Dustie is a typical adolescent sporting dog with lots of energy and too much dominant assertiveness for her own good. Although these very behaviors would be helping her achieve higher rank among canine peers, with humans they are going to backfire and result in her harming someone and decreasing her stability in your social group. Dogs need to be taught to accept a following role in social interactions with humans. They do not, however, all come with a built-in desire to follow and please people. Less assertive humans, or those who attempt to demonstrate affection and love unconditionally to their pets, accidentally may get themselves into trouble.

For instance, if your partner pets Dustie while she is jumping up, her dominant greeting behavior actually is being rewarded. People tend to interpret dog behavior based on human terms. Jumping is related to hugging, yet this is not how it is intended by the dog. In multiple-dog groups, the jumping dog has higher or more dominant rank or is challenging another dog for higher rank. A subordinate dog will tolerate being jumped on, standing quietly, while an equally or more dominant dog will counter or respond aggressively.

People associate licking, especially at the mouth, with kissing. Although people may insist this behavior demonstrates affection, if it is unsolicited by the owner, it is being inflicted, and therefore is a dominant behavior. Mouthing and biting are how dogs experiment with social cause and effect, and they are important ways for them to assert and achieve dominance.

Puppies bite; it is normal and natural, although not always appropriate, for them to do so. Dogs need to be taught bite inhibition without being made to feel fear. Among multiple dogs, dominance is asserted through highly ritualized displays that easily are recognized by other dogs as threatening. Baring teeth, fixing a hard stare, jumping up and mounting or "hooking" with front paws, pilo (hair) erection on the back and rump, growling in a low, menacing way, or simply becoming ominously frozen in wait all demonstrate the dog's perception of its high rank and its perceived right to defend it. Subordinate dogs exposed to these displays clearly are made aware that the "top dog" is willing to resort to real force, if necessary, to maintain its rank.

When puppies experiment with ranking status in relationships with humans, they inadvertently may be reinforced as leaders of the pack by unwitting, unconditionally loving owners. The humans believe they are being generous and that they will be appreciated and will receive respectful reciprocation from their pet, but frequently the opposite happens. The dog that is overly indulged and catered to often takes an increasingly dominant role over its human family members, demonstrating typical canine threat displays such as growling, mouthing and mounting postures. When pushed to do something against its will, the reinforced dominant dog may bite in attempt to back down the misbehaving human.

Resolving dominance issues, especially when aggression is involved, requires professional help. Participation in a puppy class that teaches good leadership while using positive reinforcement not only will resolve the biting problem, it also will help curb those outbursts of wild energy and reduce the likelihood of your dog unloading excessive energy by redesigning your home's landscape!

Meanwhile, try keeping her on a leash and working on a bit of indirect social re-education. Advise everyone to stop giving negative attention and to refrain from giving her affection unless she is behaving in a way deemed deserving of a reaction. Shape her behavior by refusing to touch, look at or speak to her at all unless she is emotionally and physically quiet. When she misbehaves, either ignore or remotely correct her without attention or emotion. This can be done by using a dropped penny bottle or by holding or standing on her leash, allowing just enough slack to stand comfortably but not to jump, and completely ignoring her until she is quiet. Anytime she becomes overly excited, she must again become invisible and ineffectual with her inappropriate behaviors. She should not be punished or reacted to, as this most likely only will cause her aggression to increase. Some people still believe you must overpower a dog to train it; but even if you were successful in "showing your dog who's boss," were you really successful? A submissive, inhibited dog is no more trained than an overly obnoxious one-neither emotional extreme is necessary or socially appropriate. Tempered behavior, without fear or anxiety, is the goal.

I like to use the example of hot cocoa and my children. They like it; they are not afraid of it; they want it; but they are careful and proceed carefully toward gratification from it, waiting until the moment is right. Hot cocoa never will reward their overly impulsive behaviors. But it never punishes them, either; it is their own failure to inhibit their impulses that leads to an impersonal negative result, and their patient carefulness that gets them the desired gratification. Think of people as the "hot cocoa" toward whom your dog needs to develop self-control, and her behavior will improve.

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