labgirl
Forums Sage
Dominance and Alpha are very confusing terms in the doggy world, and to be honest I would want to meet the pups face to face to understand them better, as terms like that can have so many connotations.
Girl dogs can be bossy, that's natural (I'm a girl, I'm bossy too
) I've met quite a few and I think that is a very female trait, but to be honest it doesn't mean its a problem as long as you don't encourage it or let it happen without correction.
It is a very rare dog that is born dog-aggressive, it is a completely unproductive trait for a pack animal. Dogs become dog aggressive for a variety of reasons, the most common being a lack of or negative socialisation. As long as you introduce your pup to friendly, gentle dogs aggression should not be an issue. Some dogs can be pushy and as an owner you may have to say enough when she gets too much, but then we all have to do that when our dogs get too much.
The term 'dominant' or alpha' tends to make people think they will have a dog that challenges them and that is why I don't like the terms because they are very misleading. New research shows that dogs do not show 'dominance' to us, as such. That being said a determined dog will try to push his or her luck, but don't think because this girl is pushy she will push you around.
As long as you have limits and you are consistent in letting her know right from wrong, it won't matter.
I think of my two, I met Cadbury at 3 weeks old. There were 5 pups in the litter and he and his brother pushed their way towards me and barged each other out of the way to see who would get their first. I picked the pup that won! Mainly, I wanted a confident dog, and yes Cadbury is pushy and he does like things his way - but he is NOT a dominant dog in any shape or form. He is very placid and loves other dogs.
When Merlin came home, however, I knew I was going to have to set new ground rules else Cadbury would (in certain situations) push him around. This is mainly over food and toys. Since having Merlin I have really enforced the fact to Cadbury that HE DOES NOT ever touch Merlin's food while Merlin is eating. In fact I stand and supervise meal times. Once both dogs are finished I give them permission to check out each other's empty bowls. Another example is toys - Cadbury will steal another dog's toys (pushy behaviour again), if he tries that on Merlin he gets told off, is commanded to drop and then the toy is returned to Merlin.
So pushy need not mean 'bad' or 'difficult'. As for the barker, well probably that one will be vocal, but that being said Merlin was a quiet little angel for the first week and then this noisy monster appeared! I'll take him to watch the agility display team practice tonight and he will bark his head off at me when I leave him on the fence to help set up - temper, temper
Girl dogs can be bossy, that's natural (I'm a girl, I'm bossy too
) I've met quite a few and I think that is a very female trait, but to be honest it doesn't mean its a problem as long as you don't encourage it or let it happen without correction.It is a very rare dog that is born dog-aggressive, it is a completely unproductive trait for a pack animal. Dogs become dog aggressive for a variety of reasons, the most common being a lack of or negative socialisation. As long as you introduce your pup to friendly, gentle dogs aggression should not be an issue. Some dogs can be pushy and as an owner you may have to say enough when she gets too much, but then we all have to do that when our dogs get too much.
The term 'dominant' or alpha' tends to make people think they will have a dog that challenges them and that is why I don't like the terms because they are very misleading. New research shows that dogs do not show 'dominance' to us, as such. That being said a determined dog will try to push his or her luck, but don't think because this girl is pushy she will push you around.
As long as you have limits and you are consistent in letting her know right from wrong, it won't matter.
I think of my two, I met Cadbury at 3 weeks old. There were 5 pups in the litter and he and his brother pushed their way towards me and barged each other out of the way to see who would get their first. I picked the pup that won! Mainly, I wanted a confident dog, and yes Cadbury is pushy and he does like things his way - but he is NOT a dominant dog in any shape or form. He is very placid and loves other dogs.
When Merlin came home, however, I knew I was going to have to set new ground rules else Cadbury would (in certain situations) push him around. This is mainly over food and toys. Since having Merlin I have really enforced the fact to Cadbury that HE DOES NOT ever touch Merlin's food while Merlin is eating. In fact I stand and supervise meal times. Once both dogs are finished I give them permission to check out each other's empty bowls. Another example is toys - Cadbury will steal another dog's toys (pushy behaviour again), if he tries that on Merlin he gets told off, is commanded to drop and then the toy is returned to Merlin.
So pushy need not mean 'bad' or 'difficult'. As for the barker, well probably that one will be vocal, but that being said Merlin was a quiet little angel for the first week and then this noisy monster appeared! I'll take him to watch the agility display team practice tonight and he will bark his head off at me when I leave him on the fence to help set up - temper, temper
). She's still pretty self centered and I found that she was a little more difficult to train when she was a pup (probably because she was more inclined to bond with our other sheltie than us), but our hard work paid off. But that being said, she has NEVER shown any dog or people aggression, is only bossy with the other dogs in the house and has been certified as a therapy dog. She is very well behaved and a joy to have around.
Decision made.
