Is my rescue showing herding instinct or dominance

[Oldsu]

My 11 year old rescue who I have had for a year is a Corgi German Shepherd Cross. He adores me and follows me everywhere but he pushes hard against the back of my legs with his nose, I always assumed it's herding instinct as both are herding breeds but a friend says it's dominant behaviour and I need to train him to stop he does not do it to DH but then he doesn't follow him like he does me. I would welcome advice from people who have herding breed dogs

Dogs don’t display dominant behaviour.

It’s herding. Not an ideal behaviour but if he’s not biting or nipping I would leave him to it - but make sure he has an outlet for those tendencies too.

I think he is just attached maybe a little bit of resource guarding or looking for security, considering his age his eyesight might be going. If he isn't aggressive and putting you in danger of tripping over him, it doesn't sound a huge issue, we had collie crosses who always picked their person. Our last dog was really my Dds dog and stuck to her like glue.

And i agree dogs don't dominate like your friend suggests.

Neither. He's loving you. You can redirect it. If you catch it just before he nudges you, call his name and as he moves around to your side say 'good' and give him a ruffle on his head, or whatever he likes. He'll soon learn that he gets your attention when he's beside you.

As someone who is fortunate enough to live with many dog, they absolutely do display dominant behaviour. He is herding you. If you don’t like it, put him into a sit every time and walk away. He will learn.

I don't think the dog nudging is dominance though just instinct maybe displaced behaviour. I mean if it is inconvenient for the op she absolutely should try and train him not to do it and reward in other ways.

Dogs may display dominant behaviour towards other dogs but they don’t do it towards people. That theory was debunked a long time ago.

If it’s not bothering you, just leave it 🤷‍♀️ as other people have said, dogs don’t dominate people.

Also, very much love the corgi wearing a GSD costume 😁

I've got a corgi. He does this, it's herding.

Does he also bark at nothing and talks back to you?

TBH it doesn't but I was worried when I was told it was dominance we got him from a kill centre and I don't know what his life was like before we had him

If it’s causing no-one any issues and it’s not part of a bigger issue (in general not this in particular) then just leave it tbh.

if it’s annoying or something, then sure, but otherwise…meh, dogs have wee quirks, let them be weird 😂

@Oldsu he absolutely does! Or is there nothing there because he barks 🤔🤣 loves to gove me backchat, he's worse than the kids! He is the most stubborn wee guy, but we absolutely adore him.

Bless him he is maybe seeking comfort as well, is he aggressive/nippy ?

It may well have been but I live with a large pack of dogs. And yes, they absolutely will show dominance to certain people. I’ve lived it and watched it for decades. Not all of them and not to all people but some definitely do.

Respectfully, they don't. They do push boundaries with certain people and will act differently with different people, but they certainly have no desire to dominate us.

No he is actually a very calm dogl

I am not sure it is dominance a dog being overbearing or attention seeking isn"t trying to be top dog over you

Ive got 2 corgis (mine are Cardigans). Both Pembroke and Cardigan corgis are known to bark badly one of mine barks at "nothing" although I suspect she doesn’t think its nothing.They were originally bred to herd watch and guard cattle. I know very little about about GSDs except that they also have a tendency bark badly its not surprising if your dog barks. I believe Pembrokes are also quite vocal and opinionated to their owners Cardigans aren't.
Corgis have a tendency to nip the lower legs of their owners and in fact others as I believe the footman at Buckingham Palace would cheerfully testify! This is how they move cows. My current pair don't but previous ones have I've stopped it easily by just saying a firm no, although if really excited they would snap at the air behind my legs which I would just ignore. Corgis are IME (Ive had them nearly 30 years) very independent and can be stubborn they dont have an overwhelmimg desire to please their owners you work/train with with what you've got.

Meant to also say I don't think this dominance its a dog just doing what it was bred to do.

Fundamentally disagree. And since it’s been my life and my experience for almost 40 years, respectfully, that is my call to make, for my own dogs at least.

Sure, you can believe whatever nonsense you want want - I’m not going to stop you!

Wee soul. He’s 11, let him be.

As he is a rescue with an unknown history and he is my first dog I was worried I was doing something wrong and caused bad behaviour I had assumed it was herding because of the Corgi part of him but being told he was being dominant worried me. TBH he is very sweet and loving

I’m not commenting on the dominance or not debate. But I doubt few owners would describe a boarder collie trying to herd/round up people as being dominant. It’s just doing what it’s been bred to do over many years of selective breeding.
Corgis are a very old breed cardigan corgis date back to the Anglo Saxons they were selectively bred to move guard and herd cattle over long distances, they drove cattle by nipping their heels, cows would kick out at them and they would roll away one of mine would roll away if threatened by another dog. Today most bred in the UK will never see a cow let alone drive them over 100s of miles but many of the desirable traits that were selectively bred into them to do this job haven’t gone and can often be seen in our pampered pets. Corgis snapping/nudging humans legs, is not dominance it’s a dog doing what is innate to him/her.

@Oldsu

I’m trying to picture the making of your darling! 😂 lying down presumably?! He’s adorable!

I think he’s just herding, and clearly thinks you’re walking too slowly or in the wrong direction, away from the snacks!! 😂 but you may want to have a go at training him to wait until you’ve gone up/down the stairs before he’s allowed, or make sure he goes first, if allowed upstairs, just from a safety aspect.

Good practice in general I think personally, they can easily knock children, elderly people, or just people, with their enthusiasm on the stairs!