# Training my dog to be more dominant?



## Osha (Oct 14, 2011)

My dog Osha is 5 months old now, I've had her since she was 7 weeks.

And so far, she's great. Heels, leaves all my cats alone, fetches and drops, stays anywhere I put her until I release her, walks away from her food when I tell her, doesn't beg...a dream dog for 5 months. She's half black lab, half golden retriever, so it's expected that she'd be easy.

The problem is that she's too easy. I live in the mountains and all my neighbors have largish dogs, plenty of them, and they generally roam totally free due to the exceptionally low traffic. Currently, Osha tucks her tail and wets herself whenever any other dogs show up, whether or not they are aggressive or gentle, inside the house, in our yard or out in wilderness. I feel that this problem is likely related to her age, but I know plenty of smaller, younger dogs that have no problem establishing their boundaries with any other dogs, so if possible I'd like to give her a head start.

So, basically I need to train Osha to be a little more assertive or maybe just more confident around bigger dogs.I take her to play with bigger dogs all the time, and she usually stops wetting herself after about 10-15 minutes of play. She respects other dogs boundaries well. For example, she NEVER goes into other dogs' yards. This is a behavior I reinforce often and she now acts this way independently.

I searched the forums as well as I could, but didn't find much concerning this topic. I'm hoping somebody has a bright idea.

Thanks very much.
Ben


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## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

Is she getting bullied or something?


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## Bordermom (Apr 28, 2010)

She's still young, totally normal behavior. She's a baby and not old enough or mature enough to really be pushy with other dogs.

What you can do is try to keep her away from the really pushy/assertive dogs, and more around the dogs that perhaps aren't as much, so she gets a bit more confidence. You also need to learn when to step in as needed so she learns you're on her side and will help if she's in trouble.


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## wvasko (Dec 15, 2007)

You have a 5 month old pup, let her growup and stop getting her scared enough to wet herself for 10 or 15 minutes.


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## hanksimon (Mar 18, 2009)

It's like an 8 yo kid playing with teenage football players. Keep socializing her, protect her from bullies, but let her learn that she is OK and not getting hurt... and she gain more confidence in a few more months when she is faster and more coordinated.


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## Sybille (Oct 5, 2011)

I would continue to take her to play dates with other dogs, gentle ones of course. Don't force her to approach them, let her approach at her own speed and protect her from bullies. She is puppy (toddler) and a mix of two breeds that are known to be more on the gentle side in general. I wouldn't call it 'Training my dog to be more dominant', I don't think you can train that any way, I would call it 'socializing your dog to get along / cope with a variety of dogs'. Keep it low stress and reward good behavior and you should be fine.


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## wvasko (Dec 15, 2007)

hanksimon said:


> It's like an 8 yo kid playing with teenage football players. Keep socializing her, protect her from bullies, but let her learn that she is OK and not getting hurt... and she gain more confidence in a few more months when she is faster and more coordinated.


Yes the question caught me at a loss for words and that's not easy to do. I do like your comparison. As in all probability the 8 yr old would probably (if he lived through it) give up future football dreams completely.


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## petpeeve (Jun 10, 2010)

Osha said:


> I live in the mountains and all my neighbors have largish dogs, plenty of them, and they generally roam totally free due to the exceptionally low traffic. Currently, Osha tucks her tail and wets herself whenever any other dogs show up, whether or not they are aggressive or gentle, inside the house, in our yard or out in wilderness.


If other dogs keep "showing up", well that's one thing to consider, especially from her perspective. Perhaps there's a partial remedy, there.

Also I think it's important that you set the example whereby she actually sees YOU interacting in a positive light with the other, "invading" dogs. Ensure that you conduct yourself in a confident, casual, and cordial manner. Leaving her to fend for herself so-to-speak, by doing all of the greeting of the roaming dogs by herself, would be just too much to ask of a 5 month puppy with limited social experience ... IMO.


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## wvasko (Dec 15, 2007)

petpeeve said:


> If other dogs keep "showing up", well that's one thing to consider, especially from her perspective. Perhaps there's a partial remedy, there.
> 
> Also I think it's important that you set the example whereby she actually sees YOU interacting in a positive light with the other, "invading" dogs. Ensure that you conduct yourself in a confident, casual, and cordial manner. Leaving her to fend for herself so-to-speak, by doing all of the greeting of the roaming dogs by herself, would be just too much to ask of a 5 month puppy with limited social experience ... IMO.


Yes and I would probably surmise that since the pup is an outide dog and probably spends some time unsupervised, the pup might already been bullied unseen by owner. OP was not asking how to protect the pup, just wanted to know how to make pup tougher. The limited social experience (if any) was probably not the right type.


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## Osha (Oct 14, 2011)

Thanks for all the replies!

Sassafras: She's not being bullied.

Bordermom, Hank, Sybille and petpeeve: Thanks much, I think I'll start being a little more cordial and present with the dogs that are around her. I wouldn't say I've been forcing her to deal with other dogs, but I've definitely let her have the initiative and I think you are correct that I should set the example. I know that I'm essentially her parent, but it's hard for me to know what she needs to do by herself or not. I definitely keep play dates with her and I make sure she has plenty (about 10) of puppy friends. I think that perhaps I have been too harsh with 'bully' dogs around her, and maybe she fears them even more due to my aggressive behavior (I'm not out beating dogs that bark at her, but I am very forward with some dogs, as only a roaming, barking, snapping pitbull 2 feet from your leg can necessitate. --Yes I took that pitbull to it's owner with an explanation.) I'll try being more 'cordial' with some of more aggressive dogs in her life. Even a walk directly to town means she will encounter about 14 dogs, that do not live behind fences. She has LOTS of mandatory dog interaction, as well as fox, deer, elk, bear, mountain lion and coyote. It's important to me that I set her up for a life that lets her feel both free and empowered. 

Vasko: Right...


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## Dezzoi (Sep 19, 2011)

yeah, like everyone has mentioned:
She's still young. Give her some time. 
Also, I would actually consider yourself kinda lucky...Having a more submissive dog who respects other dog's boundaries is actually very good. Having to dogs at the same level of dominance (meeting) could actually end up in a scuffle. 
But, give her some time and she'll probably soon learn her place and what to do around other dogs. 
All my dogs were very submissive when they were babies...but fully grown they know who they, where they belong, etc...and are very self assertive when they need to be (They won't let dogs walk all over them) not by fighting, but just showing their assertiveness when say another dog humps them or one actually does want to scuffle and what not.
These are just a few ideas thrown out...Obviously, I've never met you or your dog...haven't see anything you wrote in person. So yeah, these are just ideas.


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