I have an 11 month old rescue Blue Heeler. I have no idea about what his history entails. He has separation anxiety that is getting better. We are in the pack leadership training right now, so he is not exposed to people or other dogs. Before I started this training, I was taking him to the dog park. I realized that other dogs are very aggressive with him and their hackles would go up when approaching him and sniffing him and he would have his ears back or even roll on his back. I have a new neighbor downstairs and she had her dog out with her tonight. I did not see either of them and her dog was growling and ran up to my dog. There was no physical contact between the dogs as i was standing in front of my dog and she grabbed her dog (a pug).She said he normally is not like that with dogs. I am wondering why this is? My dog appears to me to be submissive with other dogs. Do they maybe sense fear from him? Maybe my dog is dominant and i am not seeing something?

Just a thought

I've seen herding dogs, primarily BCs that seemed to trigger some dogs into confrontation.

The only thing I can figure is possibly the "eye" a BC uses.

When I did herding with my older GSD (never dog aggressive)he seemed to show more "interest" in the dogs that gave him to much "eye".
Eye contact is huge in the dog world.

I don't believer the Blue Heeler has that much "eye" in their work so, again this is just a thought.

Corny or crazy as it sounds, I believe other dogs can see the potential in your dog, even if he is acting submissive.

I think other dogs are acting "proactively" to keep a super smart, super agile, potentially super bossy dog in his place.

In picking "friends" for a heeler, choosing a non-reactive easy going sort -- a "doggy dog" -- will likely be best.

A dog's defensive drive includes bluffing, posturing, and avoidance/submission. Dogs have a very keen perception of nonverbal cues, and many owners may not recognize the subtle signals that dogs send one another. Dogs may also, at times, reject the "calming signals" that other dogs send.

Our IPO club has a rule that, when two or more teams are gathered together talking, all dogs must be placed in a "down". The reason is that the dogs are posturing, whether the handlers recognize it or not, and it's harder for them to appear dominant in the prone position. My dog is very reactive and, even when in a down, she is giving the stink eye and whining, which are signals to the other dog that say, "I'm gonna get you if I can".

Based on my experience with these types of interactions, IMHO, my guess would be that your dog is sending some signals that you don't recognize. He is initially bluffing and/or sending calming signals, and when the other dog continues to challenge him or advances, his defensive mechanisms transition to avoidance. We see the same reactions when training protection dogs and teaching them how to work through their drives.

Some dogs are not socialized with dogs. Some, like mine, never learn to accept other dogs, and should never be allowed to interact. Many, like mine, can be desensitized in order to be handled near other dogs, but still cannot handle direct interaction. Also to be avoided are other owners who think that their dog should be allowed to greet and sniff strange dogs.

I definitely am suspicious of any signals my dog may be sending. I had a hunch that was what is going on. My dog is interesting to watch, because at times appears to be very submissive and other times shows his attempts with domination (jumping on me, bumping me with his nose, etc). All i know is that I have a lot to learn about my dog's body language and non verbal cues, and that I keep ALL dogs away from my dog to prevent any problems. Thank you guys for replying, I appreciate it.

 Quote: Duane Hull

A dog's defensive drive includes bluffing, posturing, and avoidance/submission. Dogs have a very keen perception of nonverbal cues, and many owners may not recognize the subtle signals that dogs send one another. Dogs may also, at times, reject the "calming signals" that other dogs send.

Our IPO club has a rule that, when two or more teams are gathered together talking, all dogs must be placed in a "down". The reason is that the dogs are posturing, whether the handlers recognize it or not, and it's harder for them to appear dominant in the prone position. My dog is very reactive and, even when in a down, she is giving the stink eye and whining, which are signals to the other dog that say, "I'm gonna get you if I can".

Based on my experience with these types of interactions, IMHO, my guess would be that your dog is sending some signals that you don't recognize. He is initially bluffing and/or sending calming signals, and when the other dog continues to challenge him or advances, his defensive mechanisms transition to avoidance. We see the same reactions when training protection dogs and teaching them how to work through their drives.

Some dogs are not socialized with dogs. Some, like mine, never learn to accept other dogs, and should never be allowed to interact. Many, like mine, can be desensitized in order to be handled near other dogs, but still cannot handle direct interaction. Also to be avoided are other owners who think that their dog should be allowed to greet and sniff strange dogs.

WISE WORDS all 'round, Duane

 Quote: Sara Severson

I have an 11 month old rescue Blue Heeler. I have no idea about what his history entails. He has separation anxiety that is getting better. We are in the pack leadership training right now, so he is not exposed to people or other dogs. Before I started this training, I was taking him to the dog park. I realized that other dogs are very aggressive with him and their hackles would go up when approaching him and sniffing him and he would have his ears back or even roll on his back. I have a new neighbor downstairs and she had her dog out with her tonight. I did not see either of them and her dog was growling and ran up to my dog. There was no physical contact between the dogs as i was standing in front of my dog and she grabbed her dog (a pug).She said he normally is not like that with dogs. I am wondering why this is? My dog appears to me to be submissive with other dogs. Do they maybe sense fear from him? Maybe my dog is dominant and i am not seeing something?

Rescues are sometimes hard to Read when we haven't had them for very long -- As you said, we DON'T KNOW what all Bad Things they may have been through before ... And some "survival mode" behaviors that might LOOK SUBMISSIVE on the surface, may Possibly Mask their underlying TRUE MOOD which other Dogs Sense

Also, I would not assume that "jumping up & nose bumping" are actually signs of "dominance" (a very over-used & often wrongly-applied characterization) -- Sometimes my female Rescue Dobie will put her paws on my shoulders & implore me with her eyes, as a way of Begging for Back-Up in a scenario where she wants me to "run interference" before I even see any situation on the horizon yet ... And my male Rescue Dobie will sometimes do the nose-bump deal, simply because he is Needy of Reassurance (for example: a dog that has been on the losing end of an attack in the past, can SHOW passive-submission Posture while telegraphing the Passive-Aggressive intention of, "Cross my Flight or Fight threshold & you'll be SORRY") !!!

Also, I would not assume that "jumping up & nose bumping" are actually signs of "dominance" (a very over-used & often wrongly-applied characterization) - Interesting you say this Candi. He only nose bumps me on walks or outside to potty and he is behind me. I cannot remember where I read that these are attempts at dominance.

 Quote: Sara Severson

Also, I would not assume that "jumping up & nose bumping" are actually signs of "dominance" (a very over-used & often wrongly-applied characterization) - Interesting you say this Candi. He only nose bumps me on walks or outside to potty and he is behind me.
I cannot remember where I read that these are attempts at dominance.

All over the place, no doubt -- Jumping up & nose bumping is typically considered to be "rude, pushy, demanding" behavior from dogs, and it often is exactly that ... But CONTEXT is Everything, so it helps if you can read your own dog & the specific situation well

IMHO, the 2 examples I gave of my Rescue Dobies (the female communicating with me through a nearly eye-level Imploring Gaze, and the male with Nose Bumping my hand from behind) are both attention-getting mechanisms by which they Ask for Help or Support from their leader -- In these CONTEXTS neither behavior displays "dominance" at all, but rather shows Subordinate Dependence instead ... Different motivation entirely, as I view it anyway

To much behavior is called dominant when most of the time it's a dog that hasn't learned it's boundaries.

Even a shy, soft dog can get pushy with an owner that either doesn't know how or doesn't want to stop the bad behavior for fear of "hurting" the poor thing.

Dominance over a soft owner or other soft dogs does not make a dominant dog.

Often time the aggressor is doing it as a results of being attacked as a puppy. It's attacking out of stress.

"Strike first or your get hurt".



This is not directed at the OP.