Another failure on my part was the fact that I refused to acknowledge Monty was overly dominant. I thought it was cute the way he bullied my other dogs that are two or three times his size. My other dogs are very laid-back, and they were always patient and gentle with Monty, basically letting him get away with murder.
When my husband complained about the fact that Monty “ran the house” and never listened to a word he said, I ignored him. Monty always listened to me, and hadn’t disobeyed a single order I’d given him since he was a baby. Monty knew I was in charge, and I was secretly amused by the fact that he believed himself to be second in charge (above my husband).
I knew better. Like anyone familiar with dogs can tell you, one of the main focuses of training for aggressive dogs is to rein in dominant behavior and teach them their proper place in the pack. I should never have let Monty think that he ranked higher than my husband. What I should have done was admit that his dominant behavior was a sign of aggression, and taken steps to learn how to help an aggressive dog,
You have to address and correct dominance issues before they become a serious problem. Click here to discover the best methods of training for aggressive dogs.
