Is he trying to dominate me?

So he's growling at you when you pick him up suddenly?  Is it possible he has a condition where this hurts him?  Or maybe he just is a dog that needs more personal space? 

 Did you ever stop to think that maybe your dog is in pain and is growling because you are hurting him? Before you jump to the conclusion that this is a behavioural problem you should take him to the vet. He may be in pain or he may be unwell.

There will be others here who can give you some advice on training, once you rule out any medical problems. How old are you by the way? Are these dogs yours or are they family dogs? 

Sudden changes in behavior absolutely warrant a trip to the vet.

This dog MAY be reacting to the puppy being there.  But also, my very BEST suggestion is that if you don't want him to try to dominate you, that you stop trying to dominate HIM.  Staring him in the eye, placing him on his back, these are all dominant behaviors on your part, and quite likely terrifying to him.

Yeah, your dog could be trying to tell you something, such as he is in pain.

Other than that, I'd drop the physical confrontations (which may be coming across as a subordinant challlenging for position) and establish dominance by how you act around the dog rather than what you actually do to the dog.

They are always watching. And your behavior says volumes about whether or not you are leadership material in the dog's eyes.

For now I'd say hands off, and hire a professional.

First things first - ANY behaviour change, particularly if aggression is involved, warrants a vet visit.  It is most likely that he has begun growling more because something is hurting him when he is handled in certain ways.  Once a medical issue has been ruled out, you can start to look at it from a behavioural point of view.

xodellabellaox

I jokingly picked him up and asked him if he was tasty, lol, but for some reason his body got really tense, like he was nervous, and when I went to spin him around and put him down, he growled at me, So I looked him straight in the eye (a challenge) and he looked away (which I understand to mean that he accepted me as being dominate) so I went to put him down, but he growled again at me, and woudn't stop, so I flipped him and over and put him on the table, belly up in a submissive position. He started growling really badly, and my parents told me to put him down before he bit me. I didn't until he dropped his eyes from my stare and stopped growling.

Growling does not always mean he is trying to dominate you.  As pointed out above, sometimes it simply means the dog is IN PAIN - not dominant at all.  It is JUST communication.  In many cases the dog is just saying "Hey, watch it - you are making me feel uncomfortable". I would bet the farm that is what THIS growl meant.

YOU think "he is growling at you too often".  Maybe HE thinks "gosh this human is mishandling me far too much lately!"

In some instances, that threshold is too low and you do need to work on it - for example, if a dog growled every time I touched his feet, mouth or collar, I would put some effort into finding ways to help him accept this simple handling.  In this case I don't think your dog's threshold is too low at all.  It doesn't say what position you held him in when you picked him up (I may have missed it, it's getting late here) but I would bet my eyes you were cradling him on his back like a baby and/or hugging him.  Many dogs hate both of these types of handling, and not because they are dominant at all.  Far from it!  They just find  it uncomfortable and/or threatening.  If they don't like it, there is no NEED to insist they put up with it.  Listen to what he tells you, and respect it. 

When his body got tense, at this point I would have crouched or sat and let the dog right himself.  Being "spun around" as you put it, can't be very comfortable and I am not surprised he growled at you.  I would have too!  Chalk it up to experience and try to be a little more considerate how you handle him in future.  Frankly, if my child handled Max like this, he would get an extremely stern talking-to - the dog wouldn't need to raise his voice, because I would be raising mine! 

By looking him straight in the eye (a threat) you compounded the tension, rather than diffusing it, and made him feel more afraid (and more like to growl) rather than more comfortable.  When you went to put him down, it's really no wonder he growled again.... he was probably wondering what on earth you were going to do next, and if THAT would be as uncomfortable/frightening as what had gone before.  And what do you know - it was!  You proved him right by (again?) forcing him to lie on his back.  (Which, by the way, dogs don't do to one another unless they are trying to seriously harm or kill the other dog.)

xodellabellaox

My girl used to be dominate over my boy, but lately I've noticed that she actually allows him to eat first now- apparently he has dominated her. Is he trying to dominate me too?

Status in packs is much more fluid where females are concerned.  It is very hard to read and easy to get wrong.  In one situation, one dog will appear dominant, in another situation the other dog will appear dominant.  Don't panic - it doesn't mean that your little dog is on some kind of crusade to dominate every living thing in your house   What would he WANT with world domination anyway?  Ditch the word "dominant" from your repertoire.  It won't help you build a trusting relationship with this dog, but is more likely to build barriers between you.

ok, maybe I should clear myself up a little bit. I was sitting at the ktichen table, and I had him on my lap. he was in a "standing" position leaning against me. Maybe I watch too much dog whisperer, but I try to look at things from a dogs perspective, and they look at things in terms of rank in a pack. I know that looking into the eyes is a challenge, and in the case of training an agressive dog, if they are looking you in the eye, you shouldn't drop your gaze away or you will give them the impression that you are giving in. I know that laying on your back is a submissive position.For example, the older dogs at first would make the puppy lay on his back during play fighting, and now the puppy does it all on his own when he wants to get them to play with him. I know this is a good tool to use with puppies. I think the terms I used where misleading, When I say I spun him around, i don't mean I used a quick or rough motion, I mean i turned him to face away from me, to set him down. I didn't think that the growling could have been out of pain, because I haven't noticed any other thing out of the norm that could indicate pain, or any type of sickness. Thank you for that suggestion, and I will look into it. I'm 17, and they are family dogs, although I am their main caregiver and they follow me around, sleep in my room,etc. My dogs have always been comfortable with being carried around. I wasn't cradling him, I don't do that often. I don't see how he could have been uncomfortable being on my lap, seeing as jumps on my lap on command, and many times he and my girl will jump up on your lap if they feel ignored.

xodellabellaox

Maybe I watch too much dog whisperer, but I try to look at things from a dogs perspective, and they look at things in terms of rank in a pack. I know that looking into the eyes is a challenge, and in the case of training an agressive dog, if they are looking you in the eye, you shouldn't drop your gaze away or you will give them the impression that you are giving in. I know that laying on your back is a submissive position.For example, the older dogs at first would make the puppy lay on his back during play fighting, and now the puppy does it all on his own when he wants to get them to play with him. I know this is a good tool to use with puppies. I think the terms I used where misleading, When I say I spun him around, i don't mean I used a quick or rough motion, I mean i turned him to face away from me, to set him down. I didn't think that the growling could have been out of pain, because I haven't noticed any other thing out of the norm that could indicate pain, or any type of sickness.

I'm a believer of the pack theory, i'm a fan of the dog whisperer too and i even met Cesar twice in person. 

Dogs can show his displeasure on something they not agree with and thats not necessarily dominant behavior. My dog puts his paw on me all the time but it's to ask me to play with him. Other people would maybe translate that into dominant behavior too, which is not the case

We have discussed every single "dog whisperer" technique and even his youtube videos in this forum at least since i got here in 2006, from simple leash corrections all the way to "alpha rolls".

I suggest you start with a simple NILIF: http://k9deb.com/nilif.htm and go from there

I agree with starting a NILIF program with this dog.  It's all about never giving the dog any reward without requesting the dog do a simple command.  No petting unless the dog sits first.  Want dinner, sit first.  It's not enough to feel the you should be dominate over your dog, you must be a fair leader and often dogs get confused from our mixed signals.  One minute it's all cuddles and fun in the lap and the next moment the human has decided that the dog is making a power play and gets a hard stare and reprimanded.  There are several good books you might want to read.  Don't Shoot the Dog by Karen Pryor is a good one.  Another is Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson. Patricia McConnell is another dog trainer with great insight and advice.  I believe, like so many, that there isn't one right way to train dogs to be good members of our human family.  The best way to get a balanced view of dog training is to expose yourself to as many methods and theories as possible. 

Of course, you must rule out any possible medical problem.  Many can cause behavior changes.  Full bloodwork and be sure to tell the Vet about the behavior and that it's new behavior for this dog.  Good luck and keep us posted. 

I am admittedly not a big fan of the methods used by CM.  My dogs have no interest in who ranks where in our pack....and we truly do have a pack with 6 german shepherds......all they care most about is who gets to be closest to the MOM.  That I am the so called "pack leader" goes without saying around here.  I'm the mom.....the mom is in charge and that's all that matters to them.  Almost neck in neck with the "mom" is the "dad", but if we give conflicting commands at the same time, my crew will listen to me first.  We are the givers of all things good and they WANT to please us.

However, I do use NILF, and I agree thats a great idea.

Am I mistaken?  Is it the PUPPY or the older male who is causing the issues? I thought it was your older dog?

xodellabellaox

Maybe I watch too much dog whisperer

I sort of guessed that, to be honest.  It is great that Milan encourages people to take a real interest in their dogs behaviour, but I think it is incredibly sad (and sometimes dangerous) that these ideas are what get taken away from his show.

xodellabellaox

I try to look at things from a dogs perspective, and they look at things in terms of rank in a pack.

We don't really KNOW that.  This is speculation, and it's not the most eloquent or helpful way of describing what is happening.  It's great to empathise, and try to see things from the dog's point of view, I am not knocking that at all - I applaud you for it.  But to assume you know how your dog sees the world - just because Milan said XY and Z - is a mistake.

xodellabellaox

I know that looking into the eyes is a challenge, and in the case of training an agressive dog, if they are looking you in the eye, you shouldn't drop your gaze away or you will give them the impression that you are giving in.

I see what you are saying, but this is a very simplified way of looking at it.  I truly believe that dogs have a "language" no less complex than ours, with just as many nuances and subtleties of expression. espencer used a great example - we have a dog that likes to put her paw on you too, and we have had people tell us "oh she is dominating you".  Anotehr example, an "alpha dog" might drop his gaze and look away when trying to befriend another dog, because what the gesture says is, broadly: "I am not a threat".  Sure, submissive dogs might use the gesture.... but not ONLY submissive dogs and not ONLY in the context of showing rank either.  As I tried to point out above, yes, the hard stare could be construed as a challenge, but it can also be construed as a threat.  Why would you want to challenge or threaten your dog?  Is he not your "best friend"?  Why not find a more peaceful way to communicate with him?  Not least because tactics like these (staring, pinning, etc) can (and probably will) get you bitten sooner or later.  (Listen to your parents - and incidentally, the disclaimer on Dog Whisperer!!)

This approach is, basically, pushing the dog - and pushing him hard.  When he gets to his boundary, he will crumple under your will, or he will lash out.  To me, neither of these is desirable.  Thing is, you don't HAVE to push this hard.  You just have to push in the right place.  Find out what makes him tick.  Ask him to work with you for the things he wants in life.  If he doesn't do as you ask, just walk away and try later.  Hand feed him his meals for a week in return for some simple, well practised obedience behaviours.  Make him "learn to earn". 

If he has a command for jumping into your lap, does he have one for getting down again?  We use "off" ("down" is confusing).  It removes any confusion or need for confrontation.