How to tell if a dog is dominant, and what to do about it?

[Andrea, Belle and Honey]

I've been told by the trainer at Belle's day care farm that she is a dominant dog.  What are the characteristics of a dominant dog? Can anxiety be a factor, or an alternative cause of dominant seeming behavior?  When I was taking Belle to Puppy Socials as a very young puppy, she was initially vary shy, but soon began to interact with the other puppies, who were mostly considerably bigger than she was. She spent a lot of time on her back with other dogs on top of her, until the supervising trainers picked her up for a while.  When they put her back on the ground, she would run to the other dogs, and the cycle would start again.  She would also run very fast around the room, and the other dogs would chase her. She was very hyper at our puppy class too. On the other hand, we spend quite a bit of time with a group of people who have well-trained adult dogs of various sizes, and although she is still small (13 lbs) she gets along fine with them (the people and the dogs) with no signs of anxiety or inappropriate behavior.  In contrast, at the farm, the trainer tells me that Belle frequently overwhelms the other dogs in her efforts to play, and sometimes she smacks them in the face with her front paw (she has a left hook), and even starts to mouth them, which is dangerous.  Belle does not mouth me at home anymore, so I don't know what to do to discourage that behavior. The trainer is closely supervising her on the two days she goes to day care, and sometimes just keeps Belle with her when she starts to get into trouble with the other dogs. Belle has started to play appropriately when they put her in a group of just a few small, carefully chosen, calm dogs. Is there something I should be doing at home to help Belle improve her behavior? relieve her anxiety around unfamiliar dogs? Is there anything special about training a dominant dog? We were going to take an adolescent dog class in January, but now I am wondering if we would be better off with a one-on-one trainer? Help!

 

[Wendy and Myla]

My last doodle, Zak, was by no means a dominant dog or a submissive dog - she was a lover :).  When I took her to a trainer's house, she told me that I would always have to watch Zak with other dogs because the way she wanted to play with them was to "get in their face" with her front paws up.  She said that other dogs did not like this and found it to be aggressive even though Zak did not and that the other dogs would react.  We took this to heart and never took her to dog parks.  We also always had her on leash in campgrounds and made sure that when she interacted with other dogs it was under close supervision.  There were so many other things we wanted to train her with (socialization with people, travel etc.) that it wasn't something we felt we needed to work on - whenever we were in contact with dogs that we wanted her to be with, we introduced them slowly and it worked out. 

If Belle is going to be around a lot of dogs most of the time (like at a daycare), I think I would work with a one-on-one trainer first and figure out how to go from there.

[Andrea, Belle and Honey]

Thanks Wendy. Zak sounds sounds as if she used her paws the way Belle does.  I'm retired and have been taking her to day care two days a week only so she has the opportunity to run in the fenced fields, and I hate to deprive her of that.  So far, the day care trainer seems ok with letting Belle run in a separate field while slowly trying to integrate her into a group of dogs. I am leaning toward a one-on-one trainer instead of the adolescent class to continue working on basic obedience. I am worried though that the training won't be as effective without the distraction of other dogs. 

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

How old was she when you first brought her home....sometimes puppies that aren't sure how to play appropriately have been taken from the litter before learning appropriate socialization.  I really think it's a little early to label her as dominant.  It sounds like she's displaying different behaviors depending on the situation she's in.  When she's with calm well trained dogs she behaves appropriately which tells me she is taking her queues from "the pack".  She also does well when she's with the smaller, calmer dogs at Daycare.  It may be that she's just overwhelmed when she's with the larger more physical dogs.  This may not be the best situation for her right now.  It really doesn't matter IMO whether it's a class or a private trainer.  She needs controlled exposure to other dogs so she learns how to relate.  Sometimes trainers will run classes and also provide private lessons.  The key is to find the right trainer.

[Andrea, Belle and Honey]

Thanks for your input Jane.  Belle was 8 weeks old when she came home, and we started going to puppy socials when she was 11 weeks old.  Do you think that by keeping Belle out of the main day care group, and allowing her to run by herself for exercise and play at times with a well-supervised group of smaller, calmer dogs, the staff at the day care is giving her controlled exposure to other dogs? Under these conditions, I'd like to keep her there for two to four hours two days a week for now, at least until the staff runs out of patience with us.  After the holidays I am going to talk to some trainers, and try to observe some classes, to see if I can find a situation that would help Belle learn both obedience and how to relate better to other dogs. 

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Yes, I do think that keeping her away from the larger pack so that her exposure is with the smaller, calmer dogs should be fine.  She's still a baby and she's learning how to behave with other dogs.  Supervised exposure to the right dogs is the best teacher!  Good luck and please keep us posted on how it goes.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Just from reading this, I immediately want to say, "get another trainer." LOL I hate labeling a dog dominant and it sure doesn't sound like that to me. All it does is cause you to be concerned and to worry. It sounds like she does fine in a setting where you know the other dogs. Plus, when dogs play they do mouth each other. My two sound like they are killing each other when they play and they bite and mouth each other while they are playing. Our Fudge can be a real pip with other dogs and we did all the right things when she was younger. This stressed me out to no end until my daughter said to me, "mom, she likes the dogs that matter to us...my dogs, the dog sitter's dogs, etc." Not all dogs want to play with all other dogs and that is ok. Find the dogs she does well with and let them play together. Meanwhile, I would find a trainer that you feel works well with Belle and take it from there. Good luck!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I agree. I hate that this so-called trainer even used the term "dominant dog", especially about a puppy. That's so unprofessional. A dog might show dominant behaviors in certain situations, and that's how the word should be used, to describe a behavior, not to describe the dog as a whole. I wonder what this trainer's education and experience are. She sure doesn't sound like a "dominant dog" to me. 

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

here here! I agree with you completely!