Dominance Aggression???

[Bodi's Mom]

Someone mentioned in a thread regarding Golden Retrievers that their 7 month old pup nips and bites at them and noted "classic dominance aggression." What is that??? I have a 9 month old neutered male Bernese Mountain Dog pup that does this ONLY in our back yard. This breed also is not to have have an aggressive bone in their body. Our pup charges, barks, and nips REALLY HARD at our arms, hands, legs, anything when we try to play with him in the yard. In the house, on a lead, and anywhere else, he is the picture perfect, obedient, submissive pet we have grown so much to love. Could this be what you call "dominance aggression?'' If so, what is it? When he gets aggressive in the yard we just walk away from him, stop playing and go inside. We have done this for two months now and it's not working. Do we have an aggressive dog on our hands??? Please help.

[dr2little]

Someone mentioned in a thread regarding Golden Retrievers that their 7 month old pup nips and bites at them and noted "classic dominance aggression." What is that??? I have a 9 month old neutered male Bernese Mountain Dog pup that does this ONLY in our back yard. This breed also is not to have have an aggressive bone in their body. Our pup charges, barks, and nips REALLY HARD at our arms, hands, legs, anything when we try to play with him in the yard. In the house, on a lead, and anywhere else, he is the picture perfect, obedient, submissive pet we have grown so much to love. Could this be what you call "dominance aggression?'' If so, what is it? When he gets aggressive in the yard we just walk away from him, stop playing and go inside. We have done this for two months now and it's not working. Do we have an aggressive dog on our hands??? Please help.


First, what you probably read in that thread was more a case of classic misdiagnosis than it was a case of classid dominance aggression.
I highly doubt that your BMD is aggressive, rather he lacks proper training and control.
Do you have children in the home. If so, how many and what are their ages?
Has your dog attended any classes? What level and what were the methods used to train?

[Bodi's Mom]

I do have one child, he is six years old and can control our pup very well in the house. Bodi has been through two classes, puppy and intermediate coming out at the head of his class both times. He will sit-stay or down-stay for 20 minutes, he heels well when on a lead and greets people with calmness and obedience. Actually we just came from PetSmart for a socialization visit and everyone (as usual) can't get over what a well-behaved, sweet and loving pup he is. We are just at a loss and can't understand why he acts this way in the yard. He has always played wonderfully with us in the yard until he was about 7 months old and then he changed and got aggressive. Since then nobody, except myself and my husband is allowed in the yard where we spend short times daily trying to divert and re-train our pup. Again, as soon as the aggressive play starts, we go inside. Bodi will follow us in and sit down with us and play nicely, lovingly and carefully. He gets plenty of exercise, daily long walks, car rides to new places (which he loves) and indoor playtime with my son and all his little friends. We have a professional behaviorist coming in two weeks, but just wanted to see if anyone else experienced this.
Thanks!

[elegy]

i wouldn't call that dominance or aggression at all. i'd call it over-excited dog adolescent dog.

will he calm down in the yard? what do you do when he does? what does he do in the yard if you take him for a long hike first to take the edge off all his energy? do you work on obedience training in the yard? can you intersperse things like downs/stays with games that he likes?

i think stopping the fun when he gets wild is the appropriate thing to do, but you've got to find a way, also, to set him up to succeed and to be appropriate and to reward that appropriate play.

[Bodi's Mom]

Yes, he is always taken for a long walk before we go into the yard. It doesn't seem to matter though. Bodi isn't your typical dog and doesn't go after balls or frisbees - he just likes to pull. He likes to play tug-of-war, but we don't engage him - we don't want to add to the excitement he has in the yard. He's not hyper, but rather laid back in the yard, and then all of a sudden he charges, barks and nips. We do put him in a sit-stay or down-stay, which he adheres to until we release him - and then he charges again. This is when we go inside and end the session. :( :( :(

[colliewog]

How much play time does he get with other dogs? He may need an outlet for normal puppy play behavior.

[Psyfalcon]

He might be trying to goad you into playing chase. My puppy (ACD mix) will do that, if he isn't having fun (another dog to chase), he'll run up and nip my arm! Not hard enough to hurt, but clearly the game ends until he sits and stops being an idiot ;) In his case, its excitement that is causing the problem.

[Bodi's Mom]

During the warmer months (which was most of his young puppy life) he got daily playtime with four different neighborhood dogs - that maybe part of the problem - he thinks we are dogs and plays with us like he would with them. Now that it has gotten much colder, our neighbors keep their dogs inside. I take Bodi to Petsmart two times a week just so he can interact with other dogs, which he loves, and we sometimes see other dogs on daily walks - not much because it is so cold. We are thinking of getting a playmate for him because he behaves and interacts so well with other dogs (very submissively) - but want to resolve the yard issue first.