Dog park behaviour. Harmless or aggressive?

[travistee]

We have been taking Kiai to dog parks as our solution to givng him enough exercise. Its the only place he can run until he gets tired. We don't have a fenced yard. Kiai is a male one year old, not neutered.

He seems to be dominant and will play well with small dogs and even back off if they bark at him. With larger dogs he will growl or bark at them and chase them. Sometimes he gets into a high stance with his tail up and just stands there. The other dogs will keep back.

Once he played with a friends dog, a male 4 year old, who was on his home territory. At that time Kiai was 9 months old. He made a low growl and the other dog made a loud growl, then grabbed Kiai by the skin of his neck and led him a short distance, then chased him around. That time Kiai got the message and learned that he was not the pack leader here.

Yesterday we were at a dog park. There was only one other dog there. It was a 7 month old male. I think it was a GSD mix. I don't know what set him off but, he made a loud growl like the dog I described before. He chased the other dog growling and snapping at him. The other dog ended up on his back with Kiai's paw on his chest growling loudly in his face. There was no biting. Thats when we broke it up and took him out of the dog park.

Should we be concerned about this behaviour or is it harmless.

[JKlatsky]

I would say it's definitely dominance, and will probably get worse as he gets older and grows in confidence. Things that set it off could be body posture or eye contact. The problem is that some day he might meet a dog every bit as dominant and confident as he is and then you will have a full blown fight- which your dog may very well lose.

And I would not want to be the owner of the puppy your dog flipped and pinned.

[heatherr]

That kind of behavior in another dog is what makes me leave the park.

I would be concerned if it were my dog.

[GSDAlphaMom]

A 1 year old non neutered male is just starting to get his hormones and it will only get worse. If he meets another non neutered male at the park you could be in real trouble. If you ever have to break up a fight be sure and grab from the tail and not step into it or you could really get hurt. I would either neuter him not take him to the park. They are fine when they are young but once the testosterone kicks in it's a whole different story.

[chicagojosh]

so reading this post and having an 8 month old nueterd male. it makes me wonder...

how much confidence is enough? but not too much?

one trainier who taught Schutzand (spelled wrong i know) said Cody was a little on the timid side, and that i should enroll him in schutzand to build his confidence.

will schutzand build confiedence? what about agility? what is the right "type" of confidence? confidence that the puppy can dominate another by biting? confidence that the puppy can run faster, jump higher than the other?

am i making any sense?

[Relayer]

I see that behavior sometimes at our park. While I will state that it could be potentially dangerous, it can also be important lessons that dogs should learn regarding pecking order. There is a very large 2 yr old GSD at our park who starts out his visits by pretty much doing just what the OP described to nearly every dog. He has never bitten any of the other dogs and has never seemed to actually want to fight. My Max, is a pretty brave little guy at almost 5 mos., yet he responds exactly as he should. He submits, licks and squirms and within a minute or so, Baron (the big guy) is totally nice to him. The same thing plays out with the other dogs. It could be said that as long as there are good body language signs, a little bullying can be ok. I'm not super happy that it happens, but dogs can often self regulate and learn how to get along in a group that way. Btw, Baron's owner is pretty quick to make sure Baron knows that when he gets a little too overpowering, the fun stops... he gets put on leash and has to chill out a little before he can mingle again.

[trish07]

I think you should be concerned....this is not a good way to act.

What do you do when this happen? Do you correct him, change his mind or do you simply leave?

Why didn't you neurtered him? Want him to "have" a litter? If you don't plan to have a litter, I think, you should neurtered him. No male, even human, would love to live an entire life without....well...you know

I don't know for you, but my bf will be upset if he could never have "fun time". This is nature. If you want him to stay "intact", at least, have him for a date 1 or 2 times a years lol....a lot of pressure need to be released

Don't let him act this way, it is potentialy dangerous for other dogs, but also for him. What if another intact male decided to fight back?

Neurtering him will not solve the entire problem, you need to work on the way he behave with other dogs, but at least, it will help him!

[Lilie]

[QUOTE=trish07;1867359

I don't know for you, but my bf will be upset if he could never have "fun time". This is nature. If you want him to stay "intact", at least, have him for a date 1 or 2 times a years lol....a lot of pressure need to be released

![/QUOTE]


I don't think this is true. At least I've never heard of this before. I've known many intact male dogs that never required 'release' to be a well behaved social dog.

[trish07]

Originally Posted by Lilie

I don't think this is true. At least I've never heard of this before. I've known many intact male dogs that never required 'release' to be a well behaved social dog.

Than that is great!

It's what we've been told (not only by vets) by many people related to "dog world"....

And based on us....and on nature...well....I thought male had to reproduce....it is hormonal....purely natural...

Hormones have a lot to do with caracter, they have a big impact, even on females (human or animal)....so....I really think that it has something to do with that kind of behaviour.

Yes they can be well behaved, but put a female in the portrait and....I'll be curious They can smell a female in her heat from miles...even if she is not in the park or near, it could cause irritation, even to the most well behave intact male.

But well, these are my thoughts, and I may be wrong

My brother in law have a wonderful intact male (American Bulldog) wich is totaly well behaved with humans and other dogs, even other intact males, BUT, only a minus thing, or a single female, can change the whole attitude in second. Been there, seen it

[Jasp]

You should never allow such dominant behavior. Atleast this is what was told me.