Training : Intact Males: From other owners: Shannon White & Faran...

Written by Shannon White
lionheartleos@erols.com
copyright 2002 Shannon White

Faran is Mr. Social, as anyone who has met him knows. He was not the top of the pack in his litter, and he has no delusions of being top of the pack here (not with Miss Alpha-Pants Argo in charge). In fact, in this house, he is at the bottom of the pecking order. BUT he is almost 14 months old, and he is beginning to smell like testosterone to other males. Much has been written about the testosterone poisoning that happens to adolescent males, and it is literally a flood of hormones. It changes them for a while.

Faran is a late bloomer. He started lifting his leg at around 9 months, but only occasionally. Then Argo came into heat when he was 10 months old, and he really started practicing his marking skills. But when she went out of heat, he stopped. He went back to squatting, and is only just now beginning to lift to mark again. ~70% of the time he still squats.

This is relevant because recently that he has elicited growls from adult male dogs. Twice now he has done his usual Mr. Social routine in trying to elicit play from other dogs, only to find himself the recipient of sudden flares of snarling and growling from dogs whose owners were clearly shocked to hear such behavior from their own dog. Both times were over quickly, and Faran never returned the noise. I explained to the people where Faran was in his physical development, and both people understood.

It often surprises us to see our dogs behave like, well like dogs. We don't always see the signs radiating from our young male Leos but rest assured other dogs see them, smell them, etc. Young male Leos are trying out postures and behaviors in small doses that we may have missed but other dogs see. A young male Leo who holds eye contact a bit too long (we're talking fractions of a second with some dogs) is actually projecting a bit of challenge. A young male Leo who stands tall and refuses to lower his head in the presence of another male is projecting a challenge, however small. A male Leo whose tail is not down or tucked or wagging low in the presence of another male is projecting a challenge.

For those with intact adolescent males, watch your dog's body language.
Watch his head, ear position, eye contact, how high he holds his head, what his tail does, and whether or not he bristles along the spine to make himself look bigger. It has nothing to do with your dog being mean or even aggressive. It's natural posturing.

Dogs don't fully comprehend the fact that social situations are only temporary in nature, that every dog picnic or get-together is just a brief collection of dogs. They are compelled to learn who in each group is the "one" to respect, which makes all the rest of the dogs present then need to know the rest of the order. Because coming together in strange groups over and over again would not happen in the dog's natural world.

Changes in pecking order are very important and sometimes traumatic events in a dog's natural world. Nature insists that the strongest and most fit pass on their genes. Your adolescent pet doesn't comprehend this but he is guided by it nonetheless. There are those who don't put much faith in pack behavior, saying that domestic dog is too far removed from packs to be governed by such rules. I think those people do themselves and their dogs a disservice by not paying attention to it. If you have more than one dog in the house, you are seeing bits and pieces of pack behavior. If you have an only dog, it will only appear in the presence of other dogs.

Interestingly enough Argo was taken down by a female Leo whose owner was shocked by the behavior. It was brief and loud and ugly, and Argo never stood a chance. Only incidental tooth marks to Argo's cheek occured, and no further scuffles have happened. It occured on the other dog's property. My belief is that Argo had been testing the waters with bits of alpha behavior. And since that day Argo no longer exhibits alpha behavior in that house. Dogs are capable of learning new orders. But sometimes it has to blow up in their faces before they get it.

Shannon