My Dog is a Bully!

Can a dog be a bully?

Unfortunately, yes. As an experienced dog trainer in Sydney, I’ve seen bad social skills in a form of bullying other dogs quite often.

However, when we talk about bullying in the dog world we have to understand that dogs don’t have an intention to bully. I believe that they don’t even know they are doing anything wrong, let alone bullying another dog. Bullying is a word we use to describe the behaviour.

What is bullying in the dog world?

Bullying is any kind of behaviour that another dog or dogs in that situation don’t enjoy. For example, the most common situation is when a boisterous dog tries to get another dog to play by jumping on them, nipping them despite the fact that the other dog has no interest what so ever in interacting with him.

Other forms of bullying are:

non-stop barking at other dogs right in front of them

chasing other dogs when they don’t want to be chased

nipping at other dogs (happens often with herding dogs)

dominant mounting when another dog is clearly trying to get away from the situation

pinning other dogs down during playtime etc.

What’s common in all these situations is that another dog is showing stress and warning signs that the bully doesn’t care about.

Why do some dogs bully others? There are many reasons for ignoring other dog’s body language when they are showing stress and warning signs. I’m an experienced dog trainer who’s been training dogs for 10 years. In my opinion the most common reasons for this kind of behaviour are:

Over-excitement. A dog simply lacks impulse control and can’t control his own behaviour

Lack of social skills. A bully might have only met rough dogs and learnt to play with them or didn’t have enough positive social experiences with calm and friendly dogs as a puppy. This usually goes hand in hand with an owner who’s passive and doesn’t control the dog’s social experiences or manners.

Bad experiences with other dogs. Bad experiences can cause a dog to become cautious and insecure with other dogs causing issues in social situations.

Breed. Certain breeds are more active and energetic and play rough by nature. They need to be taught to respect other dogs by managing playtime and avoiding over-excitement and bad manners from developing. Bull breeds are a good example of these kind of dogs.

What to do with a bully?

A dog who tends to bully other dogs need to be taught not to. This happens through management and impulse control. My dog obedience and manners classes are focused on these key aspects for a reason. Every well behaved dog has good impulse control skills.

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