doggy greeting behaviour.
For the moment at least, personally, I’d stick to rewarding his attention on you around other dogs.
If you later (months down the line) feel he might be able to manage a greeting, personally, I’d do it off leash with a dog you know