The Problem with Submissive Dogs & Puppies

I had three clients this week with the same problem.  Their adolescent dogs do not get along with puppies and they can't understand what the problem is.  These are just bouncy puppies, submissively trying to engage their dogs in play. Or, so the humans thought.  But lo and behold, play didn't happen and left all parties stumped as to what actually occurred.  Why was this happening to these adolescent dogs who got along with every other canine they've met so far?  The answer is in how we define submission.

Submissive behavior, by definition, implies that one dog is behaving in a deferential or appeasing manner with another dog, presenting themselves in a way that makes them perceived as non-threatening.  It is behavior designed to keep dogs under threshold and out of harm's way. Most people associate submissive behavior with what is referred to as passive submission.  Passive submission in dogs looks like that definition I gave above:  the dog makes himself smaller, may roll over and present his belly, he may even urinate a bit.  The passively submissive dog will avert her gaze, and likely has her ears back, maybe even licking her lips to show appeasement.  Was this what you pictured when I said submissive as well?  The problem for my clients' dogs was not interactions with puppies displaying passive submission. No, indeed.  Their problem was these puppies were engaging in active submission.

Active submission is downright obnoxious. It is pushy, in your face, jumping, licking, pawing, and barking or whining.  These puppies were actively throwing themselves onto my clients' adolescent dogs, pawing them, frantically licking, and grabbing at fur, faces, and feet.  Rather than turning off aggressive responses as we see with passive submission, puppies and dogs engaging in active submission often invite an aggressive response from other dogs. And even if the other dog doesn't respond aggressively to the active submission, they are likely "turned off" by it and will try to walk away or ignore the offensive, obsequious nonsense.

Dog owners whose dogs regularly display active submission need to get a handle on this behavior as it puts their dogs at risk for aggression which can result in more fear and more submission. These dogs need to be taught to take no for an answer. They should not be indulged or encouraged, but corrected and redirected. They must learn that pushiness doesn't pay off. If you know you have a dog who actively submits to other dogs, leading to occasional aggression, you need to step in.  If they are off leash, put them on leash and give them a time out.  If they are on leash, stand on their leash and don't allow a greeting of another dog unless they are calm.  Reinforce calm behaviors like sitting, looking to you for permission to greet the other dog, and all four feet being on the ground.  If your dog starts to bark or whine, keep your foot on the leash, get them to quiet and focus FIRST, and then reward with allowing the greeting. If they can't keep four feet on the ground and not whine/bark, then they don't get to greet the other dog. It's simply not worth risking an aggressive encounter, nor reinforcing behavior you want to extinguish.

For dog owners who know their dogs are intolerant of actively submissive dogs, don't let your dog interact with them! Don't force your dog into a situation where they feel overwhelmed and irritated enough to behave aggressively.  It simply isn't fair to get mad or frustrated with a dog who corrects an actively submissive dog; that actively submissive dog was actually asking for it.  If he truly wanted to diffuse tension or appear friendly, then he would have approached in a calm, deferential manner, that is as a passively submissive dog would.

While many dog owners associate submissive behavior with puppies, the truth of the matter is that submissive behavior, both active and passive, can be displayed by dogs of any age, particularly if they've not been trained in the art of socializing well with others. Puppies learn from their mothers and other adult dogs how to socialize.  Puppies go to puppy classes to continue that learning experience with other, unfamiliar puppies their own age. Even in puppy classes, it is important to get a handle on any puppy displaying active submission before that becomes a learned behavior that gets her in trouble.

For now, my clients will be actively avoiding encounters with these puppies who engage in active submission.  They will also be talking about why they are doing so in order to help their friends and neighbors with those puppies understand why they are doing this. It is for the peace of mind of their dogs, as well as the safety of those puppies.  My hope is that the puppy owners will take a hard look at how they've been reinforcing this behavior and make the moves outlined above to get it under control before their puppies get hurt.

As always, if you have questions about your pet's behavior, you know where to find me.

Here is Westley with a neighbor's Labrador puppy.  You will notice that the puppy is approaching him calmly, head low and sniffing, but with a wagging tail (that blur in the photo!). Right after this picture was taken, Westley bowed at the puppy and they played together for about a minute before Westley was done and the puppy's owner encouraged her to sit for attention from the humans instead.