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Post by Iluvmypup on Aug 27, 2004 14:47:31 GMT -5
I remember a few years back, when I had a rotty who used to do this: This dog is available at a shelter by the way, in Savannah Georgia...http://www.petfinder.com/pet.cgi?action=2&pet=3166731 Anyways, to get to my point. Is his putting his arm over the handler's arm a sign of dominance? My rotty used to do the same exact thing..he would put his arm over, and try licking, or gently mouthing your hand. That was during his adolescent stage, and it didn't take too long to stop that unneccesary behaviour, but now that I know more about dogs, I was just curious if that would have been considered a 'dominance issue'? Thanks, for answering my curiousity!! ;D
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Post by ripley on Aug 27, 2004 15:04:21 GMT -5
It's hard to say, since I don't know if the handler purposely is putting her hand beneath his chin or if he pulled his head up over the hand.
Let's rule out the idea that the handler is scratching his chin.. That general behavior is a sign of dominance. See how he's raised his head over her hand?
BUT, I also tend to look at the expression on their face. He has a very soft look in his eyes and his ears are flattened against his head. When my dogs go into a dominance war, their ears are straight up, and their eyes have a hard, determined look on their face.
It could either be an act of dominance or it would just be that particular picture. I'm inclined to think that the dog jumped up on the handler, and she blocked him with her arm by catching his foot.. JMO.
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Post by Willow on Aug 27, 2004 15:07:55 GMT -5
Hard to say. Maybe he is just trying to get the hand to stay where it is. Sometimes I think we humans try to "read'' too much into every thing a dog does. Owning a dog should be fun and relaxing, not stressful, which I find it to be if I am always asking why a dog is doing this or that. Anyway...what I would worry about more than the gesture is the poor dogs nails! Yikes. Doesn't anyone know how to use a nail clipper?
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Post by ripley on Aug 27, 2004 15:12:59 GMT -5
Hehe, Willow I have to agree, when you try to get insight into a dog's actions, and realize what they're doing, it becomes stressful. I was taught to do that when Ripley started exhibiting his extreme dominance and agression problems, and it's bothered me this whole time to see what's even POSSIBLY going on inside that little grape-sized brain of his.
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Post by Brooke on Aug 27, 2004 15:15:26 GMT -5
Sometimes I think we humans try to "read'' too much into every thing a dog does. Owning a dog should be fun and relaxing, not stressful, which I find it to be if I am always asking why a dog is doing this or that. Thank you Loey... I couldn't have said it better myself.
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Post by Iluvmypup on Aug 27, 2004 15:16:19 GMT -5
Tell me about it! I noticed that as well. They look as if they're about to start curling back over into his paw. I actually enjoy reading into a dog's behaviour, but there are certain times where I have to say "OK, thats enough, control yourself". Haha. Just as us humans do things that don't always make sense, I'm sure dogs do that as well. My rottweiler who used to perform those behaviours would do it whenever you tried to pat him on his head, which is what originally led me to the idea that maybe he didn't like me showing I was above him. BUT, how do people know that a person petting a dog on the head is showing our dominance???
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Post by Laura on Aug 27, 2004 17:10:32 GMT -5
Actually the answer is pretty simple if you think about it for a minute . Think about how dogs interact with each other, you see that there are very distinct behaviors that only they use (buttsniffing greetings, play bows, etc) and there are distinct behaviors that only we humans use (patting on the head, our capacity for language). So when you see a dog lifting a paw to pat another dog on the back, that's dominance for sure. Same as when we pat a dog on the head, we do it because we can (our dominance) ;D.
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Post by Aussienot on Aug 27, 2004 17:40:23 GMT -5
I would describe it as a mildly 'passive dominance' gesture, but one thing does not make a dog dominant. Dogs have dozens of little 'dominant/demanding' behaviors, some of which you might want to worry about, and some of which are just part of the fun of owning a dog. Things like dropping a ball at your feet demanding a game, or putting a head in your lap for a pat.
The leg is saying "Pay attention to me"; the eyes are pleading "Love Me".
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Post by Willow on Aug 28, 2004 10:00:46 GMT -5
Or maybe he's saying, "Check out these nails! Will someone clip them, Pleeeeeezzzzeeee!!! ;D Sorry! (I really do agree with you. )
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Post by Iluvmypup on Aug 28, 2004 13:48:36 GMT -5
Haha.. I feel bad for him having to walk with those long nails as well. I think thats the first thing I would have done if he had come to the shelter I work at.
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