not to flood you guys with questions, but....i have a few!

i've been told that the pawing for attention is a submissive gesture and that i should not correct it, b/c it is submissive and b/c 'he just wants some attention'.

luc does this - A LOT. he does it a lot if i'm on the bed (and i will stop allowing him up there) and lying down, or if i am siting on the floor, and in the tent - basically, when i'm down at his level.

is this all true? is it really submissive for my dog to smack me in the arm/chest/face/eye, repeatedly if i don't respond (he'll back off if i shove him away emphatically)? it doesn't feel submissive to me - it feels like he's saying 'you're not doing what i want! pay attention!!!!' and frankly it's annoying.

just curious - i was told this by an ex-dog walker friend, and in researching online, i've only ever seen it described as submissive and essentially positive behaviour.

If I've understood correctly what I've read here on the board it is actually dominant behavior....Do I have that right????

I think your instincts are really good, Jennifer, and if he's doing this kind of pushy "pay attention to me NOW" kind of stuff then you should ignore and/or correct him for it. It's disrespectful to you, the pack leader. I guess it's not so surprising given he's new to your home and trying to figure out his place.

thanks sarah!

i guess i also get confused b/c most people i know with dogs think i'm being overly strict and that this, or similar little things aren't a big deal. but i don't want the little things to pile up! even stuff like who walks in front, which i thought was a given, i'm told i'm too strict about.

he has other 'pay attention to me!' behaviours - none of them are bad, but they crop up on occasion.

i do want to be a good pack leader, but i don't want to be a pack dictator either, throwing unreasonable demands at my dog, and i'm still new enough to dogs that given you hear so many things depending who you talk to, i'm not always sure i'm being reasonable!

mind you, i think i'm controlling his unwanted behaviours in fair ways - i ignore him, physically remove myself or him, depending, correct him (if he knows a command i can correct him with) and i started using a prong walking him which correcting his pulling without me doing anything!

No, pawing for attention is a dominant behavior (just like jumping up on people to "play") -- But sitting with one front foot raised (like waiting to "shake hands") is a submissive gesture...

With a dominant dog, it's best not to interact with the animal down at its level on the floor, or let it up on any furniture.

i did teach luc 'shake' through his pawing, but that's about the only thing.

it makes lots of sense for it to be dominant - if he does it and i do pet him and then sit that arm down, he will hold his leg on top of that arm and try to stop me from pulling it away.

no more furniture for him, and no more attention when he does that kind of thing, or, if it's in my face, remove him and stop the behaviour.

I have a gsd that pushes into my chest,at the most odd times,she just gets up and puts her nose or head in my chest ,i have a heart condition so im not sure if she is telling me there is a problem or just trying to get attention , so i correct her and take her out to work out, put sometimes she doesnt stop till i settle down.? domiance or what.

Right, do not allow him to put his paw on you that way -- this is definitely a dominance issue, IMHO...

Study Ed's article on how to be a pack-leader:

http://www.leerburg.com/groundwork.htm

And you might consider getting his DVD on dom/aggro dogs:

http://www.leerburg.com/301.htm

My dog (11 month old Shetland Sheepdog) did that to me for the first time last night. I'd never heard of it before, but it was pretty clearly "pushy" if not outright "dominant". I put him in a down for 5 minutes, let him up, and he trundled out of the room and went to sleep. He's feeling his oats right now, and that's not unusual for his age. Just make sure you don't let it slide, and don't reward it.

Be careful how you respond, a physical correction could escalate things, but if you calmly put the dog into a down you can often redirect him. Just don't get caught up in a battle of wills. Pack leaders don't struggle with "Battles of Wills" -- they just command and expect obedience. If you're not sure that your dog will respond to your verbal command without requiring a correction, it may be better to ignore the infraction when it occurs and intensify your overall focus on the pack-leader groundwork linked above.

i'd read the groundwork and am making changes there. it is more important to me that he accept me as the leader, and the person he follows, than that he know a bunch of commands (though of course BOTH is what i'm shooting for).

thought i'd update from the past day and a half:

-luc is no longer allowed up on the bed. he came up twice (so much for always waiting for my permission!) and i immediately led him down and onto the bed i made him

-he doesn't use his dog bed that much (the cats like it) but i'm leaving this as i don't want to give him the impression that the cats have to move for him, rather that he has to move for the cats. so far, so good, if the cats are on it he goes elsewhere (mostly the bathroom/kitchen area to hang out)

-i distract him with toys or have him come to me and perform a command (sit, down, shake, plus come of course) if he shows signs of wanting to play with my cat esme. i noticed this morning he'll go to sniff her and will sit near her but didn't try to play with her - we'll see if that keeps up, but i was happy to see it!

-i haven't been placing myself, or him, in a position to paw at me like that, so that's been going well too.

as one other note, i've been using the prong collar on him for 5 days now and find he pays far more attention to me now, even inside when he's not wearing it, than before. and he's a different dog on walks, it's pretty amazing.

i'm not sure how long his personality will continue to settle for - he's been with me for almost 2 months now, and i'm assuming there will be another 6-10 month period in which i may continue to see changes?

i also have stopped allowing him to interact with strange dogs (it makes sense about the pack) and people. a question about that - b/c he was years in a shelter, he needs socialization, particularly to city noises and things, one of which is a lot of people. if i'm not allowing him to interact directly with strangers, can i be comfortable that taking him for 3 walks a day will expose him sufficiently through indirect interaction (walking past people, observing them, etc)?

I can answer your last question.
When socializing a rescue dog, if he is fearful, having him around strangers without interaction is the best way to do this. The reason is it takes the pressure off the dog. He learns not to worry about the people because they won't pay attention to him. Dogs do worry about this; if they get upset/antsy in crowds, it is because they think they need to interact with everyone. They should definitely learn to be around people but ignore them.

Also, don't let any strangers pet your dog during this time. It will only confuse and/or upset him. He needs to learn that strangers are "safe" because they will leave him alone.

I hope that makes sense. Hopefully someone else can answer your other questions.