I wasn't sure which forum to post this question in, sorry if it's not in the right place.

History: Foster dog, male Catahoula 65 lbs turning 3 this month. Was neutered at about 8 months of age. I fostered this dog between 9 months and 20 months of age (duration: 11 months) and he was adopted, living in his adopted home for another 11 months then returned to me 6 months ago.

He has this new (as in didn't happen last time I had him) growly thing going on.

The first time it happened he was in the car and I was putting his seatbelt on (he hates car rides so he's got to wear a car harness). He had jumped in the car and sat on the buckle part of the seatbelt. I shifted his bum over so I could get the buckle and he made a low growl. I said "no" to him and continued what I was doing. I later discovered that he had split his toe nail all the way back to his skin and the pulp was showing. I assumed that I had somehow touched his toenail and that was why he growled.

He has done it a few more times since then though. Which made me wonder if he has sore hips?

Then last week my partner was walking him in the park. He was rolling on his back playfully and my friend went to pat him (like he always does) and the dog stiffened and gave what I can only describe as a "warning bark." My friend said "NO" and smacked him. (not hard, but as a "you better not do that again" thing).

The dog gave a low warning growl (the same one as in the car) when I was trimming his nails the other night. I had finished one paw and was half way through the second. I was holding his paw but had not yet even put the clippers on the nail, it was like he was saying he didn't want me to clip his nails any more. (I didn't quick him). I told him too bad and continued clipping without further incident.

He also seems dominant over the other dogs and he doesn't like my puppy. I keep them separate (him and the pup) but I have a small house. The dog will sometimes growl at my puppy (age 10 mos) if he walks past the older dog's crate, or if the pup has a ball and the ball rolls too close to his crate. The older dog does not have a toy in his crate. He also, rarely, will give his warning bark to one of the other dogs if they go close to him while he is laying down (my living room's pretty crowded so it's not like they have a choice).

- He is reluctant to sit or down on command without a treat. (Another reason I wasn't sure about his hips). During obedience class he never did get the automatic sit unless I lightly touched his rear to "remind him" - then he would sit.

Now after all that, onto my question.

I really am not sure if this dog is dominant or not. I don't know if he is growly because he is dominant or trying to be, or if he is in pain (like if he has bad hips). We got pricing and the rescue (nor I) can not afford to go in for an x-ray so we just have to manage as best we can. The dog seems to be 100% mobile and functional, he doesn't limp and is very active.

Reasons why I think he may NOT be dominant
- Allows me to stand over him and groom him with a hound glove each night
- Allows me to brush his teeth and clip his nails (except the other night).
- Has exhibited NO food or toy aggression with me or any other human (mild growling over food in the general direction of the puppy when he could see the pup's crate from his crate, but he no longer does it).
- Jumps in the car when I tell him (even though he hates car rides)
- He is dog reactive especially to strange dogs and especially if they are small. He needs to be corrected a lot for this and while the corrections amp him up and make him jump up on me, he hasn't tried to bite me.
- If he is laying on a dog bed and I approach, he will roll over and show his belly.

He has been through groundwork and still spends a good amount of time in a crate. He is always on leash outside, but not in the house. He is not allowed on furniture, eats in his crate, and gets lost when I tell him (like if I am eating). He was always a very fearful dog with respect to objects and noises in the home, but has improved *substantially* in this regard.

A related question: when going through doors (like to go outside) - when I want him to let me go first I usually hold him back with his leash, step out first and allow him to follow me, holding him behind me with his leash. I hadn't been asking for a sit since I'm not sure about his hips. Would this still get the message across?

Any advice or a way to tell (other than what is really needed, a vet visit) if his hips are sore? or if he is trying to be dominant?

What specific thing should I do if he growls at one of my other dogs? and what should I do if he growls at me?

i won't comment on the aggression/dominance stuff (i'll leave that for smarter people ) but a couple of thoughts.

if you're uncomfortable having him sit/down b/c you're unsure about his hips, can you teach him the 'stand' command and have him stand in position instead?

teagan is a bit slower to sit or down than luc, and i give her leeway on that (as long as she does sit or down) b/c she does have HD and a bone chip in one of her hips, but she still has to do the command within a reasonable time. in terms of telling if there are problems:

-teagan got diagnosed the 6th week i had her b/c her trouble going to the bathroom reached a head. does your dog go more infrequently than your other dogs/seem reluctant to squat/etc?

-teagan, in addition to needing to lose weight when i got her, also need to have her hip muscles conditioned. i'm not sure if this is common to all dogs w/HD, but on the assumption it happens b/c the untreated dog is too uncomfortable to exercise enough to build up the muscle - do you notice any rolling in the back end when he's walking? a sort of swaying? can you take him swimming? teagan's rolling back hips were really obvious when i first started taking her swimming, the weakness of her hips stood out.

can you touch his hips w/out any issues? if so, one thing i do with teagan is massage....i find it helps me stay in touch w/how she is doing. i used a book on bunny massage (figuring same difference) but i think there are several good books out there on dog massage.

also, do you supplement? teagan has lost a LOT of weight, and that combined w/supplements has really helped her - to the point that she still does get pain meds, but only 2-3 times a week.

Hi Jennifer, thanks for the reply.

No, he doesn't seem to roll when he walks - he seems quite strong and his muscle tone looks great. Here are some pics where you might be able to see his muscle tone:
http://i31.tinypic.com/6sfdqv.jpg
http://i30.tinypic.com/4he8ut.jpg
(in the photos, he's hawking down some chihuahuas that were a good distance away, heh).

I honestly can't tell if his hips are bad or what. I definitely wouldn't think full blown HD. I go over him with a hound glove, and sometimes slap his rear end or hips when I'm praising or greeting him (atta boy) with no negative reaction. He also likes bum scratches.

The above photos were taken at his agility class. He had no trouble with any of the obstacles (jumps were low, 12", A-frame, dogwalk, teeter and tunnel) but didn't sit on the table unless I pushed his bum down.

It's just that this growling thing is out of character from the first time I had him, and the owner didn't report anything like that when he returned him. (said he was too fearful). In fact this dog seems to be a different dog with me than he was with the owner. His fear is almost completely resolved with me, but he does things with me the owner said he didn't, like pull on the leash and doesn't get along with most other dogs.

So.... it could be me, could be hips, could be dominance... but in regards to the things I listed (like showing his belly), I am doubting the dominance diagnosis. Really not sure here.

I don't want to comment on his aggression; however, I had a dog almost similar to your dog's symptoms. I believe it is more of trust and pain issues. If a dog truly trusts you with his life, he wouldn't get aggressive. It seems like something blow out his trust in his previous home because you said he weren't like this before you got him at first.

When my younger sister lived with us and her border collie, her dog would give us a slow sit and lay on one side of her hip (never a perfect down). I didn't bother with giving a harsh correction as long as he is sitting. Eventually, we found out why.. He has severe hip dyplasia in both hips.

Time for a vet check-up.

If you haven't changed what you're doing, re: discipline, pack rules, etc... then the dog may have a medical issue that is making it cranky.

It's pretty rare for a dog this age to suddenly start acting different. How long have you had the puppy?

I am leaning more towards dominance and taking advantage of your reluctance to address it. If he will play unrestricted and do activities he enjoys, but moves slowly when it's time to work, what does that say? To me it says "make me". Take it easy with him to be on the safe side, and plan for the vet as soon as you can afford it, but don't assume that a slow response is pain - the other behaviors really sound like dominance and aggression as well. And many people say "he never did this before???" Showing his belly means he knows at THAT moment he crossed a line, and he is submitting for it. That doesn't mean that he isn't taking advantage and being dominant at other times, though. You have to deal with the dog you have. One moment, he may be submitting; the next dominant.

The pup was born Aug 29/07 (in my home) and the adult came back to me in Feb/08 when the puppy was nearly 6 months old. Making my math bad - I've only had this adult for about 4.5 months now.

When I first had him, it was just my female mix breed and him. Now there's the pup and also another male (submissive) foster - so four dogs in the house.

Alyssa that is what I thought - could be a medical issue.

YOu did make me think of something. There was a change - I had a tenant who moved out end of may. As a result of this the dogs are not crated as much (my home was not, shall we say, dog-proof with the tenant around so they were crated more then).

Other than being crated much less, I am treating him the same and he is still crated more than when I had him the first time around. (since I now have to rotate time with the puppy)

At what age would hip problems start? is about 2.5 years old the right age? I also realize the first time I had him he was immature, now he is an adult male - is he going to start challenging me? What are the signs to look for?

Cameron - you might be right about the "make me" - I think he knows what "sit" means for example, so I guess I should be giving him a prong pop rather than pushing his butt down?

As for rolling to show his belly - he doesn't do that when he is scolded, he will just be laying on his bed and I'll go over to pet him and he will kind of turn on his side, like a submissive dog does. You are saying a dog can be both dominant AND submissive? This is new to me, I've never had a dog that growled before.

I'd get him checked out, just to be safe, but I'd also start crating him again.

If he's completely healthy, I would go back to square one. Crate, leash indoors, all of it. Reestablish pack boundaries again. It never hurts.

Angella, showing the belly for a rub/scratch is not submission, showing the belly for appeasement is submission. You are going over to pet him, more likely than not you have signals you give off or you say certain things that tell the dog you are coming to pet him and he wants to be scratched or rubbed on the belly so he allows you do to so. Cajun was a dominant dog, not extreme but not for a novice handler. He loved having his belly rubbed and would sleep on his back.

Can you touch his hips/hindquarters? Put a little pressure with your fingertips on his joints, like a massage, move his legs around when standing or laying down within the natural range of motion(I.E. don't try to force his leg to be in an unnatural position) make this a calm and nice thing for him. If he shows discomfort in the motion or the pressure then I would lean towards joint issues.

Is this also the dog that will drag you around without a prong on? My guess, without being able to see the behavior, is that he is testing his boundaries. He does not sound like a truly dominant dog, but remember there are varying levels of rank drive. There is not just omega and alpha, there are as many different ranks as their are members within the pack.