All dogs no matter what their size, breed, or age can be dominant. You can have a two pound Chihuahua, who is extremely dominant and not scared of anything. There are many signs of dominance that dogs will show.
Signs of Dominance:
· Tails Up
· Observing Everything
· Ears At Alert
· Pulling On The Leash
Then there are dogs that show none to very minimal signs of dominance. These are the dogs that everyone hopes to have but not all of us get lucky enough to get right from the start. These are the dogs that depending on the breed need dog training right from the beginning.
Signs of None Dominance:
· Tail Wagging
· Happy Open Mouth During Walks
· Light To Very Light Pulling On Leash
· Rolling On Back When Other Dogs Greet
When introducing two dogs, as long as the other dog is not as dominant then the dogs will start smelling each others butts just to get to know each other, that’s how they shake hands or give each other kisses as a hello. Once they are ready to play, one of the dogs will crouch down with their butts in the air and with their tails wagging. They may hop around each other then start to play. This is the behavior we’d love to see.
Obedience training with dominant dogs:
When a dominant dog knows their commands, there are plenty of times when the dog will be stubborn and not want to do the command. If the dog knows that they can get away without doing the command, the dog will try to be as patient as possible and hope that you give up. Do Not Give Up!!! If you give up just one time, then the dog does not know minutes but they do know a time frame, so they will wait a little bit longer until you give up.
Basic obedience training will achieve all the issues us as dog owners face on a doily base. When us as dog owners create an “open line of communication” with our dogs/pets we tend to live a much more stress free environment. Whether you have a dominant dog, a dog that doesn’t listen a dog that is still having accidents, a dog that has you at your wits end, make sure you take the correct step in moving forward and that is “Dog Training”.