Aggression or dominance??? - Page 1

     I thought this video was very interesting, but stressful..I am wondering why Ceasar calls this dominant behavior rather than aggression????....FWIW, I like Ceaser and really enjoy his program....I would like opinions about this dogs behavior. Is it agression or dominance..??? How can he tell.???



   

To me, it's both, this being the way I see it: aggression is a form of expression and domination is a type of motivation.  The dog is using aggression to express it's perceived need for dominance.  Aggression is basically the most direct, expedient, and least subtle way to exhibit displays of dominance.

I consider aggression basically as a means of self-engaging proactive behavior, as opposed to avoidant behavior, and often in contrast to neutral forms of behavior.  A dog could also be "aggressively" or strongly forthwith in expressions of playfulness, or of submissiveness, an aggressive eater, an aggressive tracker.

To me, aggression has to come from somewhere, it is the action triggered by something.  So a dog is aggressive as a result of being fearful, or dominant, etc..  And so I agree with Daryl, I think he hit the nail on the head.

Cesar saw how the dog was acting towards the other dog which enabled him to come to the conclusion the dog was reacting aggressively through dominance.  Maybe what Cesar meant (using terms I understand)  was he was relieved to discover the dogs aggression was triggered by dominance rather than fear, since fear aggression many times results in  a forever unstable dog.   Or it could be that he believes there are some dogs who become aggressive with no trigger whatsoever,  (I would define that as insane, and most likely incurable), and he was relieved this was not one of those dogs. 

Incidently, I'm pretty sure Cesar switched collars because he knows he cannot choke out a dog with a pinch, not because the pinch pissed the dog off and caused the dog to escalate his aggression.  The dog was JUST as pissed with the leash choke, he just couldn't get enough air to do anything about it, and consequently ran out of gas VERY quickly!! 

So tell me Prager is this a dog you would do the dominant roll with?  Just curious.

daryl and sue....

Thanks for the comment...The thing that has me confused is the way the dog directed his aggression towards the owners and Ceasar. Seems a bit scary to think that a pet would attack you while on a walk and then come home and play with the children...Yikes..

.Have you seen this type of behavior first hand.....They all seem to be so casual about the whole thing, lol I would have had a nervous break down....Is this what is meant by " coming up the leash "....Has anyone worked with a dog like this personally. ....Don't know why, but I find it all very interesting. ......


                  Thanks, Deanna..: )

I WOULD SAY BOTH.  YOU HAVE A DOMINANT WOLF DOG THAT BECOMES AGGRESSIVE WHEN INSTRUCTED TO DO SOMETHING SHE DOES NOT WANT TO DO.  I SAW THIS SHOW TOO AND FOUND IT VERY INTERESTING.  REMEMBER THE ANIMAL IS A WOLF DOG WHICH LOOKS TO BE HIGH PERCENTAGE WOLF, NOT THE GSD'S WE OWN.

"Coming up the leash" is a phrase that can be used to describe a couple different scenarios but yes, this is a case of the dog coming up the leash to the handler in a redirected agressive display.

My young male displays very, very slight tendencies to 'come up the leash' when we're working in bitework but it's nothing like this dog.

I have seen and heard of GSD's showing this 'COMING UP THE LEASH BEHAVIOR" Each one was considered to be dominant. All the dogs I've seen and heard do this were actually top high level dogs, believe it or not,  that had dominant issues. One of these dogs I've heard described this way by the owner/handler and a very close friend of mine was a WUSV competitor this past year in Spain.   (I did not actually see the dog  personally so I will not name the dog)

In order to handle these dogs the handler had to gain the dogs respect, kind of like what caesar did, but also learn how to bond with the dog.

I'm not experience enough to tell just from the video if this was the same type of Dominant behavior or not. Because the GSD's that I am referring to were def. confident and sure of themselves.  I'm not sure how those GSD's were around children, but my biggest problem with dogs around children are not the dominant one's but the fear nerve biters. I've seen dominant dogs that showed this type of aggression to other dogs do perfectly fine with puppies and dogs that were smaller than them. So in theory, not from personal experience, I would believe you could desensitize a dominant dog around children

jamesfountain your quote...."' not sure how those GSD's were around children, but my biggest problem with dogs around children are not the dominant one's but the fear nerve biters. "

    Being that I am very slow on the uptake with regard to dog behavior..lol...Let me ask a silly question, but it will help me to understand.....

       In this particular situation the dog in the video is considered Dominant.....


   What did the dog do to give this impression( that it was motivated by dominance )?. IMO, a fearful dog would hide, avoid or bite if approached by the other handler/dog.  How would the nervy dog have behaved differently then the dominant dog? Also, what gives Ceaser the impression that this dog is not intending to bite the other handler/dog if he is willing to bite his own handler.....??


             Thanks....Deanna...: )