Unneutered Dogs Not Making Friends

Hi Cesar,

I am a proud owner of a beautiful Red Nose pit bull named Romeo. He’s almost two and full of energy and bounce. The problem occurs when we go on walks and meet other owners and their dogs.

The other dogs always (always) growl at him and snap. Since it happens ALL the time, I have a sneaking suspicion it's Romeo’s fault that the other dogs don't like him. Romeo’s approach seems to be a friendly one, but when the other dogs sniff him, they instantly growl.

Romeo has not been neutered yet, so could that be the problem? Or is his approach too "in-your-face" and rude? I’m worried because the fear factor of pit bulls is running high here in Sydney, as it is in Canada. What can I do to solve this problem, and why don't the other dogs like Romeo? He has no problems with people (even if people don't always like him because he looks "scary"). Please help! I don't want to cause more unnecessary fear here in a country which has also banned the pit bull (existing registered owners excepted).

Thanks a million,

Jane Kim
Sydney, Australia

Dear Jane,

Based on the information you have given me, your dog is full of energy and balanced. That’s a happy-go-lucky dog! But, when a happy-go-lucky dog is not neutered, other dogs are going to sense him as a possible mate and view him as a dominant dog. You should neuter him as soon as possible. Make sure he’s balanced when you neuter him, and let him recover.

Romeo is what I would call an excited type. Excited dogs often get in trouble because their energy is “hyper”. When another dog is not in the same state of mind, the dog will find Romeo’s approach and behavior “rude,” in terms of dog etiquette. So it’s important to put a backpack on him to drain energy.

Another suggestion is to prevent him from meeting other dogs face to face. It’s not a good idea to allow unfamiliar dogs to have eye contact with one another. Only allow dogs to meet face to face when they are already part of a group.

So far, you don’t have a big problem; your only issue is energy. Your dog is currently in the adolescent stage, which lasts from eight months old to three years old. You need to take control of him now, however, because if he goes into the adult stage without your leadership, he might become dominant, territorial, or aggressive. Consider these behaviors as mild warning signs.

On Dog Whisperer, we have demonstrated many times the best way to neuter a dog, and how to walk dogs in the same direction - without smelling each other and without looking at each other. When dogs walk together, they accelerate the process of simply becoming a pack. I think watching those segments again will help you tremendously.

Stay calm and assertive,

Cesar Millan

Get more tips for aggression on the Common Canine Misbehaviors DVD.

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Thu, 01/28/2010 - 3:02pm — dbca112

non altered females

try having non altered females. everyone thinks they are mommy and become very demanding of them. some dogs think they are sick and try to protect them. it does become quite funny sometimes but other dogs can attack me when i am walking them.

Wed, 12/30/2009 - 8:59pm — kadyn kingdon

i need your help

hi cesar i am a 14 year old boy and my 2 dogs java and niah do not get a long i have minatrue doberman pincher who is around 7 or 8 years old and a boxer who is 3 years old and they dont get along most of the time. not to long ago i got a hole in my foot from pulling my boxer off my minatrue dobberman and it went in between my tendons in my foot and almost had surgery over that fight. me and my parents think its because she gets to jealous of java even though when i try and make sure to pay a little more attention to the boxer so they wolnt fight it still happens and also we cant walk them because they cant walk with us we have tryd to learn from your videos but we dont see inprovments from are dogs and pluse what sucks that you dont come to canada and so it would be great if u gave me some advice from you

thanks

kadyn
british columbia,canada

Thu, 04/22/2010 - 10:50pm — nate

hey buddy

Hi,
This is a friend from along way away. I have some pointers for you, listen, then act. Have your mind right and make sure you are willing to give your ALL in the training. When your boxer not sure of the name, assumes the dominant role than he/she has the magic wand in his hand. You need to create the calm assertive attitude with your dog. Make sure you have full control of him. Then assert what you want and make sure you treat him/her when they do what you want.
!!!!!!!!!!******LOVE YOUR DOG******!!!!!!!!!!
OWNER OF THE WORLDS CRAZIEST JACK RUSSELL
((((((NATE)))))

Mon, 11/16/2009 - 3:06am — ecintron717@yah...

American Staffordshire Terrier/Not Neuter

My dog will be 2 years next month Dec. 2009 I see the adolescent in him he just loves to greet people all the time, doesn't bite which I stress and used alot of love and affection.
But, when he sees other dogs on the most part he wants to play but some dogs take him the wrong way and he becomes aggressive.

Thu, 08/26/2010 - 5:55pm — Mugsysmom

Hyperactive Pit Bull

We gave a 2-year-old male pit bull who up until now has been loving, cute, and non-aggressive. He's full of bounce and excess energy. He pulls on leash to the point where it's hard to give him the exercise we know he needs...I'm not strong enough to walk him...he's gotten away from me twice when he's seen another dog that came into our yard. The 2nd time I actually had him on a run with the leash attached to the run. He took a running start from our porch, got to the end of the run and leash, actually pulled to the latch mechanism OUT of the leash, and kept on going! My son, who's 26, is trying to teach him to walk on a loose leash, but lacks the patience and the time to do it every day, which I know Mugsy badly needs.

Recently, he had an outbreak of "bumps" around his chin (that turned out to be canine acne - didn't know there WAS such a thing!). We had to take him to the vet, and a tech walked into the room. He jumped up on her (to say hello in his own over-energetic way). She saw a pit bull jumping on her and came unglued...grabbed him by the skin on the side of his neck and held him down. Mugsy isn't all that fond of the vet anyway...when the vet tried to examine him, he snapped at her (he's never done that before) and they put a muzzle on him.

Tonight he got on my son's bed. My son told him to get off and he didn't, so my son took him by the collar, pulled him down, and pinned his head down. He was trying to get the dog's rear down too, and Mugsy apparently snapped at him.

NOW...I believe that physical force should just not EVER be used with this dog. He spends most of his time with me, although he's technically my son's dog. He's with me all day every day. He spends time with my son between his getting home from work and bed time. Mugsy sleeps in my room. I've taken ticks off him, I give him his antibiotics for the acne by wrapping them in cheese, opening his mouth, putting the pill back as far as I can reach, and massaging his throat until he swallows. His reward is another piece of cheese.

Unless he's totally over-excited (like when my son gets up in the morning) he minds me well. Sit means sit, lay down means lay down, stay means stay, etc. Every now and then he'll just stand there looking at me. I wait it out, repeat the command if necessary, and use treats as rewards liberally. He's rarely growled at me, and NEVER snapped at me.

The other issue we're having is when my son gets up. Mugsy's fine with me until he hears a noise from my son's room. Then he runs to the foot of the stairs (we use a gate), barks, whines, jumps up on the wall, and is really out of control. My son believes we should close him in a room and not let him out until he's quiet. When I do that, he just gets more and more revved up.

So...any suggestions, folks???