Hi guys, I have no idea where to put this question, but here goes... where would you catorgorize a dog that when you correct it, it snaps and snarls at you but then backs off into submission? And if you try to take it's bone away it growls? but is not a hard dog at all??? I am seeing that this is domminance, but from a soft dog? is that possible? also the dog is question is under 12months, isn't that pretty young for such behaviour? I was really puzzeled to see such a behavoiur from such a young female dog. She also bit her owner not so long ago when she got a correction for not going in the down, not hard enough to draw blood. So,can a soft dog show domminace???
Thanks <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

stupid question <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> Probbly! lol Just thought to get a second opinion. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

i myself would be more inclined to say she was defensive... not dominant...

defensive... Now that makes sense... hmm... Thanks for your response.
<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

My friend has a very soft great dane, if you correct her on the prong she yelps, tucks her tail between her legs, sits down and leans against your leg acting like she's gonna die. If she's not on leash and I reach for her prong collar to make her down when she doesn't listen, she'll put my hand in her mouth to try and stop me from correcting her. I agree with defensive, try a different approach to training.

It can also be pain induced aggression. Every dog has a different threshold for the level of correction that "hurts" them.

Once the dog realizes that corrections hurt, they will sometimes bite if you reach for their collar and IMO this is a fear based reaction. They are worried about possible pain and bite, much like a cornered dog that is fearful. There can be many levels to this but in general, this is what I have seen.

Working with dogs like this takes finesse and timing. E collars, dominant dog or flat collars can sometimes be the way to go, as a prong seems to stimulate the reaction more with dogs like this.

There is also the issue of "was the correction fair?" Unless a dog 100% understands what it is being corrected for, or if the correction was too hard (say a level 9 correction for not sitting right away) many dogs I have known will let you know in the only way they know how that you are out of line. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> if there are too many emotions involved with corrections some dogs can also retaliate with aggression....so in other words, if you are having a bad day because things were crappy at work, or you had a fight with your spouse and then you train your dog and allow your emotional state to carry over into training with some dogs this can be a big mistake.

Cindy... beautifully put... thats what I was meaning by defensive - the dog is defending themselves from being corrected... I didn't convey that as well as you did <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Another idea is to switch collars from a prong collar to a dominant dog collar. Many times a prong collar will over stimulate a dog or in other words make them hectic. Where as a dominat dog collar will take this out of the dog. The handler should remain calm and firm during its use. Here is the URL http://leerburg.com/746.htm

 Quote:

Another idea is to switch collars from a prong collar to a dominant dog collar. Many times a prong collar will over stimulate a dog or in other words make them hectic. Where as a dominat dog collar will take this out of the dog. The handler should remain calm and firm during its use. Here is the URL http://leerburg.com/746.htm

Didn't I say that already? lol <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

what sort of corrections is the dog getting? if the neck is being yanked on, and this is provoking aggression, it's possible there is a health issue here. i had a dog who could not handle collar/leash corrections at all, and it turned out he had a spinal deformity that was causing him a great deal of pain. might be something to rule out before moving ahead with more corrections.