# Dog Pushy with Other Dogs-- Please Help :redface:



## guardiantrinity (Jan 18, 2013)

Hey everyone-- new member, first time poster. I'm at my wit's end with my 14 month old 70lb Husky x Something rescue, Baron, who became part of our family at the end of October. 

The Problem: Baron is the pushy, "rude" dog at the dog park to the point others have asked us not to participate in group outings. When we go, he is often the largest dog there and often one of the only males in a group of 7-10. He harasses other dogs, barks at them, vocalizes (I can't really call it growling because it's neither fear nor aggression based, but it's a deep throaty thing), mouths their necks and legs, and sometimes just runs them right over. He used to pin other dogs, but thankfully we have improved that behavior by telling him "off" when it occurs. Once the terrorized dog gives in to a game of chase, Baron ends the harassment and they run giant laps around the dog park.

The Situation: The group I (used to) meet at the dog park gathers once a week. Since our dog park is in our neighborhood, it's mostly neighbors. Due to weather conditions and other circumstances, Baron and I had not met with them in about 3 weeks. We were there 15 minutes. At first, he harassed a younger (formerly aggressive) neutered male so that dog's owner and I kept ourselves as a barrier between the two dogs. Baron left the group for a moment to relieve himself, and as I was cleaning up after him one of the women told me "Hey, your dog just bit Cal." (5-6 month old blue heeler pup who he has played with on several occasions.) I asked if she was okay, if there were blood or punctures or anything, and her defensive response was "No, but I watched it happen." I had my back turned, so I'm not sure if it actually happened or if the group was so frustrated with Baron's pushiness that they were looking for any excuse to get him out of there. I thanked them for letting me know, leashed Baron, and took him home. 

Additional Background:
-Baron is a 70lb, 14 month old HuskyxSomething mix who has been neutered since October.
-Every Wednesday, we take him to Doggy Daycare. Both my husband and I have had dogs in the past who were dog aggressive, so his dog socialization is something we made top priority. 
-Baron has graduated basic obedience and we are currently looking for another class to enroll him in.
-We are a single dog household, however we have close friends who are here 2-3x a week with their year old neutered male husky and the two of them get along beautifully.
-I work a later shift than my husband, so I spend an hour to an hour and a half stimulating Baron in the mornings-- solo time playing fetch at the dog park, going for a jog, tricks/obedience training, and in the home playtime. Weather has been been snowy and icy lately and he has tender feet, so we have been somewhat limited. (We also just started using Mushers Secret with some success, so that should help.)
-We live in a 2 bedroom condo with no back yard. 
-He is a stubborn pooch with ZERO recall in distracting environments. That's a problem for another thread. >_<
-Last month, he graduated to having house control overnight. Unfortunately, he is still crated while my husband and are at work 4 days of the week (Wednesdays being Doggy Daycare days). 
-Our dog park does not allow treats, but it does allow toys. 
-Baron used to have toy aggression, but with the help of our trainer and 3 months of training to target that problem, he has come through with flying colors. Now he and his husky buddy can chew kongs (and trade them!) here at home with no fuss. 

The Question: What can I do to keep him from being so pushy that it comes across as aggression? Since we are not welcome back to the dog park, I will not be able to take him there and work on his behavior in the heat of the moment. 

And, for good measure, a picture of my "problem" child:


----------



## HollowHeaven (Feb 5, 2012)

guardiantrinity said:


> -We are a single dog household, however we have close friends who are here 2-3x a week with their year old neutered male husky and the two of them get along beautifully.


Yep.

I'm not saying all huskies are the same, but I've only met three dogs that can handle mine.
An American Bully
My bully mix
Another husky

Every other dog in the world seems to have the biggest problem with her.

They can be rude and rough and loud and sometimes just out right don't know their boundaries. 


That being said, I have no idea how to fix your problem.
Hopefully more experienced people will chime in DX


----------



## Curbside Prophet (Apr 28, 2006)

guardiantrinity said:


> The Question: What can I do to keep him from being so pushy that it comes across as aggression? Since we are not welcome back to the dog park, I will not be able to take him there and work on his behavior in the heat of the moment.


Your dog is a handsome fellow, but I probably don't have the answer you want to hear...environment control. That starts with not taking him to the dog park, and keeping a smaller circle of friends for him. I'm not a big fan of dog parks, and I do think we have to weigh the benefits. If you can give him everything else in the world minus being around large groups of dogs, he'll still have a wonderful doggie life, I'm sure. I do believe this is more effective than peeking inside the boiling pot, if you get what I mean - peek too often and you're likely to be scalded.


----------



## PatriciafromCO (Oct 7, 2012)

still a pup acting like a pup, do focus on the groups he does well in, that is a positive learning experience for a maturing pup, and also where you can start working with teaching skills.. doggy Play time then stopping the play and have all the dogs rest quietly before sending them back into play time. being able to call your dog back during play and then releasing him back into play. Gives you a chance in a good environment to see what you can do that will be helpful for your pup to have and be able to use when he is in another group of dogs. He's beautiful


----------



## doxiemommy (Dec 18, 2009)

Curbside Prophet said:


> Your dog is a handsome fellow, but I probably don't have the answer you want to hear...environment control. That starts with not taking him to the dog park, and keeping a smaller circle of friends for him. I'm not a big fan of dog parks, and I do think we have to weigh the benefits. If you can give him everything else in the world minus being around large groups of dogs, he'll still have a wonderful doggie life, I'm sure. I do believe this is more effective than peeking inside the boiling pot, if you get what I mean - peek too often and you're likely to be scalded.


I agree with this! Not going to a dog park for a group play time is not the end of the world, especially if he plays beautifully with your friends' dog (the husky). Try a small group of dogs, if you want. But, dog parks, and being around groups of dogs, well, it's just not for everyone.

One of my dogs is reactive. When I got him, I had these great plans for taking him camping and hiking with all our friends and our friends' dogs, and having dog play dates, etc. Welp, that didn't happen, because, as it turns out, he's reactive, and fearful. 
We have worked on it consistently, and he is much better. But, he will never be a dog that just plays well with others in a group situation. He's great with my parent's dog, and my brother's dogs, so we get them together regularly. Otherwise, I have to accept him as he is.


----------



## guardiantrinity (Jan 18, 2013)

Thank you everyone for taking time to respond! 

Before we got Baron, we had all these grand dreams as well-- dog park playtime, CGC, therapy dog certified, welcome in friends'/family members' homes due to good behavior, great with kids, hiking/backpacking, and able to be a "helper dog" to a disabled dog in the future. I know, we dream big, right? I know so many of these things can be accomplished through hard work, but maybe large group interactions really are just too much for him. I feel like he is just SO enthusiastic that it leads to frustration when he doesn't get the game of chase he is looking for. 

I am still optimistic he may settle into a somewhat calmer demeanor with maturity, but I completely accept him as is if he does not. On the chance it is still possible for him to play happily in larger groups, what specifically would you folks recommend to correct his behavior? Even with his husky buddy (Ghost), he is still quite vocal but they both are. When I can catch him by the collar, I put him into a down (verbally, not forcing physically) while holding him and try to get him to calm down a bit before releasing him to play once more. Without anything even resembling a recall in distracting environments, this is only possible when I can catch him. 

Curbside Prophet & doxiemommy, I really appreciate the feedback. Unfortunately without a back yard, the dog park is the only place we have to let him run off leash in an outdoor environment. It is difficult for us to control what groups he is a part of because anyone with a pass can come and go as they please. We only take Ghost & Baron to the park together if it is empty. Do we risk trying new (smaller) groups of dogs, or do we just avoid the park all together when it's occupied? Do we leave when others approach if we are already in there? I don't want to give other people complexes, lol. 

We do have another large-dog-mom who is happy to meet with us, however her girly is a 9 year old low energy St Bernard who is just the sweetest thing ever. She knows of a St Bernard yearling with two lab siblings in the neighborhood, but we have not yet had a chance to get together as a "big dog" group. Even then, that may be too many dogs for Baron-- but it's something we're hoping to try this weekend, schedules permitting.


----------



## Canyx (Jul 1, 2011)

This is not exactly a direct solution to your problem, but then again I think the root of your problem is a dog with too much energy, not necessarily a dog that can't play well with others.... Have you ever thought about getting Baron into pulling? It seems like what he really wants to do is run, and that might be a great way for him to burn some energy without having to harass other dogs for that outlet.


----------



## guardiantrinity (Jan 18, 2013)

I have not looked into pulling because we are still having difficulty with him pulling on leashed walks. I had considered investigating bikejoring but it looks rather intimidating. In May (once he reaches 18months old) I want to start training him to run alongside my bike via the Dog Jogger. I want to get into more physical activities with him, but given we are not 100% sure of his breeds I am concerned about pushing him too early and damaging his growth plates. Granted, he has not gained more than 5lbs in the last 3 months, but I still worry.

Do you have any recommendations for resources to learn more on pulling? He definitely loves his running.


----------



## Canyx (Jul 1, 2011)

There are many people here who casually bikejor and skiijor with their dogs and I'm sure if they see this they will chime in 
It is great that you're taking his growth plates into consideration. And that you're working on his pulling. The good news is, you can work on pulling AND loose leash walking (LLW) at the same time. If you always reinforce pulling with a harness and continue practicing LLW with a collar, your dog will understand the difference between the two activities. Pulling might even get him calmer for normal leash walking!
But I am not the one to ask since I have no experience in this. We'll see what others have to say. And if you don't get many responses here, you can also search the forums for more info about bikejoring and such, or start a new thread. Formally letting your dog pull you on a bike IS dangerous if you aren't in full control. But surely there must be a way to have the dog pull in a constructive way before it is completely trained!


----------



## guardiantrinity (Jan 18, 2013)

Good news! I spent the last hour searching the internet for information and while bikejoring still looks a bit scary, I've found some doggy scooters you can use in place of a mountain bike. (My bike is a road bike, so it looks like I would be buying a new bike or scooter either way if we choose to pursue the activity.) I also found a mushing group not too far from home, so I signed up for their forum as well. It seems like they are active and do weekly events, so even though Baron and I have zero experience to participate at least it puts us in contact with people who are active. Not to put the horse before the cart, but who knows? If something along these lines suits us, maybe Ghost and my brother in law's husky Spike could get in on the action. 

I also ran a forum search on bikejoring, which took me to several of the resources I found. However, I would still love to hear from people who are currently in the sport. 

Thanks for pointing me in a previously overlooked direction, Canyx. (Also, Soro's video of him blowing bubbles is positively adorable!)


----------



## doxiemommy (Dec 18, 2009)

Even though you might not have a backyard, you may be able to find somewhere besides the dog park. Perhaps a school field, or a sports field that is fenced (of course, not when school's in session, or other people are there.) But, you can sometimes find those places empty, or close to it, if you go at odd hours.


----------



## PatriciafromCO (Oct 7, 2012)

doxiemommy said:


> Even though you might not have a backyard, you may be able to find somewhere besides the dog park. Perhaps a school field, or a sports field that is fenced (of course, not when school's in session, or other people are there.) But, you can sometimes find those places empty, or close to it, if you go at odd hours.


Ive done this with fenced in areas, just make sure you clean up after the pup


----------



## Candydb (Jul 16, 2011)

I can relate-- my giant schnauzer female is bossy and pushy and plays very rough-- it does get easier once they are out of adolescence-- but it also takes practice (it didnt help that she was very poorly socialized, ie didnt know how to walk on surfaces other than grass and dirt and we were in a 3rd floor condo, so she was a combo of fearful/skittish and overly reactive, pushy girl)-- luckily our dog park is hundred acres big, goes from dunes to beach and has alot of rarely used horse trails as well-- and we have packs of roaming dog walkers/dogs.... What this means is I would run off some of her energy on the back trails, then we would mingle with the dogs being managed by dog walkers and in general, we worked / proofed her recall so that she could be recalled to me to avoid problem situations like a timid/ soft dog that I could tell she would be too rough with, etc... SO it is an environmental management training method, and you can adapt it to fit your particular situation... ALso note this dog works great camping with us (she likes to track me so stays within a certain perimeter of the trail)-- and again I just recall her back to me when I see someone coming -- we go into the back country so dont meet alot of people on the trail. And yes, she is highly suspicious of strangers and never will be a "life of the party" type of dog and doesnt enjoy large gatherings of people--- yet, I walk her in the Haight Ashbury all the time (think very crowded sidewalks) with alot of practice, she became desensitized to this... Good luck! And Good Practice!!


----------

