Good to Know

Well I learned something new about Bruce on Monday night, during dog training. He's a spaz... oh wait I already knew that! BUT the reason, according to the trainer, is he is a dominant dog. Oh no! The horror!

When the trainer told me this I was shocked! I mean, our Bruce. Dominant. Our Bruce, the biggest baby and mommas boy, dominant? How is that possible?

So I decided to do some research on what that really means. And before anyone freaks out... dominant does not mean aggressive or an alpha.

Here are some interesting things I found out about the type of dominant dog Bruce is during my little research sesh...

1. Again, Dominance does not mean aggression. Actually, a lot of times a bite and attack comes from a dog being uncomfortable and nervous, not dominant.
2. Wanting to be ahead during walks and not letting go of toys are 2 signs of dominance that Bruce shows.
3. A dog can be dominant in some situations but not dominant in other situations. Let me re-phrase, a dominant dog does not show dominance in every situation. Bruce this side of him during his training class because the other big dog in training is dominant and also aggressive and therefore Bruce shows his dominance in that situation. At home we rarely see this dominant side. He never showed it with Mindy and doesn't show it with Lola.
4. Being dominant doesn't mean the dog is a bad dog or a hopeless cause. Bruce, for example can be dominant but still fall into place and be a happy dog because he knows that we run the show and he is comfortable in his place.

Bruce has a make-up class tonight at Petco since we missed last week so I'm hoping to learn more about this dominance thing and how it works in our relationship with Bruce and other dogs. I'll keep you posted!

Sources:
Dominant Dogs, Recognition, & Management
ASPCA: Is Your Dog Dominant?