I have a 4 YO English lab that we've had for 3 years. We got him from a reputable breeder who had, from what we were told, pulled him from the litter as a puppy to be shown but then he ended up not being everything they wanted (not tall enough or big enough head, etc.). So, he was trained for those first months and then basically ignored. When we got him he was intact and it was our intention to neuter him at 18 months. Well, 18 months turned into 3 weeks ago. He is an extremely sweet and hilarious lab who doesn't run or embarrass himself with the ladies at the dog park but had started becoming a little strange in the last few months. It's not overt aggression but leaning in that direction for sure. One thing we noticed was that other dogs tended to be aggressive towards him, presumably due to testosterone but that's just a theory. Now to the behavior: when he sees a dog walking down the street he lays down. I mean dropping down right in the middle of the street. Belly and head fully down. He weighs 75 pounds and I hate cranking on his neck or dragging him if he's in a harness so I usually wait for the other dog to pass. It's extremely annoying (and dangerous in the road!) and confusing to other dog owners (and myself honestly). On the few times that the owner of the other dog asks if my dog can say hi, I usually say yes and it's normally OK. Lately, there's been a super high stiff tail thing happening (He looks very serious and scary) and I'm not confident at all as there have been a few clashes (especially with other males). This is my 3rd lab but my first male (and least trained to be perfectly honest). I think we made an error in waiting so long to neuter, but nothing can be done about that now. He's also the most sensitive lab I've ever owned but also ridiculously boisterous at the same time. So I guess there are 2 things here: 1) Any tips on how to handle the laying down behavior? 2) Do you think that the aggressive dominance thing will ease up now that he's been neutered or is that just a learned behavior now? Thanks and sorry for the extremely long post! Maureen
Hi and welcome I'm afraid I can't help but hopefully someone with experience will come along soon with advice. I just wanted to bump you up to the top to be seen. Good luck
My dog lays down the exact same. I have read apparently they go small to send out they are no threat. Who knows? Although i do try catch him before he goes down. Observe your dog he will do something before he lies and get out the high value treat to keep moving.
I'm certainly not a dog behaviour expert but he sounds nervous to me and neutering would more than likely make that worse. Neutering my dog made no difference to his behavioural issues, in fact he was worse for a few months.
Thank you, Thunder, I think that treat-training is on the horizon as he is extremely food-driven! Ruth, that's interesting. So far the neutering has not made a difference for us either. The behavior is not any worse or better though. Although, yesterday he laid down and was approached by another male lab (very friendly). He stood up with a high, stiff tail and was interested, sniffing and doing the "dance" but not really playful looking? I think if he had had another 2 minutes he would have relaxed and gone into play mode. We were extremely (extremely) skeptical about neutering and, honestly, I feel a little guilty about going through with it now
Great that neutering hasn't had a negative effect and sorry if I added to your guilt in any way. Sounds like you've done everything right - I wish I'd waited til Loki was older before neutering. Incidentally, guide dogs are trained to lie down when they see another dog so I think your dog is very sensible training himself to do it! Should be easy to encourage him back on his feet with some tasty treats and much easier and less embarrassing than dealing with a dog that's lunging and barking.
"Incidentally, guide dogs are trained to lie down when they see another dog so I think your dog is very sensible training himself to do it!" - haha! I like your positive spin on this!
