Becoming aggressive with other dogs

Fstuff92

Notable member
Our male doberman Bo is 14 months and intact. We've had him since he was about 5 months old. He's always been a sweet dog and has gotten along well with other people and dogs just fine. Ive been taking him to the dog park 2 or 3 times a week since he was around 6 months. He loves it! He would play so good with other dogs and was very well behaved. A couple of months ago he would start to get into it with a dog every once in a while , not every time. There was no reason why they would get into it, it was as if Bo would get one sniff of a certain dog and now it was his mortal enemy. Here is the past 2 to 3 weeks it's been everytime we've gone he's in a scrap with another dog. Today we lasted 15 minutes and he was in 2 so I just brought him home. One of the owners was pissed and I dont blame him,calling my dog aggressive and saying someone's going to get hurt. At first I was I defensive (not overly and I did apologize). But now I'm really wondering, do I have an aggressive dog ? Seeing how he acted today has me looking at him a different way that I do not like. Dont get me wrong , I love him and he's a great dog. I guess Im just more disappointed. He loves the park and seeing him there was awesome. Any advice ?
 
He is not an aggressive dog. Dog parks just are not suitable places for Dobermans. His hormones are peaking and other male dogs are smelling it. It may very well be the other dog giving cues to fight and not yours. Your boy is just defending and reading body language is very important. He is in his doberteens and Dobermans tend to play rough and it can escalate quickly.

I would not take him to the dog park anymore on the inside of it. Train him outside the fence of the dog park and teach him to ignore other dogs and distractions.
The other grown male dogs know he is young and maturing as they can smell the testosterone and will try to take him down a few notches. This is how the fights start. Other dog owners may not be able to read their dog’s body language or it’s so subtle they wouldn’t recognize their dog as being the instigator.

Start with training and teach him recall and to focus on you. Be the most fun person in his world and you will start to see positive changes. He will most likely associate the dog park with scrapping with other dogs so end that immediately.

Work him mentally and physically and make it fun. Dobermans don’t need play buddies with other dogs. They just need you as their strong leader.
 
I agree with @Tropicalbri's , it’s not a good idea to bring your dog to a dog park. They’re a breeding ground for fights, bad behavior and diseases. Start working on your dogs training, reactivity to others dogs.

also remember, you’re the only friend your dog needs. Your dog doesn’t need to play with other dogs, play with other people or be petted by other people. Socialization is teaching your dog that yes, theirs other people and dog’s out there however they don’t need to react or interact with them.
 
Dog parks are a recipe for disaster. The one by our house does not allow intact dogs, lol like they are the problem. It just goes to show dog ignorance by most people. The problem is people with untrained dogs and not having the ability to read dog behavior. You are better off to go somewhere and bond with your dog not find a place for your dog to make friends.
 
I am also against dog parks, although for the opposite reason. My girl was being made insecure and timid by the uncontrolled and not necessarily well balanced dogs there. And I also agree that dogs communicate in ways we don't always see and your boy may be defending himself against a threat no one else it aware of.
 
A lot of the dogs in the park havn’t been exercised BEFORE they enter, meaning that they have pent-up energy to release and are in a high state of arousal in an extremely stimulating environment. It’s highly dangerous and not a situation I would put my dog into.
 
Thank you all for your advice. I think for now (at maybe forever) we'll just avoid the dog park altogether. For the most part our experience there was positive, and boy did he ever get a work out ! He loved it, he would run and never stop. It was just a few instances that these "fights" would break out. The times when he would get into it with another dog I do feel it was is fault, if you can even assign blame. He just got a bad vibe from a dog and did not like them from the start, that's the part that had me concerned (no rhyme or reason) . I guess their senses are just greater than ours and he was picking up on something I couldn't understand. Or maybe being a young male he was letting these other young males know who is boss. I was just really offended when the guy called him aggressive because I know how good he is with with people and 95% of the dogs he comes in contact with.
My wife had an interesting point, she said the guy would have never called him aggressive if he was a one year old golden, it's that Doberman stigma.
 
My wife had an interesting point, she said the guy would have never called him aggressive if he was a one year old golden, it's that Doberman stigma.

I have seen more aggressive Goldens and Labs down here than Dobermans.
They are not always the sweet lovable Labs and Goldens that people portray them to be.
 

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