Dislike for some dogs

[amltr2021]

We have a mini schnauzer, male, entire who is one. He’s had a day walker for about 6 months as we thought with him being a lock down dog it would do him good to go out with other dogs and be in new environments. He absolutely LOVES going and literally jumps into the dog walkers arms and van as soon as he arrives.

However, recently he’s become a bit too boisterous with some of the other dogs. Not all of them just the odd one where it’s a bit more than rough and tumble play. Is this normal ‘teenager’ behaviour where he is just testing boundaries and will grow out of or something we should be more worried about. Generally he’s such a placid dog, very rarely barks at anyone or anything. We aren’t there at the times he behaves like that so training him through it is hard.

We feel that having him snipped is a last result and he’s just still too young for that and if there is any advise anyone has that might help I’d be really grateful.

[zeta1454]

Welcome to the Forum Alexandra

Is your mini’s behaviour actually aggressive or just boisterous? It could certainly be that he is still going through adolescence and his rough play is, as you say, testing boundaries and ‘measuring himself ‘ in a way against other dogs. Competitive behaviour between individual young dogs and between young dogs and older ones whether male or female is common at this age. It need not be something to worry about unless one of the dogs is getting ‘bullied’ or hurt in the encounters.

Although it is important for a dog to experience new environments and meet other dogs when young, if this is through doggy daycare or dog walkers, it can result in youngsters being drawn into unwanted behaviour patterns by other dogs. Many dog walkers / day care centres are simply exercising or looking after the dogs, and, if there is a group of dogs together who are not being trained or assessed as compatible companions, it can lead to behaviour issues. As you highlight in your post, this is not happening when you are there so you cannot assess the circumstances or work on training him out of this effectively. It is not likely that having him castrated will alter this behaviour.

It is probably just teenage hi-jinks which may pass as he matures but you don’t really want to risk it becoming a regular part of his behaviour when he is off-lead playing with other dogs. Personally I am not in favour of dog walkers / day care where a number of random dogs are looked after all together. For dog walking / exercise I think there should only be one dog or dogs from the same household taken for exercise together and doggy day care should be well supervised by professional dog trainers / carers. It is so easy to cause trauma to a dog especially when they are young and negative experiences can have a long lasting effect - not that anyone deliberately causes harm or distress to a dog but if they are unaware how to manage individual dogs safely (especially in a group setting) you can have issues arising which you are having to resolve without really knowing how they happened or why.

If you are at home for most of the time, I would stop the paid dog walking and arrange social get-togethers for your mini to play with other dogs whose families you know. Do you have friends or relatives near by with well behaved dogs that you could arrange play dates with? The other option, as restrictions begin to ease, is to try and get your mini enrolled in a training / activity class locally such as scent-work, dog parkour etc. where you will be on hand to observe if there are any issues in his behaviour and you can also get professional tips and advice from the trainers to help if there is a problem. In ‘normal’ times there are often schnauzer walks or meet-ups in many localities through the country and also ‘fun days’ for members of the various schnauzer breed clubs which can also be a chance for schnauzers to enjoy each other’s company and hopefully these will return again before too long

[Oscar 12345]

Leigh is absolutely right, you do have to be careful that the undesirable behaviour doesn't get learnt and become habitual in the environment he is in. Every dog encountered is different and although one dog might put him in his place, it will not stop the behaviour with another more placid dog. It's up to the owner to understand the behaviour and avoid situations where the behaviour might occur. Neutering might not fix it either depending on the reasons why he believes he needs to act in the way he is doing. I can give you an example. Otto on a leash is brilliant with puppies, however off leash is a completely different matter. With some puppies, if they roll onto their back he will take the opportunity to be rough with them, pin them down and growl at them. Just the way he is so he never gets put in that position.