Thanks for the reply Jenni.

I had been a little concerned since Marcus is starting to "come into his own" so to speak, entering his terrible teens as far as dogs are concerned.

I just don't want him to start thinking its ok to make up his own mind concerning who constitutes a threat.

This is the reason why he was corrected VERY hard on both occasions, though other people might think this a bit extreme I know you are familiar with Marcus' background.

To say he is a "hard" dog is an understatement I honestly think I could whack him with a baseball bat without generating much of a reaction on his part besides an annoyed glance in my direction.

To be honest though he seems to be perfectly fine around every other person we have met including the usual loud talking fast moving kids that have come up to us, just this one person REALLY bothers him.

I was also wondering if Caleb was ever dog aggressive during his "teen" phase.
Marcus was fine with other dog's up until about two months ago, always dominant but never aggressive like he has been lately.

Well, not dog-aggressive in the classical sense, but certainly has the tendency to get in a scrap w/dogs who have done him wrong in some sense. Dog parks are a no-no, for sure. He is ok w/99% of random dogs he encounters on neutral ground. Every fight he has been in has been due to dominance. That is for sure his worst quality. He will leave alone what I ask him to, but if another dog invades his space, he will fight. I try to avoid this at all costs, because he does not simmer down very quickly at all. Once he's mad, he's really mad, and he stays that way. "Outing" ain't gonna happen. Actually, Jill warned me about this trait.

Corrections when he's in this frame of mind are unnoticed. Your baseball analogy applies. Thus, avoidance is the key. He is fine w/small dogs with manners (ie, NOT Widget), all females, etc. So, I don't really label him dog-aggressive. I see dog aggression as unprovoked, or blanketed aggression toward random dogs.

I would like to play devil's advocate on the dog judging charater thing here for a moment.

I DO beleive that dogs are good judges of character in many cases, they sense things we can't for sure. As Jenni pointed and Old Earth Dog Scott pointed out, sometimes they sense differences in folks, that does not specifically make the people BAD in anyway.

Some relitives by marriage had an older intact cholate lab, this dog seemed friendly to most folks, but the dog did not like ME Imagine! Upon first meeting the dog I came to their house with other known family members. Being dog savy, I did not try to pet the dog, talk to it or make direct eye contact. It growled (like a teeth bearing growl) and barked at me. It was never okay with me, even on neutral territorry but we learned to ignore each other.

I was so insulted that a dog did not like me! I have seen many dogs indiferent to me, I do not consider myself any kind of dog wisperer or anything, but I have never before or never since been met with that kind of reaction from a dog! They gave me a song and dance about how this dog did not like blond women, as it was raised as a pup by blond girls that teased it. It was a dominant, untrained beast that bit a family member on the face as they tried to push it out of bed one night (owner at fault I know).

So know you all know MY character has been questioned by a dog....IT HURTS

I would also not leave a hard dog capable of an aggressive reaction tied up outside a store. Just in case someone poorly educated about dogs with a bad character might try to pet it..it only takes a second...
JMHO.

Very interesting about that you think it is purely scent related. Sometimes I wish dogs could talk!!

Jennifer, that was a Lab. It reflects nothing about you.




Edited by Jenni Williams (10/21/2007 04:39 PM)
Edit reason: disclaimer: better say I'm kidding before I get hate mail from lab lovers everywhere.

 Quote: Jenni Williams

Jennifer, that was a Lab. It reflects nothing about you.


Better say I'm kidding, I guess, before I get hate mail from lab-lovers everywhere.

I thought it was funny

Here is another thing to think about concerning scent...I remember Cesaer Milan saying once that dogs do not approach the world as we do. We see first, hear second and sometimes smell last. A dog smells first, hears second and sees last. Judging character for a dog takes on a whole different meaning when you look at it like that. There might be something in the scent of a person that tells a story to a dog that we could never understand. I watched a documentary on the physiology of a dog once and it went into great detail discussing how a dog "reads" scents and also how it "sees" colors. It literally illustrated a dog smelling a scent and the image of the "dog,thing,person" it was smelling forming in its mind. It was pretty interesting. I have always believed that we all have an "aura" that only dogs can see. Okay, sounds kinda hokey pokey but I still believe it to be so. Not to say that all instances like that are associated to "bad auras". Sometimes its probably just a dog with some behavioral issues or maybe sight problems or who knows. Best thing is to pay attention to your dogs cues and avoid issues and or people that cause upset.

Not sure why? but here is mine. I had some work at my house the guy ask to bring his brother, he was retarded about 50, he was just to watch tv, he came 2 times, first had to put her out as had bad reaction, second time it was werid a side door was opened by contractor, I came out to find her fast asleep on the couch beside him,so whats up with that? She went nuts the second time she had to be put out and as soon as she was able to she snuck in went right there, and when i went in I had to call her, she was surprise and turn and went aggressive to him again.I think they get confused when someone is a little out of the norm

Danita
Your dog's behavior is similar to one at a house where once I worked. The dog in the pen attached to the house never made a peep at us, and ate food from one of the other painters. I never saw her come out of her dog house.
When the owner came home the nearly invisible, mild-mannered dog turned into a spitting, barking tooth machine. The owner says "You need to watch out for that dog, she'll bite." Evidently it was only when the owner was present. Maybe she was trying to impress him. Or she felt safe with the owner there and was doing a fear based reaction.

 Quote: jennifer coulter

I would also not leave a hard dog capable of an aggressive reaction tied up outside a store. Just in case someone poorly educated about dogs with a bad character might try to pet it..it only takes a second...
JMHO.

Jennifer, I understand what you mean and if Marcus was a Golden Retriever or a Dalmatian or something I would be more worried.

The thing is he is not an approachable looking dog, he will not wag his tail or show any sign that you are in front of him at all besides the fact that he will be staring directly at you.

His very alert look is quite intimidating, add to that his size and the jet black color of his coat and even the most ardent dog aficionado will think twice before approaching him.

I have in fact had people wait until I returned to him to ask if they could approach him, one of whom was actually an off duty State Police K-9 officer.

But like I was saying before he has NEVER reacted in a violent way towards anyone other than this one particular person, so as far as any passersby be concerned he might as well be a jolly happy go lucky Lab.

Also being "hard" does not mean he has a tendency to be aggressive, it means that he can take a correction that would send most dogs into severe avoidance and not be bothered by it in the least, the biggest issue with being a "hard" dog is it can be difficult to dissuade him from something once he is in drive and has his mind set.

The main reason I believe it has something to do with scent is the fact that he is fine up until the point he literally sniffs this person, then its cujo time for some unknown reason.

 Quote: Scott Lindsey

The thing is he is not an approachable looking dog, he will not wag his tail or show any sign that you are in front of him at all besides the fact that he will be staring directly at you.

My black GSD is not approachable looking either and strangers never approach him. However, first day at protection training, a 14 yr old girl went right up to the car with my dog inside with her hand outstretched to pet him. I stopped her because when a stranger walks up to the car, he gets in guard mode. I took him out of the car and had him walk up to her and all was fine, BUT I would never trust that people wouldn't approach what to us is an unapproachable looking dog.

Some people just pride themselves on their knowledge of dogs and would not hesitate to walk up to any dog.