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Truly dominant dogs for me i wouldn’t Say a dog is like truly truly dominant Unless he’s exhibiting this trace this Those traits across a wide variety of These spectrums all right so most people When they say oh my dog’s super dominant What their dog is is either fearful Or Their dogs just kind of learn to be Dominant in specific scenarios in order To get his way Hey guys how’s your child k9 today let’s Talk dominant dogs all right that is a Topic you hear discussed a lot in dog Training and dog psychology circles you Hear this dog is a dominant dog or that Dog’s a dominant dog so let’s really Talk about what is a dominant dog do you Have a dominant dog let’s find out so If you know anything about me you don’t Have a wide range of training experience Everything from your high drive super Intense working dogs all the way down to The family pet kind of everything in Between we deal with a lot of behavioral Problems here we do a lot of working Dogs here um so we see a lot of Different behaviors including dominance And specific context so i’m pretty Comfortable talking about this topic you Know i’ve dealt with a lot of those dogs You know i’ve been bitten by you know Some of those dogs so i know a little Bit about it let’s let’s let’s talk
About this so What is dominance dominance is the Willingness to exercise power And to prevail within a social hierarchy Okay so when we apply this to dogs for Me i’m going to define a doll a dog as Exhibiting the trait of dominance when a Dog is willing To Either threaten Or actually commit violence to get what He or she wants within a specific Situation all right so The only exception to that will be a dog That’s obviously backed into a corner And you know in a state of fight or Flight but we’re not talking about that We’re talking about a dog who willingly Engages in a social situation and either Threatens Or is willing to actually commit Violence in order to get what he or she Wants so If you know anything about dogs and dog Training dogs are kings of context we Tend to view everything as it either is Or it is not and that’s a mistake with Dogs he’s either friendly or he isn’t He’s either dominant or he isn’t Dogs can be friendly in very specific Contexts like out in public and they can Be very unfriendly in specific contexts Like in a specific room in your house in The car right to the extent that they’re
Actually willing to bite somebody where They normally would accept affection From that person right and you can apply That to a vast penelope of the behaviors That the dogs offer including dominance Right so Dogs are not In general again we’re speaking in Generalities there are exceptions to the Rule they’re not just generally dominant Or generally not dogs can exhibit that Trait in very specific contexts and then Outside of that context not exhibit that Trait so that’s what you kind of have to Understand about it The first and most common context that We see that trait being exhibited in and Probably the one that you’re most Familiar with is food Okay Resource gardening food right this is a Very common problem You see a lot of dogs do this whether It’s with other dogs whether it’s with People both right Dog is sweetheart we just had a lab Leave here that was was in here for a Private session he’s a sweetheart anyone Can pet him touch him play with him the Second his food becomes involved he’s Bitten both his parents he’d bite Anybody over a bone you know to the Point where he’ll actually it’s not Because they’re trying to take it it’s
Like if it’s even in the room he will go After somebody if they come in the room And he sees his food being prepared for Instance so It’s to that level and it’s a common Problem you see it a lot food aggression And it certainly is a form of dominance The dog values these this we call it Resource guarding but for me it’s a Dominance trait right the dog values This resource enough that he’s willing To either Fight for the resource or threaten to Fight for the resource there’s certainly Some dogs that will just growl over the Food and not actually do anything but They’re still threatening you they’re Still saying hey i’ll hurt you whether Or not they mean it is another thing but For me this is a common context and one That you see a lot of dogs exhibit that That that dominance over and with some Dogs it’s very easily curable and with Some dogs of course it’s a pervasive Problem that afflicts them for their Entire life and the owner has to know Kind of how to handle them around that The dog in our videos vasco for instance Is a wonderful example of that you Always are careful with him around his Food you manage him around that problem And you’re very careful with it Now let’s talk about toys so toys kind Of fall into all this stuff falls into
Resources really right but dominance is Is is dominance and resource guarding Are to me Resource guiding like i’ve already said Is is a a Derivative of a dominant mindset in a Specific state okay so toys for me is Another thing right you see it a lot dog Has a toy he will bite you over the toy Outside of that he’s a sweetheart you Know he doesn’t care if you put your Hand in his bowl when he’s eating but That toy he loves that toy or those Whatever he picks happens to pick up it Could be a kleenex or anything and he Will bite you over it right So outside of that context he’s fine but He values toys or things that he picks Up off the ground including kleenexes And socks and whatever and such to such A degree that he’s willing to you know Exert physical force to enforce his will To possess that specific thing Space okay space can be a small space Like his little bed or it could be a big Space like your entire property right You’ll often see dogs that Really are very Um very protective and i shouldn’t say Protective they are very dominant about Their space right like if if they Perceive that you’re encroaching on a Space that they’ve perceived as valuable They’re willing again to threaten you or
To engage in violence right i’m not Talking about a dog who’s like you know A little bit nervous and and fear Aggressive and you come into the house And No that dog’s goal is to drive you away Because he’s perceiving you as a threat I’m talking about a dog who voluntarily Says hey that’s mine get out of there Right or get away from there or i will Hurt you okay so space is big we’ve had Dogs before that you know Like literally if he’s sitting over There and you come and sit over here He’ll nail you just for that right Because he’s he’s got this big bubble Around him and it’s not that he’s scared It’s that hey this is my space and you Coming and sitting over there is a Disrespect to my perception of what Belongs to me right that’s the Difference you have to think of Dominance as an offensive mindset right I know a lot of people be like no those Are fear-based behaviors i’m not talking About fear-based behaviors i’m talking About voluntary offensive mindsets That’s my food i’m not talking about the Dog in the corner eating and He thinks somebody’s going to come and Take his food and he’s just lashing out Because he’s starving and he wants to Eat i’m talking about the dog that says There’s food being prepared and you’re
Over there you know what get the hell Out of here i’m gonna nail you over that That’s what i’m talking about offensive Mindset that’s what dominance is okay Um so space is a big one you see that a Lot A lot of truly dominant dogs right so For me dogs that only exhibit That this trait in one of these areas i Wouldn’t rate them as truly dominant Like they’re exhibiting dominance but They’re not like overall dominant what i See like dogs that are really like in General dominant in their nature the Space one is big the space one is big Toys and food generally is also there to Some degree but the space one is huge They really Love their space and they’re willing to Fight to maintain their their their Respect you know they’re in that space Dogs okay so i put dogs there because There are some dogs that are only Dominant with other dogs and not with Humans it’s a very common thing that I’ve seen right so you know the dog Will exhibit control over an area um in Terms of like let’s say you have Like i have a female who’s really uh you Know wherever she happens to be if There’s another female there you know She’ll go and blow up that female if That female does anything other than Completely surrender to her you know she
Will exit she will exert violence on That dog if allowed right or threaten The violence and you know so dominance Within dogs is common you’ll see when Two dogs meet they kind of stand over Each other they kind of try to put their Head above the other one’s back Sometimes you’ll see one give in Sometimes you’ll see them neither of Them give in and then things escalate so Dominance in relation to dog on dog Interaction is a very common thing and Of course you see it more in some reason In others oh my god You’re being breed racist So social pressure and affection okay so This is big I’ve seen and dealt with many dogs That Deal with social pressure By or their perception that you’re Pressuring them socially By exerting um uh By certain violence or either the threat Of violence upon you okay so for Instance hey You’ve got to sit That’s a big one right No i’m not going to sit and in fact Because you i perceive that you’re Trying to make me sick i’m going to come After you okay that’s that’s a very Common one you see that a lot in dogs That have actually learned that that’s a
A response an acceptable response to any Kind of social pressure they don’t like I’ve seen dogs that if the owner even Says no to them they’ll literally come And attack the owner very common problem Unfortunately Affection believe it or not you run into A lot of dogs that will exhibit You know aggression related to affection Right so they’ll demand affection it’s Very common again this is offensive this Isn’t an unwilling dog that you’re Forcing affection upon this is a dog That comes up to you and says hey pet me And you’re petting them and then you Know Halfway through all of a sudden they’ll Start growling at you and looking at you It’s a very common problem right And or you stop of petting them and then They become aggressive towards you Because you stop petting them again a Dog who’s willing to be To exert that physical force because of Something in relation to affection it’s Not always the same thing sometimes it’s Because you stop sometimes it’s because You started and then halfway through They decided that you know what i don’t Like it anymore instead of leaving that Space they say you know what now you’re Gonna get it see that a lot And then last but not least work okay Now you’ll see a lot of dogs that
Exhibit dominance in the work and this Is the kind of dominance that we as dog Trainers like to see okay so typically You’ll see it a lot in bite work all Right the dog’s biting and any kind of Challenge that the decoy poses to the Dog He turns it up a notch to fight the Decoy for instance right so You see a lot when people say oh that Dog’s so dominant in his bite work right Or he’s super dominant in protection You see that the barking the posture the Tonality of the barking right big deep Barks the dog is taking the space he’s Daring the decoy to move he wants the Decoy to move he wants to fight with the Decoy he’s not just doing it because he Thinks he has to do it he’s not doing it Because he’s reacting to what the decoy Is doing he’s doing it because he’s Engaging with the decoy he’s showing That dominant behavior and the barking And then in the grips the same thing He’s trying to dominate he’s trying to Prevail over the decoy he’s not just Doing something to to to like win his Toy or you know he’s not just fighting To win his to win when the sleeve he’s Not just biting you know out of kind of A a An avoidance behavior he’s fighting Because he wants to bite he’s taking the Fight to the depot and he’s he’s
Actually trying to get to the man he’s Not just trying to get to the equipment It’s kind of hard to explain it on video You kind of have to see it and feel it To know what i’m talking about it’s the Dog that when he’s on the grip he’s Looking you in the eye and if you put Any kind of any more pressure on him he Gives you one of those big swift shakes And tries to put you on the ground and He always is trying to beat you in every Sense of the word right so These are the dogs that we like and With working dogs you tend to see Uh dog with working dogs especially if They’re high quality working dogs that That have really uh intense drives that Are really intense in the work it’s not Uncommon that you’ll see Some of the dominance that we talked About in in some or even in in some Cases all these spaces okay So Truly dominant dogs for me i wouldn’t Say a dog is like truly truly dominant Unless he’s exhibiting this trace this Those traits across a wide variety of These spectrums all right so most people When they say oh my dog’s super dominant What their dog is is either fearful Or Their dogs just kind of learn to be Dominant in specific scenarios in order To get his way but when you say to him
Hey man that’s not going to work anymore You know the way that a trainer that Knows what they’re doing would say that To the dog verbally non-verbally Whatever right and he says okay i guess It’s not going to work anymore i’ll stop For me it’s not a truly dominant dog It is to some degree a genetic trait Because i think a truly dominant dog is Born not made but you can see dogs Exhibiting that trait within One or more of these contexts because They’ve learned it because the owner’s Kind of been a little bit ineffective in In curbing that behavior and the dog’s Learning hey i can get my way which is Really what dominance is i want to get My way right In this specific area but if you really Think about it right a truly dominant Dog even if you try to stop him from Getting his way even if you make it uh Make a really Serious consequence over getting his way In a specific area maybe he loses that Day maybe he loses the next day but he Still tries again on day three he still Tries again on day 33 right and you Always have to be on your p’s and q’s Around that dog because he’s very Dominant it’s so it’s bo it’s bone deep In him and he will constantly attempt to Exhibit that trait if you don’t manage Him and maintain the training on him
Properly right those dogs are actually Quite hard to live with you can Certainly do it and i know a lot of People that have and i have to some Degree with certain dogs um but you you Could not have an off day with those Dogs because they will in some cases Put you in the hospital if you’re if They catch you slipping so you don’t Want to get caught slipping with a dog Like that But thankfully they’re rare they are Rare i don’t think there’s that many Truly dominant dogs and i’ve seen a lot Of them what you do get is a lot of the Bratty behaviors then you get handlers Trying to make excuses for their Inability to deal with those behaviors By saying oh my god he’s so dominant and Then you know you come and you say hey No stop that he’s like oh okay sir i’ll Stop well you know he might be Exhibiting the trait of dominance but For him it’s not it’s not supernatural It’s not really who he is okay But In the working dogs i mean i’m gonna Segue a little bit and talk about Breeding um you want to for sure Breed the dominance into the dogs Because that independence that Willingness to fight for for things that They want to have is a is a necessary Trait in order to maintain the hardness
And and the strength of the working dogs If you only breed compliant dogs with Each other you get softer and softer Dogs until you basically end up with Border collies you know and that’s Really not what you want for for multi For for dual purpose type dogs which is Why anybody who’s breeding german Shepherds or about jamal washington Looking for that shepherds too in their Brain all right guys i hope you liked it If you agree with me Let me know in the comments below if you Disagree with me let me know in the Comments below we have a vast suite of Training courses available online show K9.ca check us out thank you for Watching i hope this video helped you See you later