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Nanners greets other dogs in one of two ways: either she tries to kick their ass or she spends the whole time licking them on their muzzle. When she does the latter, it's accompanied by non-aggressive posturing.
Nanners greets other dogs in one of two ways: either she tries to kick their ass or she spends the whole time licking them on their muzzle. When she does the latter, it's accompanied by non-aggressive posturing.
Is this a dominance thing or is she just weird?
Dominance and submission. Looks like Nanner sizes up the other dog involved and responds in a way she feels is appropiate to the situation. Believe it or not - either can trigger aggression in the other dog. Does she do this when meeting them all the time, or only in the house, or the yard or off your property?
All the time and everywhere. So far the licking thing has been done to other females, submissive females, I might add. The fighting has been mainly males, both offsite and here. In fact, the last fight took place in my kitchen and involved my sister's male, whom she has fought 4 times now in the past 3 years. They hate each other's guts.
Honestly, it sounds to me like Nanners could be a fear-aggressive dog -- not dominant at all, but rather fearful, and so she launches a pre-emptive strike. It's not unusual for "fear-aggression" to be directed toward TYPES of dogs: the same breed over and over, the same size of dog over and over, the same sex of dog over and over. That could explain, for instance, why she always licks females -- mouth-licking is actually a deferring behavior or an appeasement behavior -- but attacks males.
muzzle licking is generally a comfort thing, in most pack dynamics it would be a subimissive or younger dog doing it to an older/alpha...
(in puppies it encorages mommy to regurgitate, in adults its a way of saying, esentailly, "i like you, look at me, im cute and harmless, reward me")
but i have seen many dominant females particularly do this to younger/submissive dogs who are unsure...i always assumed given its normal meaning its a form of comfort, essentially dominant dog saying "its ok i wont hurt you relax"
same sex agression is more common than opposite sex agression but ive got a feeling nanners is pretty much saying "im queen of this castle" and males can on a normal day be pushy about pack dynamic...many males will automatically take a dominant pose over a female, and some females are more than happy to say "oh hell no"
it could also be fear agression, as the above poster said...if shes had one bad experience with a male she could be pre-emptive striking
I have nothing to add here...Sam (basset hound/corgi mix) just always got along with everyone. Maybe some dog breeds are more laid back, what breed is your dog? Could it be a breed or size issue?
Last edited by jasper12; 01-20-2011 at 04:59 PM..
Reason: added sam's breed
Maybe some dog breeds are more laid back, what breed is your dog? Could it be a breed or size issue?
Pit/lab, with the emphasis on pit.
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