It sounds like you handled it well to me. Nice that Rookie wasnt scared of the great dane as they are larger. When Bama saw one he was very submissive to it.
Possessiveness/Protectiveness at the Dog Park
I had my first relatively minor 'incident' with Rookie today at the dog park. There was a gorgeous Great Dane that came over to greet me. I was petting and sweet talking him. Rookie came over and got between me and the Great Dane. Then the GD started to maneuver himself back between me and Rookie. There was no growling or posturing that concerned me, it looked mostly playful. So I stepped back and the dogs started to play with each other. They played pretty hard jumping on each other, etc. I still wasn't worried. A third dog came over and rubbed up against my leg and Rookie let out a bark/growl and definitely took a more aggressive stance. So I grabbed Rookie's collar, pulled him away a bit and made him sit for a minute or so.
I think this was him being possessive of me. Not liking that I was giving the other dogs attention. Any thoughts on this, suggestions for how to deal with it. We go to the dog park a lot and I'd like to be able to pet other dogs without it becoming a problem. This was the first sign of a problem and I'd like to nip it in the bud.
I think this was him being possessive of me. Not liking that I was giving the other dogs attention. Any thoughts on this, suggestions for how to deal with it. We go to the dog park a lot and I'd like to be able to pet other dogs without it becoming a problem. This was the first sign of a problem and I'd like to nip it in the bud.
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This was a clear case of you giving Rookie a correction/consequence because you didn't want him to exhibit the behaviour he did. Sounds like good work to me.
I tend to avoid physical corrections, especially in situations like that b/c you never know exactly how the dog will interpret it, and I don't want the dog accidentally thinking that the approach of other dogs makes "my mom become aggressive".
When I feel a dog is guarding me ("that's MY mom!") I'll storm off in a huff and ignore my dog. I want him to see that his actions (guarding) backfired.
Seems to work really well.
Also, remember to praise him while he's being good as other dogs approach.
When I feel a dog is guarding me ("that's MY mom!") I'll storm off in a huff and ignore my dog. I want him to see that his actions (guarding) backfired.
Seems to work really well.
Also, remember to praise him while he's being good as other dogs approach.
I'll be working on re-conditioning Shadow around other dogs soon. He had one incident and I was not happy. It is upsetting to see this behavior. I was not happy. I hope you get it resolved.
I thought about this, but I was wondering whether the dog would see it as getting what he wanted, which was to separate me from the other dog. But I guess the idea is that if he doesn't get me either, he's not getting what he wants. I'll keep this in mind.When I feel a dog is guarding me ("that's MY mom!") I'll storm off in a huff and ignore my dog. I want him to see that his actions (guarding) backfired.
Seems to work really well.
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