Is it wrong for my dog to play boisterously?

Question

He is a rescue lurcher who dominates puppies and plays boisterously. Some people think he is attacking their dog but once he has established his dominance with puppies, he leaves them and comes to me. To me this is normal pack behaviour of establishing hyerarchy but other dog owners can be quite rude and aggressive towards me. He is quite submissive with people and is very affectionate. When no other dogs are around he is very obedient but I want him to be well socialised and think it is important for him to mix with all types of dog.

Answer 1

We have a rescue lurcher too. I think some people with smaller dogs get very nervous when lurchers run up to them, because there have been cases of attacks. I understand, because our dog was attacked and badly injured by other dogs once, and it does make you nervous! I would suggest that it is only fair to put your dog on the lead if it bothers a little dog, and let it socialise with the bigger ones.

Answer 2

yes and no, with you is fine with strange dogs no.i have 3 dogs a lurcher and terrier and a springer, ive had 6 at one time add another lurcher, whippet and a lab x and that made my pack. when i excercise them all together i am careful that it is only us in the field as my dogs are very boisterous and wind each other up, generally my dogs are fine with other dogs but when one dog is approached by another at high speed like most lurchers do, it can be very intimidating for the other owner and dog. i would consider training your lurcher to recall better as he is a hunting dog and unless you establish that bounding up and bouncing on someones little dog is not acceptable it could lead to further trouble in the future. i would take him to training classses or get some friendly dog walkers to help socialise your dog so he doesn't feel the need to dominate every dog he sees. a small problem now can escalate.
i've kind of rambled but my point is unless you would feel comfortable with a 2 ton rottie running up and dominating your dog(ive had this happen, not fun) or unless you'd feel happy with your mate running off and bringing back the cat hes just seen, whilst ignoring your recall(also been there done cat) try and sort it out now, as you have to think of the other persons point of view a well. lurchers chase they bound and its fun but ultimately they must respect you as the boss and you should let them know wat is acceptable

Answer 3

It doesn't sound as if he is nasty or particurally wants to hurt other dogs. It may be however that he is nervous and so trys to assert his authority before the other dogs notice his presence. It sounds like he is rushing to be with the other canines, but he doesn't really even want to go over to them!

It would help to keep him on a lead for the time being and try some recalls in the field, using his favourite treats to get his attention. Do not be tempted to let him off the lead strait away, keep his attention! is he ignores you and starts looking at other dogs turn away don't look at him and walk off, keepin the lead taught but not yanking. when you have his attention, reward him with a treat.
An obedience class or basic pet training may also be a good idea, as the trainers here will be able to assess why your dog is doing this.
I do think however it is wrong for some of the people who have replied to snub this owner and use such hartsh words. They obviously want whats best for theire dog, which is more than can be said for many, and they have had the balls to ask for help. Noone knows everything.

Answer 4

Its OK when you know the other dogs and owners involved, they will know your dogs ways and be ready for some rough play. But I feel its the start of bullying behaviour and you should not allow it, it can get out of hand and cause trouble. You should be the dominant one not your dog, and he should stop when you tell him too. Why not take him to training classes with other dogs, and let him learn whats what. Not all dogs will put up with that behaviour and you could end up with a real fight on your hands. You will be responsible if another dog gets hurt. Best stop it now.

Answer 5

It would be Alright IF the other dogs were your dogs. If they are not YOUR dogs than you should not impose any aggravation on either the puppies, dogs or their owners. besides your dog probably does not live with those dogs why should those dogs have to learn to be submissive to your dog? Further, if the owner of one of the other dogs needs it to be less afraid for some event, or sport or whatever, he should have the right to own a dog that was not made submissive by someone else's dog. Where is this going on? In an off leash park or is your dog free roaming? If people are in an off leash park, I suppose your dog has taught them what that means, but if your dog is free roaming you may be getting into trouble by allowing this. It would be better to avoid any trouble

Answer 6

I am afraid to say I think this is unacceptable,if your animal came and behaved like that to one of my dogs he would be attacked,he is acting dominant,and I too would be very angry at you for not keeping your dog under control as your dog could then turn my pup into a fearful dog,which is really not fair,why should the people with their pups have to fix what is in effect your fault,because you want to socialise your dog do you think that it fair that your dog in its bullying tactics on puppies may ruin their chances of being well adjusted,happy puppies you should keep him on a lead or muzzled if you cannot control this behaviour.
Wendy

Answer 7

I have a pound pup Staffie x lab and she is so good, has all the right behaviours sits stays fetch etc but you see what happens if another dog sniffs her butt (am not being crude) She is so dominant and has them by the neck on the floor in 2 seconds. Weird, she is ok around larger dogs generally just when they don't sniff her butt!!

Dogs often sniff her butt (it is in their nature) and believe me I know how you feel when owners gives you those looks or says something.. quite embarrassing hey? I actually pray that no dogs sniff her butt when we are out walking as I often want to say to them "keep your dog away from her butt then" but I don't because as a responsible dog owner I have to take responsibility and keep her under control when out.

Answer 8

If youre unable to control this behavior you need to take him to classes and learn to stop this.
If you just chose not to then I feel sorry for your dog.

Dominance behavior can be easily misinterpretted as aggression, and people are very protective of their dogs. Also you do not know if the other dog is going to appreciate being dominated. Dominance can easily turn into a fight if not kept in check.

Eventually he will frighten someone and they are going to attack him. If you care about him, control him before he gets hurt by someone or hurts someone in defense when they misinterpret his actions and attack him.

Answer 9

In my opinion I would not like it if your dog came over to one of my dogs for the sole purpose as to show his dormancy over mine. Whether he is well behaved with you is besides the point. He needs to learn proper manners with other dogs also. So that's up to you to teach him, and personally I don't think you've done that. He should be able to just sniff the other dogs and then just want to play not dominate them and then play. I think you have some work to do.

Answer 10

i have a lurchur he is a whippet mix and very affectionate but he does like to dominate the other dogs and has to be calmed down a few times for being quite rough but unless they are getting hurt half the time we leve them to it. you need to know they wont turn play into fighting for when your not there.