I'm worried that how my pup is behaving in the presence of other dogs will affect what I am training for. Should I be worried about this behavior or is it normal puppy behavior?

Question

I live in Germany and have a 7 month Italian Cane Corso,

    I had to be very careful when selecting the breeder as I found out that this breed had a couple of standard controversies, causing many breeders ( for expo and other dumb reasons) to breed dogs without taking in consideration the character  and temperament of the animal. This breed ( coming from the right lines )  is excellent for guard, protection, and also in SCH. Being a mastiff it matures slowly. My dog has been responding very well to training, I introduced him to Drive and Focus and he loves it, I noticed an immediate improvement. I also started tying him up and play with the tug ( first step of bite training )  and he's being doing very well. As for defense drive the only time I noticed it is when other dogs approach the car and he is in it, he sound off with deep barks and some hair stand on the back of the neck ( this might have been defense, as you described it in your video).  My question is about the temper of the dog: when suddenly approached by a dog in a distance his hair stood up and he assumed an alert posture, he is not dog aggressive, so when he realized it's another dog he slowly went towards it. This other dog ( female older ) started showing teeth and acting defensive, my dog tucked the tail a bit and backed off, tried one more time but same happened. Normally I'd have him on the leash when other dogs go by, but I didn't see this one coming. However when he was 5 months he did get a little bit one time, when this idiot had two of his dogs off the leash. How would you describe what happened above? I know he's very young and maybe impossible to tell now, but I wouldn't want to let any early signs go unnoticed. I'm considering training him for guard and protection, and he was not cheap.  Is it avoidance and  will he always be submissive to other dogs? Could this be early signs of weak temper? Or was it normal puppy behavior?

    Thank you for your help.

    Regards,
Luigi

Accepted Answer

What you are describing is normal puppy behavior, and it should not have anything to do with his ability as an adult to do the work you are training him for.  

    Just do the best you can in avoiding any situations in which he is made to feel fearful or worried about other dogs, and be ready to protect him from other dogs as well.  He will look at you as a leader if you are always looking out for him.

    If we are out for a walk and are approached by another person walking their dog we NEVER allow the other dog to come up and smell or greet our puppy. I cannot stress this enough.

    We don't know how territorial or dog aggressive this other dog is. It only takes a blink of an eye for another dog to strike our puppy. Once a puppy has been attacked, it will be dog aggressive for the rest of its life. Dogs don't forget traumatic events like this.

    As the pack leader our puppy EXPECTS us to protect it from non pack members. If we are out for a walk and a stray dog tries to approach our puppy we put ourselves between the pup and the off leash dog. We drive the stray away. If we walk in an area that we know there are stray dogs we will carry pepper gas or a stout walking stick and we don't hesitate to use them if the stray does not heed our verbal warnings.