My wife and I are the proud parents of a one-year-old daughter. We are also proud owners of an 80 lb Collie/Great Pyrenees mix male named Oso. We acquired him through a rescue organization. He was not mistreated as a dog, his owner was terminally ill and had to find him a good home. The rescue organization was a guarantee that he would find a home and not be "put down".
We have had Oso for around three years now. He is neutered, but clearly an Alpha male who likes to mark a lot on our walks, and tear up grass after marking. When we first got him, he typically acted aggressively towards all male dogs. Towards female dogs, he seemed to initially be aggressive, but after sniffing, showed a complete lack of interest. Now, he doesn't generally exhibit the same level of aggression with other dogs, although he is definitely in a heightened state of awareness/excitedness when new dogs are around, or when encountering certain male dogs in the neighborhood. With a few exceptions, once he's met a dog, he seems to want to do nothing more than avoid it. As for humans, he's mostly indifferent to, or avoids, strangers, but is very affectionate towards us.
Oso has been very tolerant of Elizabeth, and appeared to have adjusted to her presence in our family quite well. As much as possible, we have tried not to let his routines be disrupted too drastically as a result of her, and we've been very pleased with the relationship that Oso and Elizabeth have been developing. He has been very gentle with her, allowing her to pet him and even snuggle up to him. If he doesn't want to deal with her attention, he simply moves away, and we don't force him to stay. Very early on, we were encouraging Elizabeth to pet him with an open hand (to our surprise, "gentle" was the first word that she clearly showed she understood).
Then last Sunday, Oso started licking Elizabeth's face, neck, and arms; barking incessantly around her, but not at her; and then tried to hump her. This unexpected behavior shocked us. At first we thought that it may have been because there was a scent on Elizabeth that aroused/excited him (she had spent a good part of the day with a friend that has female pugs that are not spayed). So we bathed Elizabeth and changed her clothes and his behavior around her seemed to return to normal. However, Tuesday evening, he started exhibiting the same licking/barking/humping behavior towards her again.
We are very confused about how to deal with Oso at this point. We have been telling him "NO!" when he starts licking or exhibiting unwanted behavior, and he seems to be responding, but we'd like to be sure we're doing the right thing. Do you have any suggestions or insights regarding the best way to respond to this behavior and why it might be happening? We want to respond to him in a way that doesn't negatively affect his relationship with us or with our daughter.
We have had Oso for around three years now. He is neutered, but clearly an Alpha male who likes to mark a lot on our walks, and tear up grass after marking. When we first got him, he typically acted aggressively towards all male dogs. Towards female dogs, he seemed to initially be aggressive, but after sniffing, showed a complete lack of interest. Now, he doesn't generally exhibit the same level of aggression with other dogs, although he is definitely in a heightened state of awareness/excitedness when new dogs are around, or when encountering certain male dogs in the neighborhood. With a few exceptions, once he's met a dog, he seems to want to do nothing more than avoid it. As for humans, he's mostly indifferent to, or avoids, strangers, but is very affectionate towards us.
Oso has been very tolerant of Elizabeth, and appeared to have adjusted to her presence in our family quite well. As much as possible, we have tried not to let his routines be disrupted too drastically as a result of her, and we've been very pleased with the relationship that Oso and Elizabeth have been developing. He has been very gentle with her, allowing her to pet him and even snuggle up to him. If he doesn't want to deal with her attention, he simply moves away, and we don't force him to stay. Very early on, we were encouraging Elizabeth to pet him with an open hand (to our surprise, "gentle" was the first word that she clearly showed she understood).
Then last Sunday, Oso started licking Elizabeth's face, neck, and arms; barking incessantly around her, but not at her; and then tried to hump her. This unexpected behavior shocked us. At first we thought that it may have been because there was a scent on Elizabeth that aroused/excited him (she had spent a good part of the day with a friend that has female pugs that are not spayed). So we bathed Elizabeth and changed her clothes and his behavior around her seemed to return to normal. However, Tuesday evening, he started exhibiting the same licking/barking/humping behavior towards her again.
We are very confused about how to deal with Oso at this point. We have been telling him "NO!" when he starts licking or exhibiting unwanted behavior, and he seems to be responding, but we'd like to be sure we're doing the right thing. Do you have any suggestions or insights regarding the best way to respond to this behavior and why it might be happening? We want to respond to him in a way that doesn't negatively affect his relationship with us or with our daughter.
