Gun Dog Forum

I have a 1.5 WPG, that is aggressive around other dogs. I believe it to be a dominance thing. I have an older Griff that he tries to dominate around. I quickly stop him and make him submit to me. Any help would be appreicated

If it's a dominance thing your not the pack alpha. Reassert yourself as the pack alpha, exercise and demand the behavior you're looking for.


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Not always as easy as that Sheltone.I have a 4 year old Jack Russell who likes to run the show . He doesn't get away with it with me, but will bully The 11 year old setter. I'v e put that JRT in his place a thousand + times ( not gently)and he still waits for opportunity to bully the setter. I can't be there every minute.
50 years of dogs here and I've decided that they are what they are personality -wise.. You can try hard to form new behaviours, ( and shouldn't give up), but ...................

At 1.5 years being tough and alert may solve your problem webfoot and may not.

PS I crate my setter overnight and when I go out ; she feels safe there.I feed the JRT in a separate room.

Sharon wrote:Not always as easy as that Sheltone.I have a 4 year old Jack Russell who likes to run the show . He doesn't get away with it with me, but will bully The 11 year old setter. I'v e put that JRT in his place a thousand + times ( not gently)and he still waits for opportunity to bully the setter. I can't be there every minute.
50 years of dogs here and I've decided that they are what they are personality -wise.. You can try hard to form new behaviours, ( and shouldn't give up), but ...................

At 1.5 years being tough and alert may solve your problem webfoot and may not.

PS I crate my setter overnight and when I go out ; she feels safe there.I feed the JRT in a separate room.

+ 1
Lots of layers to pack mentality. They can show submissive behavior to you. That sure doesn't mean they think that applies to anything else.

Sharon is dead on. I have, in a lifetime with dogs, NEVER been able to stop confirmed fighters. They are what they are.

Same here. You may think you solved it but it will return when you least expect it.

Ok, so let me give some more information, my younger Griff tries to be dominate, humping ruff housing. My older dog does put the younger 8n his place. A lot of it is play, running around barking, acting like a pup. It's like after exercising he calms down. He is great around people

Let the older dog handle it if it's a dominance thing. Dog aggression and dominance are two different things.

OK, then I would say its a dominance thing over aggression. Is there anyway to cull that behavior

You said initially ," aggressive around other dogs"- plural. Not convinced there is a big difference between expressing dominance and showing aggression.
I don't let them " work it out" when it comes to an old dog being bullied by a young dog. ( 1.5 you said.)

Kennels are great :roll:

Sharon wrote:You said initially ," aggressive around other dogs"- plural. Not convinced there is a big difference between expressing dominance and showing aggression.
I don't let them " work it out" when it comes to an old dog being bullied by a young dog. ( 1.5 you said.)

Dog aggression comes from dogs flat out not liking other dogs. The same way a bird dog wants to take out a bird or a terrier wants to take out a rat or fox. Dominance is posturing to figure out the pecking order. They are animals and will continue the behavior until one submits to the other.

In this case the younger dog is not bullying the older dog, he tests the old dog and the old dog has to put him in his place. You can reprimand the younger dog but that isn't bulletproof you may just end up with scuffles that happen outside of your supervision. The older dog is doing what he needs to, eventually the other will toe the line. Making the young dog submit to you just shows you're alpha, that has no effect on the others dynamic. Let them work it out, don't freak out and heighten the situation. It will mostly be a lot of noise.

Thanks bustingcover. These issues are really easy to correct and some are corrected by the dog itself. After reading threads on here I feel really sorry for dogs.


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Shellottome wrote: Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thank the good Lord you have found this site and can bless us newbies with your infinite knowledge.

gonehuntin' wrote:

Shellottome wrote: Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thank the good Lord you have found this site and can bless us newbies with your infinite knowledge.

Shellottome wrote:If it's a dominance thing your not the pack alpha. Reassert yourself as the pack alpha, exercise and demand the behavior you're looking for.

Wow.....take it from me, you can reassert yourself till the cows come home to roost, and demand as much as you want. It's fairly likely that nothing is going to change. It does get a little more complicated when you have a truly great dog that is dog aggressive. Freddie Rayl has some pretty funny stories about Ch. Strongman in that regard.

Well, my younger dog only shows dominance sometimes, otherwise my older dog and him get along great. I would say 90 percent of the time they are great. Its the humping thing that gets me. Sometimes he just cant stop.

It more has to do with other dogs. Some dogs he is fine with, others he wants to so dominance. Most times he goes and sizes up the dog, but with his tail wagging.

I try to socialize him as much as possible. Could that be the problem? Not enough?

Find a bigger more dominant dog and fill up a bucket of water. When your dog submits dumps the bucket on them both.
If your dog is human aggressive it should be culled immediately. I believe most dog behaviors can be fixed but sometimes genetics just ruin the animals brain. This puts your family, neighbors, their pets, and you at risk. Be it a lawsuit or a bite. Disorders like this are common in dogs bred for unusual color. Weims, blue pits, dobermans. Neurological issues are common in all of the above. I've actually been looking for aggression in off colored labradors to see how prevalent it is.