Aggressive or not?

Well, I've been thinking and I've been told before that Dragon isn't really aggressive, he plays rough, so this is what I think and then you guys can tell me what you think about this situation.

I got Dragon when he was around 1 year and 3 months, from what I know he's been hit and didn't go out that much, so he never really seen many dogs...

When we got him, we took him out pretty much everyday and since he was ''ok'' with my mum's dog we thought he was ok with other dogs, but my mums dog was a very very lazy Labrador, Dragon would grab him by the neck and play with him but playing rough (biting his neck and stuff but all friendly, he never hurt my mum's dog).

So we didn't know he wasn't ok with other dogs so we let him of the lead and everything was going ok and he was playing fetch etc, then another dog walks past of the lead and he runs straight to that dog and starts nipping it, he didn't bite the dog he would like bite and let go bite and let go, and running around the dog, and the other dog never bite him back (so he could of just been playing rough with that dog?) but either way we ran straight there and grabbed Dragon and told him off and he lied on the floor, knowing he had done wrong.

Another thing that I've noticed is that every single time Dragon sees another dog on our walks, right after he'll have a wee, which I thought it was quite strange, but now that I've been thinking about it, it could be that he gets excited to see another dog, since dogs sometimes wee when they get to excited?

Could it be that Dragon is playing and not fighting the other dog? Maybe he just doesn't know any other way of playing but by playing rough?

Kinda sounds like he's trying to initiate play, albeit in a rather impolite manner, but not surprising if he hasnt had much interaction socialisation with other dogs.
The peeing is like marking territory, my lad does this too.

They tend to play on the rough side and mouthing the neck is very common. Weeing after seeing another dog is most likely marking territory. It's all about understanding body language and being able to spot a potential problem early. The more positive interactions they have with other dogs the better socialized they become. Here is a link that should help.

http://staffy-bull-terrier.co.uk/dogbodylanguage.html

Yea thought so, I trust Dragon to stop if I ask him to, he'll stop ''biting'' the other dog if I go over and tell him to stop, the problem is I get scared about the other dogs, they could take it the wrong way and bite him back?

What I was thinking is, get someone that has a calm dog to let their dog of the lead with mine and every time Dragon ''bites'', I tell him off once he stops he gets a treat or his ball (since he loves his ball), so he'd start understanding not to bite the other dogs etc, the problem is the only person I know who has a calm dog is my girlfriend's sister, but her dog is also a staffy and I'm scared of letting Dragon of the lead with her dog just in case her dog takes it the wrong way and bites Dragon back, although her dog is a good dog it could always happen...

What do you guys think I should do to let him know not to ''bite'' other dogs when he sees another dog, I'm pretty sure he's just playing because if he wanted to hurt the dog he'd keep hold of the other dog, like he does when he plays tug of war, but he bites and lets go the second right after...

Hard to say, We let Suki rough play every day. She will mouth and drag dogs down by the neck. It's just what's natural for them and she has learned bite inhibition. She will only play like this with certain dogs that she has known since she was a pup and with other dogs she is very gentle. It's really all about body language and knowing when to step in as well as how familiar the dogs are with each other.

There is nothing wrong with prohibiting the behaviour either it's really a personal choice. This might be the better option if Dragon doesn't have consistant playmates that you can trust him with.

I would let him approach other dogs on lead, dogs will still try to initiate play on lead, but u have the security of being able to pull him away easily or a quick tug on the lead for correction.

Jackieb wrote:I would let him approach other dogs on lead, dogs will still try to initiate play on lead, but u have the security of being able to pull him away easily or a quick tug on the lead for correction.

Thing is, on the lead Dragon will sniff the other dog, sometimes try to hump it and at the end it always ends up with them being head to head, what I mean is, they have their head next to each other, and then they start biting each other, but on the lead he does bite he's not trying to play I don't think, because I always pull him away as soon as I see he's about to bite the other dog.

I tried to get him a muzzle so I could let him of the lead and let him play with other dogs without bitting but he doesn't like the muzzle at all.

Have you tried using a long lead yet? This will allow for freedom and control. As long as the behaviour is acceptable let him go. If he does something inappropriate seperate him from the other dog and have him sit until he is calm and than reintroduce them.

I haven't no, I'm going to be getting a long lead soon.
But what if they bite each other and one of them won't let go? That's what I'm scared about, I don't want Dragon to get hurt neither do I want Dragon to hurt the other dog...

If you can walk them together first that will help them bond. If they are full of energy and unfamiliar with each other that's not the best situation. Talk with the other handler and see if their dog is okay with other dogs. If not than don't let them interact without close supervision.

It's really all about learning body language and preventing a bad situation before it happens. Once they are more familiar with each other you can let things go longer.

The humping is a dominance thing. Not great specially if it's a male dog as some males won't get on.
I'd be inclined to keep him on lead and work at correcting behaviours he displays to other dogs when he's on lead. Once u have that nailed then work on off lead corrections.

And as Janey said, get to know dragons body language and look out for signs from other dogs, u gotta be 1 step
ahead of ur dog and any dog interacting with yours.

IMO he is acting like many normal male unneutered dogs. Lots of dogs play rough and you have to find the right playmates that can put up with this. Do persevere with the muzzle it could prove invaluable at a later date, and perhaps keeping him on a very short lead when around other dogs will give you more control.

He's an adolescent so he's trying to push the boundries. As he's not had a lot of socialisation with other dogs he doesn't know how to greet politely he's doing what a puppy would do straight in there to play lol.

Try the long lead see how he reacts when he sees another dog in the distance. It would also be a good idea to try and gauge how the other dog is and the owner. Many people who don't want there dogs to say hello in my experience are the head down walk quick and drag the dog away to the other side type When we see those kind of people I normally pull obi in close and say no hello's today boy and keep walking.

If you have any negative feelings he will sense them and feel that he has to take control of the situation. I've always found that after obi has sniffed another dog I make sure they can sniff him it's polite lol.

Obi is ok off the lead when it's just us but once he see's another dog that's off lead he's gone lol. That's why we now have a long lead in dog populated areas

It sounds as though the lack of socialisation has inhibited his dog language. A behavioralist can help with this by using a dog that won't tolerate bad manners. I took Monty to one for the same reason, a couple of sessions and he was much better and learn't that not all dogs want to play, some are haoppy to say hello and some don't want to know. As soon as he hears that warning signal he backs off.