Growling/nipping other dogs at off leash park

[guiffre]

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Hello,

We have three welsh-cardigan corgis and a black lab mix. Their ages are 1, 3, 11 and 13 years respectively. All are very obedient: have great recall, will stay put regardless of distractions etc...

Over the past several months our 3 year old corgi 'Mingus' has started to display some aggression, mainly towards other dogs at first introduction. We have been taking all four dogs to the same off leash park since they were puppies and have never had any issues until now. What occurs is Mingus will approach a new dog and upon them greeting each other, will abruptly bark and nip. He's always been very vocal ie. occasionally barking around the house for attention, barking at the park while playing with his pack and other dogs. This behaviour is newer and become almost standard at this point.

There have also been two isolated nipping incidents over the past year with him greeting friends at the door. We have addressed that with 'place' training in our entryway and haven't had an incident since.

I am wondering where his anxiety at the dog park is coming from and how to address it. The rest of the 'pack' have no issues or anxieties at all towards new people or new dogs. The only substantial change in Mingus's life has been the addition his half sister Raisin to our household last year.

Any advice would be really appreciated. Thanks.

 

[gypsysmum2]

We should try to look for a trigger when a new behaviour starts. Did it start soon after his half sister arrived. Is he trying to keep her to himself by driving other dogs away? This is a fairly common behaviour among dogs that share a house. One will want to control the friends of the other.

Has he had a bad experience with another dog? We don't always see these things happen. It may be, if this is the case, that he is pre empting the other dog nipping him and getting in first?

While you are trying to spot the trigger I would just call him away from other dogs and really reward him well for responding. If he sees the approach of other dogs as a pre cursor to lovely treats he might decide that they are nice to have around.

 

[guiffre]

Thanks so much for the reply. We are going to start by taking him to the park alone and see if his behaviour is the same. Our initial suspicion is it is in relation to his 'pack'; that maybe he's trying to make a statement to the new dogs he meets there. He was taken to two group behaviour classes alone this week and had no issues with the other dogs. In fact, he was quite submissive and playful. Our other inclination is that it is location specific. As you said, we didn't see any trauma but perhaps it happened without our noticing.

We will definitely be rewarding him with delicious dried liver treats galore for positive encounters.

 

[gypsysmum2]

Sounds like a plan