Dog manners

[Kendall Aliza]

I have a 1 year old retriever mix, weighing in at 40 lbs. When I first got him he was terrified of other dogs and had no interest in playing with them. Eventually we got to a point where he would play with a 50lb Aussie and then that led to the exposure to one 65lb aussie, 70lb lab, 60lb GSD. He can play with all of them when they come over for visits and he has the best time. Unfortunately, he has very poor dog manners. When playing he goes for their legs, which I guess he learned from playing with the aussie??? The other dogs dont seem to appreciate it very much... though I am not sure if this is bad dog manners or him just trying to "win" against these big dogs since he is so little. He will try to mount sometimes, even though he is neutered. He just doesnt know when to stop and chill out, which I assume is due to his age??? He doesnt know how to read dogs... I could go on...
The only behavior I put an immediate stop to is the mounting. Shoudl I expect the other dogs to teach him how to behave or is it my job? Should I interrupt playtime when my dog is being too much?

[Kimberly Lyons]

My dog doesnt have a problem with other dogs, but he does do the tug on the leg thing to my GSD. The GSD is 70lbs and the mutt is 40lbs. The GSD just ignores it and trots off.

Maybe its a nepolean complex? :D

[Lesly Stevens]

You wrote: "When playing he goes for their legs, which I guess he learned from playing with the aussie??? The other dogs dont seem to appreciate it very much... though I am not sure if this is bad dog manners or him just trying to "win" against these big dogs since he is so little."

I don't see this as a problem, as many dogs play in this way. My two bite each other's legs, necks, and crash chests mid-air! As for the mounting behavior, some dogs will tolerate it, but let the offending dog know it's time to stop, and others will get real nasty about it, so, I would intervene by getting your dog's attention and redirecting him to a wanted behavior, which you immediately reward for compliance. He may be overly excited, so, you might want to keep interactions with other dogs of shorter duration. However, if he does it from the get-go, redirect him before he can complete the mounting, if possible. It's probably a good idea to get together with a dog you know to be safe and tolerant, so you (and that safe dog) can teach him proper interaction with other dogs.

So glad to hear he's lost his terror of other dogs! Good work!

Lesly, Maddy, & Bo

[Susan Schue]

Both Bonzo and Maggie are leg grabbers (Bonzo is showing his ACD side, Maggie has picked it up), but they seem to do it most with each other, I don't see it very often when the are at the dog park and playing with other dogs, they both seem to adapt to the dog they are playing with. Maggie is 15" & 15 lbs., and I'm constantly reassuring large dog owners that she's used to rough play (she invites it), and if she doesn't like it she'll let them know, and she seldom does, she thinks she's a Great Dane and acts accordingly, she had a dog 4 times her size pinned for a count of three earlier. The only time she does get upset is when occasionally the pack gangs up on her, and she goes submissive, and gets over it immediately and is back to playing or chasing or being chased, she loves it all.

Bonzo at times has a bit of a humping problem (he is nuetered), I reprimand him and pull him away, and try to focus his attention elsewhere. He gets one extra chance. He got particularly enamored of a cute mutt named Molly earlier tonight, and he was pretty determined, so we left. If one of the dogs he does this to protests, he stops, and doesn't try again. If they put up with it (like Molly), it's tougher. I wish I could remember where it was that I heard that males often continue with certain behaviors same as the time they were neutered, I know Bonzo is both a challenged romeo and dominant humper, and he was fixed at a year old, when I adopted him.

Do you have a dog park around? Would be interesting to see how your youngster acts around strange dogs, sounds like you have socialized him well, and I bet he'd be fine. Dogs play rough (and sometimes we people suffer, I got body slammed by a Great Dane earlier at our park, and cut my leg, silly dogs don't look where they're going when there's a Maggie chase going on), and the type of people you find at a park usually know that. Which is why we don't go near the dog park at high volume times (weekend afternoons), because that is when you run into too many once-a-weekers who don't have a clue about dog behavior. They are very annoying, and my dogs vastly prefer fewer dogs and people, so we go on off hours, and have a much better time.

I'm rather delighted with the fact that it seems whenever we go to the park, there are dogs we know, and owners who know my dogs. Maggie is the little speed demon with the big attitude, and Bonzo isn't far behind. And if there is mud to be found, Bonzo will make it his mission to lead as many dogs straight through the middle of it as he can. I brought home a couple filthy dogs (all clean & pretty now,post baths), but so did a whole bunch of other people, only because mine encouraged theirs to wander through the mud puddles, I was hollering "Sorry!" across the park but not really feeling guilty. ;) A few dogs got unplanned baths tonight thanks to us.