CARRINGTON Posted April 12, 2013 Report Share Posted April 12, 2013 There are two things that we find really odd about Balto 1) He marks but he won't lift his leg he ALWAYS squats. Is that normal? 2) When we take him to the dog park once a week or more he as started to only play with dogs that are smaller then him or ones that will submit to him. If the other dog will be dominant to him or play rough with him he doesn't want to play with them, but if the dog submits to him or is small and he can bully that dog he will play with that dog then. He also has to go and be petted by every single person there. When we first enter he goes around to every person and then will play with the dogs and when new people enter the dog park he goes to get petted by them and then goes on to play. I think he is broken. Is there a way to fix this or is it normal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuskyGuerl Posted April 12, 2013 Report Share Posted April 12, 2013 He is just being dominant Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormy Posted April 12, 2013 Report Share Posted April 12, 2013 1. Shadow still squats at almost 3 years old some just don't he does mark but squats alot to do it lol 2. He is still a puppy remember he will love seeing other people. I would not encourage bullying behaviour Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CARRINGTON Posted April 12, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2013 1. Shadow still squats at almost 3 years old some just don't he does mark but squats alot to do it lol 2. He is still a puppy remember he will love seeing other people. I would not encourage bullying behaviour We do not let him play with smaller dogs since he likes to bully (even though that means chasing him and have to tell him over and over) but he just won't play with bigger dogs that will play as equally rough with him. Is there a way to break this habit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted April 12, 2013 Report Share Posted April 12, 2013 Nothing sounds unusual. Storm will sometimes cock his leg, but just as often squat (my Collie bitch also cocks her leg 50% of the time, which makes me laugh). Nothing at all to worry about. Storm loves people, and has a fantastic memory for who he has had a treat off ever in his life). Storm used to dominate small (and big) dogs by putting his mouth around them. Fortunately, down to being told off, and also down to neutering, he has grown out of this and is really good with most dogs of all sizes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elyse Posted April 12, 2013 Report Share Posted April 12, 2013 I'm not sure if it is dominance or not? (What does his body language say? Look here: ). If it is dominance, then there really isn't anything you can do besides discouraging the behaviour. But good luck with that, especially if you have a very dominant dog like mine. Neutering apparently helps as well, but for some dogs their dominance doesn't 'go away' (like in the case of mine) For the first question... He's still a puppy...only 6 months old. He may be marking more often, but until he is more sexually mature, he will not lift his leg. And even then, some male dogs never lift their leg - it depends on the dog. Seeing as my boy is VERY dominant, he has never squatted. Ever. And mine is the opposite of yours - he is tolerant of little dogs, but he really only plays with dogs of that are his size or slightly smaller. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuskyGuerl Posted April 12, 2013 Report Share Posted April 12, 2013 Echo plays with small dogs and ones that submit to him because he is being dominant and the peeing thing thats just what Echo does lol ON EVERYTHING he sometime hikes sometime squats Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CARRINGTON Posted April 12, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2013 I'm not sure if it is dominance or not? (What does his body language say? Look here: ). If it is dominance, then there really isn't anything you can do besides discouraging the behaviour. But good luck with that, especially if you have a very dominant dog like mine. Neutering apparently helps as well, but for some dogs their dominance doesn't 'go away' (like in the case of mine) For the first question... He's still a puppy...only 6 months old. He may be marking more often, but until he is more sexually mature, he will not lift his leg. And even then, some male dogs never lift their leg - it depends on the dog. Seeing as my boy is VERY dominant, he has never squatted. Ever. And mine is the opposite of yours - he is tolerant of little dogs, but he really only plays with dogs of that are his size or slightly smaller. He seems to be passive dominant based On that. Would we ever be able to get another dog? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elyse Posted April 12, 2013 Report Share Posted April 12, 2013 Yes you can - as long as you make sure the other dog is super submissive (best to get one at the shelter - that way you know how they are already. If you get a puppy, you have no idea if they are dominant/submissive/somewhere in between until they grow up...and by then it is too late if they turn out to be dominant. You'd have to give him up.) I know this because a while back I was looking into getting another dog. I got all sorts of advice from other people (dog trainers) and the like, and they confirmed what I thought already: because Suka is a very dominant dog, if we were to get another dog the other dog would have to be super submissive in order to avoid any fights. (As it turns out - I never got that 2nd dog due to a variety of reasons) But, putting that aside, Balto is still a puppy. He is only 6 months old - he is just starting to come into his own, and will challenge everything. We call this his teenager phase (but I like to call it his 'rebellious' phase...seeing as I don't like to refer to stereotypes) He will challenge rules that have been set for him, etc, as he tries to find his place in his 'world'. This will be a very trying time for everybody involved, but as long as you have patience and consistency, things will work out. So - getting onto the point: because he is still a puppy, and is starting to come into his own, this 'dominance' thing may not last and is only temporary. You know how male teenagers have this testosterone boost during puberty? Some of them want to impress everyone, they are rebellious and reckless, and they act like they are 'tough' and nobody can best them. It MIGHT be the same thing here - seeing as Balto is just coming into his 'teenager' phase now (therefore is going through puberty and is having that same testosterone boost), perhaps he is taking on the 'tough guy' attitude for now? I don't mean to anthropomorphize, but I couldn't think of any other way to explain it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormy Posted April 13, 2013 Report Share Posted April 13, 2013 We do not let him play with smaller dogs since he likes to bully (even though that means chasing him and have to tell him over and over) but he just won't play with bigger dogs that will play as equally rough with him. Is there a way to break this habit? If you dont let him play with smaller dogs you wont be able to correct the behaviour Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emma Posted April 13, 2013 Report Share Posted April 13, 2013 Ice only just started cocking his leg occasionally at six months. Took another month for him to do it more reliably. He still occasionally squats or falls over if he's weeing for too long and ends up losing his balance. When he was a pup he weed on my staffy because she was weeing and when I was at the park with him on a long leash. He came ruining over to me and tried to wee on my bare legs! (it was sumner I was wearing a dress, I wasn't naked, lol). Pups do some strange things! Lmao Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueWolf Posted April 14, 2013 Report Share Posted April 14, 2013 Glala (female) often lifts her leg. In fact, the has often started squatting AND lifting her leg. Still not sure if I should laugh and take a picture of it, or just continue walking hoping no one saw that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CARRINGTON Posted April 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2013 Glala (female) often lifts her leg. In fact, the has often started squatting AND lifting her leg. Still not sure if I should laugh and take a picture of it, or just continue walking hoping no one saw that Haha both? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BingBlaze n Skyla Posted April 14, 2013 Report Share Posted April 14, 2013 Skyla lifts her leg too n occasionally does the squat and cock too lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CARRINGTON Posted April 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2013 Skyla lifts her leg too n occasionally does the squat and cock too lol Haha that would be interesting to see Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Husky-gunner Posted April 14, 2013 Report Share Posted April 14, 2013 When I had my GSD he never cocked his leg he always squat wich was funny when we was out on walks people would say wow she is cute to wich I said she is a he there face was a picture lmao / so I would say don't worry if he never cocks his leg you will have fun telling people he's a boy lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elyse Posted April 14, 2013 Report Share Posted April 14, 2013 When I had my GSD he never cocked his leg he always squat wich was funny when we was out on walks people would say wow she is cute to wich I said she is a he there face was a picture lmao / so I would say don't worry if he never cocks his leg you will have fun telling people he's a boy lol yeah - lol! Too bad most people don't realize that the 'squatting vs cocking' thing is everything to do with the 'dominance level' of the dog and nothing to do with gender... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaiser Posted April 14, 2013 Report Share Posted April 14, 2013 kaiser squated intill he was about 10 months old, kaisers not really dominant as he plays with anything that moves but he used to only play with smaller dogs, he sort of grew out of it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueWolf Posted April 14, 2013 Report Share Posted April 14, 2013 Haha both? She squats and then tries to balance on three legs. Yep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mia-Blue Posted April 16, 2013 Report Share Posted April 16, 2013 yeah - lol! Too bad most people don't realize that the 'squatting vs cocking' thing is everything to do with the 'dominance level' of the dog and nothing to do with gender... That is really interesting as Belle our female lurcher cocks her head and she definatley is the dominant one of the two.............and there was me thinking she was cocking so she didn't wee on her dainty little feet! lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Posted April 16, 2013 Report Share Posted April 16, 2013 Darwin (male) cocks his leg and pees on everything. Then Echo (female) follows behind peeing over the top cocking her leg or squatting whatever is needed to cover his scent. We see this as. . . Darwin claiming everything as 'His' and echo covering his scent, in case a predator should try to track him. She covers with her scent as strongest and most able to defend the pack they would track her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mydiamond Posted April 16, 2013 Report Share Posted April 16, 2013 I have nothing else to add about your second question. Everyone here has stolen my words right now I guess I'd suggest supervising his play so that you can correct him and watch if this behavior continues. Who knows, he might grow out of it. Echoing what Storm said earlier, I also think you should let him play with any dog he wants to play with because if you don't let him, you won't be able to correct him now about the cocking vs squatting thing... I can assure you that Balto is not broken. My boy is probably weirder than him because occasionally he didn't squat nor cock his legs :wacko: He just pushes his butt down to the ground (kinda like stretching after a long nap) and pees Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Posted April 16, 2013 Report Share Posted April 16, 2013 I've only seen Nikko lift his leg to pee a couple times, usually he just stands there and lets it flow. Yukon usually lifts his leg to pee, usually on the shrubs Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormy Posted April 17, 2013 Report Share Posted April 17, 2013 Shadow quite regularly will just go and stand in the garden and wee... lol! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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