May 18, 2011
My young male hackles up a little (near the tail) just before gripping in bite training. Should I be concerned?
Full Question:
Mr. Frawley,I know this is going to be hard for you to answer without you seeing what is going on but I am going to try to explain clearly.
Cyric my 10 month old is doing something very strange in his bite work. Just before he takes his bite on the chase he will hackle up just in the crop area in front of his tail. Now he doesn't show anything else that would suggest that he is afraid or intimidated as a matter of fact he commits very well and bites full and hard. I was wondering if this hackle could be from adrenaline or the excitement of the catch? What do you think? I was also thinking that maybe it could be a hormone thing as he is about in to man hood. LOL Please if you have a second just drop me a line and let me know your thoughts. This pup is an Alk grandson and is doing very well as he is already on bark and holds.
Thank you for your time.
Mary
Ed's Answer:
You are probably right on the hormone issue. This is a goofy age. It is an indication that the dog is a little stressed but this is fine - it's the beginning of aggression coming into the dog. It is also something I like to see in my dogs because dogs that do this at this age usually have aggression that can be channeled as they grow.
If this gets worse - concentrate on prey work for a while. But in my opinion it would be a mistake to do ALL PREY at this point. The dog will get "locked in prey" if you do this. It must work its way through this as a natural part of its evolution to become a working dog.
If this gets worse - concentrate on prey work for a while. But in my opinion it would be a mistake to do ALL PREY at this point. The dog will get "locked in prey" if you do this. It must work its way through this as a natural part of its evolution to become a working dog.
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