<p>“Something I’ve always wondered about: in some breeds are females more likely to be less concerned with improving their place in their “pack” than males? Are they likely to be less territorial?”</p>
<p>Females are generally less dominant than males, though this is surely not always the case. It depends on the individual dog, and also on the breed-- some are more territorial than others. That is the benefit to getting a rescue in that as a puppy these tendencies are still nearly impossible to predict, whereas with an adolescent or adult dog what you see is what you get.</p>
<p>I would guess that just getting a female dog next time won’t make much difference. I think most dogs do react when they have visitors on their territory. The territorial ones get upset, the non-territorial ones get excited. Both behaviors require work to correct to a more tolerable level. Right now in shelters there are an abundance of house pets that have been surrendered due to the economy, so they come with much more known history than a stray. When you are looking for something specific like that it is useful to inquire about the history of the animal and its past behavior in different situations. Most good shelters will happily be honest with you, they aren’t in the business of putting dogs in homes they don’t belong in. I would also recommend one that will do a dog interaction with your present dog, because if your dog is territorial it may not accept a new dog, and if the new dog is too submissive your male could very well injure it.</p>
<p>We had a terrific shih tzu (just died) that we chose after doing the research- definitely read up on possible breeds. Shih tzus are small, nonshed dogs that are also quiet- not yippy like some toy dogs. The dog books usually have lists of characteristics. Try to meet the puppy’s parents for clues, also.</p>
<p>LongPrime: That does not mean much. Most dogs will look away, some do not. While staring down is a dominant pack behavior, most of the dogs that do not look away do not necessarily have any kind of a dominance problem, they are just less submissive than others. There are varying degrees of dominance and it is usually not a problem. That is one of the tests we do when we bring in a new dog at the shelter, and it really has no bearing on anything, we just use it to get a clue about the dogs personality.</p>
<p>That said, when a dog is growling at you or showing any kind of an aggression, it is wise not to make eye contact because they will see that as a challenge. </p>
<p>It should also be noted that not all territorial dogs are dominant, and vice versa.</p>
<p>momelove, most any dog is territorial, male or female. Neutered males tend to be less territorial than unneutered males. It is my understanding age/development at the time of the neuter makes some difference.</p>
<p>It can be breed and individual specific, but dogs are pack animals. They innately guard and defend there turf, and their pack (the human family). It’s part of what makes certain breeds better guardians, herding/flock dogs, or family pets, or “one person” dogs. It’s a natural behavior, but the dog can be trained or retrained to modify it’s tendencies. In the case of yours, there is the possibilty of bad treatment by a human male, but any good shelter or rehoming org will do a behavioral assessment of a dog prior to releasing it to new care.</p>
<p>Learning and knowing a dogs vocalizations and body language is key in understanding, assessing and reacting to both your dog and others. The barks and body postures is a method of canine communication. There are plenty of excellent articles, sources, publications that will explain this in far greater depth.</p>
<p>We’ve got our two trained to bark on command. Keywords will initiate welcome barks, playbarks, mournful howls or defensive, alert vocalizations. They also stop barking on command. They also each have a different welcome bark for all four family members.</p>
<p>Works wonders in keeping away salesmen and proselytizers. :D</p>
<p>Needs to be greatly qualified. Those with the knowledge and training in identifying behavioral signs can and will do this. Typically, it’s a safe move to try with your own family pet, or a dog that you “know” well.</p>
<p>It’s not a method to try if one is confronted with potential aggression or attack behavior from an unknown or unassessed animal. As TwistedxKiss indicates, sustained eye contact and staring down a dog displaying other aggressive/defensive behaviors may well be seen by the dog as a challenge or threat.</p>
<p>We have a golden retriever. Rocky joined the family 6 years ago and has been a wonderful addition. Like many of the other posters above, we were looking for a larger dog - and narrowed it down to either a lab or a GR. </p>
<p>When we found a breeder we trusted, we settled on the GR. Being able to check the family history on both sides back several generations was something I wanted to be able to do to avoid the genetic hip problems that many larger dogs have. Rocky’s parents and grandparents all had been screened for hip displasia (sp?) and cleared as having “good” hips and elbows. As a side note, one of the conditions of the breeder selling us the dog was a requirement that we have Rocky screened as well when he hit the right age so as to continue the family history. (He passed with flying colors).</p>
<p>Rocky is still in many ways a puppy - very playful and loving. He is incredibly intelligent with a large vocabulary of commands that he obeys. He has a great big scary bark - but the tail is far more likely to give you a case of whiplash than you are to get bitten.</p>
<p>Highly recommend Golden Retrievers and would get another one in a heartbeat. You will find they range widely in size but in general are smaller than Labs and less “pully” when you take them for a walk.</p>
<p>I’d say females are slightly more territorial, if anything. There’s a reason “the b word” is the one that means “female dog.” I’ve also heard that when two *****es fight, it’s more horrendous and dangerous than when two males fight. (Fortunately I don’t have first hand experience of either.)</p>
<p>TwistedxKiss, I have so much respect for what you are doing, and all the advice you are giving here.</p>
<p>Here’s something:
</p>
<p>I think a lot of people don’t realize that many annoying or dangerous behaviors can and should be trained out of dogs, but it takes time and effort. In addition to training a dog out of excessive territorialism or uncontrollable barking, you can train a dog to not run in the street when the door is opened (preventing tragedy), to live well with cats and not chase them, to tolerate small children (but I would never leave my dog alone with a small child, as well-trained as he is), bite inhibition, and to come when called.</p>
<p>This is of course in addition to what you’d normally train – sit/stay, don’t beg, don’t jump on people, only potty outside, don’t pull on the leash, don’t snatch food off tables, etc. All this takes time and consistent effort on the part of everyone in the family. We have a Northern breed (Samoyed), so the training is constant. </p>
<p>I’m sure all you good dog owners will agree, it’s really a lot of work, but it pays off in a pooch you can live with. I like the ‘Dog Whisperer’ and ‘Uncle Matty’, and also I have a lot of training books in general. My dog has never been hit or swatted (it’s funny, once I tried to show how not-hand-shy our pooch is by waving my hand fast past his nose, and he licked it). He was crate-trained from Day One, and also treat-trained. </p>
<p>Maybe some other folks would like to share techniques and approaches that worked for them in pet training?</p>
<p>AnudduhMom: We actually have a LOT of dogs returned because people adopt them thinking it’ll be like a lamp, take it home and set it on the floor and you’re good! But then they realize it needs to be potty trained and likes to jump, and they bring it right back. Probably about half our dogs take more than one attempt to place-- which is one reason that, as a breeder, it is VERY important to have people sign contracts that they will only bring the dog back to you if they decide not to keep it-- I would consider not doing that one of the warning signs of an irresponsible breeder. </p>
<p>My dog used to know how to “be quiet” on command, I hope to have dalmatians someday so that will be an important command. XD My cousin’s lab can also “whisper bark” on command, they’ll tell him to speak and he barks, and then whisper and he will bark under his breath. It’s adorable, they have no training knowledge whatsoever so I have no idea how they did it. Never been taught an ounce of manners, but he can whisper!</p>
<p>Wait till he barks and then nip him on the nose? So wait till he barks, command “be quiet” and then reward with a treat? Sounds like I"m going to be following my dog around for a week, waiting for a bark.</p>
<p>Well, I’ll have an empty nest after next month…</p>
We’re a ‘boxer’ family - they’re great medium sized dogs and they’re the cutest dogs as well (well, except for the personal dogs of all the other posters here). Check out the breed characteristics and you’ll see they’re excellent family dogs although they can have a reasonable amount of energy.</p>
<p>We rescued our current dog but since I didn’t want to end up with one with issues to take care of, we ‘interviewed’ a bunch of the dogs at the rescue place first. This included having them brought out to us one at a time while we were sitting on the couch. We could see how they approached us to see if they were scared, nervous, overly rambunctious, etc. I then ‘tested’ them by suddenly raising my hand, touching them on the hindquarters (where lots of peple beat their dogs), touching their face/mouth, etc. this was enough to refine it down to one ‘best’ dog. We then took him into their backyard and saw how he acted in the open and he was fine. </p>
<p>As a result of this we ended up with an unbelievably good dog - well mannered, loves all people, not a biter, very trustworthy, very playful, and very easy to train (it’s taken about one ‘no’ for him to quit doing something we don’t want - like grabbing a shoe or jumping onto the couch). By getting about a 3-4 y/o rescue dog we also didn’t go through any of the puppy ‘accidents’ stage and the chewing stages.</p>
<p>If you plan to get another dog I think going the rescue route is a very sound one and if you take the time to ‘interview’ as I did and get one from an honest and reliable rescue person who’ll tell you all the observed traits and and any background, there’s every reason to expect to end up with an outstanding, loving, well adjusted dog. Do take the time to interview though to make sure you don’t end up with a dog you’re not prepared to deal with.</p>
I’ve also heard that when two *****es fight, it’s more horrendous and dangerous than when two males fight. (Fortunately I don’t have first hand experience of either.)</p>
So wait till he barks, command “be quiet” and then reward with a treat? Sounds like I"m going to be following my dog around for a week, waiting for a bark.</p>