dominance

nomuny

hi
I have a 3yr old weimarener/choc lab cross, she was always fine with other dogs until about 6 mths ago when she began to snap at other dogs. She is quite stubborn and wilful (I'm told this is common in weimaraners). and has proved quite difficult to train- we got her at 8 mths and she had a smaller older dog has a companion- but have managed to alter some habits but not others. She seems to have a short attention span and acts differently at home to out and about. She is fairly obedient and well behaved at home, but out and about will only come back when she feels like it and is distracted by other dogs and squirrels etc. despite us keeping constantly at it trying to eradicate this we aren't having much success. We've tried clicker but the food obviously isn't enough reward I walk her over fields so many days no-one is about and I am always on the lookout to call her back before she runs at other dogs. Yesterday we met up with lady with a pointer of similar size to her and she ran up, hackles raised- this isn't unusual she has always done this even in play -the lady said her dog was same-, she barked and jumped about as ifwanting to play but other dog didn't and went to jump up its owner. Our dog went for the back of other dogs neck not hard enough to break skin - more a quick jab -but not happy about nontheless. Lady said she was trying to dominate as she'd had a male dog who was the same- she advised us to keep on with training and socialize her. This is 2nd time we've been told shes got a dominance issue, but after reading various books and internet sites there's so much differing opinion on how to deal with it I'm at aloss. I realise this is down to us in some way and she has been gone for by other dogs a few times, I want to be able to let her have off -lead but not if I can't solve this as I don't want her to get into a full scale fight and hurt herself or another dog. HELP!

Raksha

It's very difficult to advise on behaviour like this without seeing it. Hackles raised could indicate fear, a dominant dog would tend to be a lot calmer because it has the 'presence' to dominate without aggression.

I would strongly suggest you ask your vet for a referral to a behaviourist (this may be covered by your pet insurance) and also ask your vet to give her a thorough check over (including full blood tests for thyroid issues as these can cause aggression, some breeds being more prone than others).

Be careful with future socialisation, as the more chances she gets to 'practise' this behaviour, the better she will get at it. A muzzle may be a good idea, as it will at least prevent her biting, but it will also limit her self defence abilities if a truly dominant dog decides to knock her down a peg or two.

nomuny

yes she is quite nervous and I think It may be fear that causes her to raise her hackles.