Expert: Alan J Turner, SATS LL1 - 5/24/2007

Question
QUESTION: Hello I am Nittin,
Not me but my uncle has got a dog which I know very well. Her name is Jackie and she is around 6 years old, we have her for 5 years now. She is an Alsatian and Pomeranian mix breed.
She does things which you expect from male dogs, she tries to, say, "mate" with people's legs. I am quite puzzled about this, can explain this to me. It's been on for about 3 years.
Can you also tell your website as I would love to see it.
Nittin

ANSWER: Dear Nittin,
Thanks for the question.

Puppies mount other puppies long before they reach sexual maturity at about 6 months - so it not really considered a sexual behavior. Dogs-mounting-humans is usually a social-attention seeking behavior.  

Some profess it to be related to dominance but IMO, it’s usually just a behavior dogs adopt to get our attention. When your uncle's dog mounts people, just interrupt and redirect the behavior to a more tasteful one! Don't forget to pay that turbo pup for complying!

AT

http://www.howsbentley.com

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for replying,
I get it now.
There is another problem, she is very, very aggresive. She attacks(or barks when she can't reach her victim) any other animal or dogs(sometimes even bigger than her) she sees. Sometimes she looks very relaxed but suddenly attacks on touching(even me & my uncle), I know we shouldn't touch dogs when they are under the bed or corner of a room, but here she might be rolling on her back or she will be somewhere in a place which does not make us cautious(like on top of the bed).
Ignoring her for bad behaviour does not work, because then she ignores you back on the double. She never comes to you when you call her name(she just takes a glance at you). I hardly even see her wagging her tail. She tries to escape just to chase other dogs(she comes back later) so we make sure she does not run away.
She is usually aggresive but sometimes the sun rises from the west and starts mounting people's legs.
Nittin

Answer
Dear Nittin,
Thanks for the note. Whew! There have been many books written about aggression and it is a complex subject! Unfortunately you have several issues (both training issues and behavior issues). This is a summary of what you need to know.

Successful animal trainers all have these traits in common. Successful trainers know exactly:

•   which components of a behavior he or she wishes to increase or decrease
•   how to communicate this to the animal
•   how to motivate the animal to want the same thing

You'll need the help of a professional trainer with the communication and motivation parts. It's much too complex to  discuss here. I wish I could share with you some of that elusive "magic dust" that makes dogs behave in an instant, but I haven't been able to score any (smile).

Thanks again for the note.

AT

http://www.howsbentley.com