Many owners often say that their dogs are dominant when they have a fight with other dogs, are aggressive, disobey an order from their owner or develop some behavior problems. They also often refer to them when they begin to display territorial behavior. But really, what is dominance?
It is very important to understand that, despite carrying out the actions mentioned above, not all dogs are dominant, and that is a term that is often lead to confusion.
In this article on our site we will explain how to recognize the dominant dog, according to its characteristics and how to work on training to solve the problems of conduct that this may cause.
Characteristics of a dominant dog
As we have mentioned before, the term "dominant dog" is often misused on most occasions. It is not a characteristic of the dog's personality, dominance occurs when, in the same space, several individuals are related. In this meeting of two or more dogs, a hierarchical relationship is established that can lead to dominance or submission of each of its members. That does not mean that there is only one dominant dog and that all the others are submissive.
Example: Laika is dominant with Timmy and Timmy is dominant with Llop. Therefore, a dog can be dominant in one relationship but submissive in another.
Although some dogs tend to act like dominant dogs, Not all dogs with a dominant tendency are going to be dominant in all of their social interactions It can that a dog is dominant with some of its own size but not with others larger. In the same way, a dog can be dominant with females, but submissive with males. It will depend on each specific case.
In addition to all of the above, a dog with behavioral problems or lack of education and training may have a dominant tendency in certain situations, but be totally submissive in others.
Example: Llop is a dominant dog when Timmy tries to take away his toys and when he interacts with other smaller dogs, however, Llop is completely submissive when other larger dogs try to mount him or when Timmy approaches him without his toys present.
Finally we will add that, in some cases, males tend to be dominant with other males because females in heat are presentIf dominance in these cases is a problem for us (and we also want to avoid an unwanted pregnancy) we can think about neutering our dog, a way to enjoy a more stable and positive behavior.
Dominance and/or behavior problems
Once you understand the meaning of dominance, it is important to highlight some behaviors that are often confused with the dominant dog and thatmay or may not be related to this trend. Below we will explain the most common:
1. My dog is dominant and aggressive
Probably the most common phrase related to "dominance". It is important to clarify that a dog is not aggressive by nature, this is due to different problems that arise during his puppy stage or in his adult stage. The most common causes are:
- Due to a poor socialization of the dog, the dog does not know how to relate correctly to other dogs. This causes it to be reactive (act aggressively) in the face of stimuli that cause fear, uncertainty and discomfort. In this case we must work on socialization in their adult stage.
- After a fight, an incident or a very stressful situation with another dog, the dog can get fears that also generate a reactive attitude. The dog tries to "drive away" the other dogs in its area and intimidate them so as not to suffer the traumatic experience again.
Aggressiveness is a serious behavior problem that should be treated when the first symptoms appear, since that's when you have more likely to be treated and to be able to educate our dog towards a calmer and more sociable attitude. The guidelines to follow will depend on the type of aggressiveness that our dog experiences. We definitely recommend going to an ethologist or canine educator.
two. My dog is dominant with me
At this point many people confuse their dog ignoring them or following their commands correctly with dominance. This is a very serious error, since then they usually resort to incoherent and ineffective techniques that they find on the internet to try to alleviate this situation. Common examples might be "marking the dog", "turning him upside down", "kicking him", "going into the house first", or "subduing him".
Carrying out this behavior when our animal suffers from a serious behavioral problem such as stress, a victim of animal abuse (use of a choke collar, electric collar or continuous punishment) can cause very serious behaviors in the dog that lead to a marked aggressiveness and rejection towards usForcing our dog to carry out activities that it does not want, treating it abusively or expecting something from it that does not correspond are totally reprehensible attitudes and that we should not continue carrying out.
To do this, it is best to work daily on basic or advanced obedience (depending on the case), offer long walks and different activities that promote his well-being and try to improve our relationship with him, always using reinforcement positive and avoiding punishment. We must understand that the dog is not a robot and therefore we cannot expect his behavior to be exemplary and perfect if we have not educated him from the example. Going to a dog training course can be an excellent option to improve your communication.
3. My dog is dominant with food and his territory
In this case we are not talking about dominance, but about resource protection. The dog suffering from this problem is in constant tension and responds with reactivity when you try to take away something that he considers to be his property He can respond with growls and even aggression if necessary.
This type of problem should be treated according to its cause: food, territory, bed, another dog, us… For that This is why we recommend that you visit our resource protection article and follow our guidelines. In any case, we remember that it is very important to visit the specialist.
4. My dog is dominant with other males or females
Various factors can play here. Earlier we mentioned that it is common for unneutered dogs to act dominant towards others to keep them away from a possible female in heat A female can also act dominant when she is in the presence of another that is also in heat and other males around. In all these cases it is recommended castration of can.
Apart from these cases, a dog can be reactive with others for the reasons mentioned in point 1. If this were our case, the ideal would be to go to a specialist and try to improve the well-being of the dog. dog for a more positive and relaxed attitude.
Correcting and training a dominant dog
Dominant behaviors "cannot be corrected" as they are not something negative, it is part of the natural communication of dogs. Although castration can attenuate the dominant impulse, the truth is that some of them continue to have a dominant tendency after the operation. It will depend on each case. What is guaranteed is that our dog, once recovered, will have a calmer and more stable attitude.
Something we can do to improve the problems that can arise from the dominant tendencies is work on the education and training of our dog, always positive, to achieve a better response from our partner and thus avoid uncontrolled situations. Teaching him to come here or stay put will not only help us avoid conflict, it will also improve our relationship, foster his intelligence and help him feel in tune with us. We will be helping him to understand what we expect of him.
Don't forget that when faced with any problem, the ideal is to Go to a specialist, who, through observation, will explain to us what the problem is really our dog, will improve our mistakes and offer us specific and personalized guidelines to follow.
