Lying down, separation anxiety, jealousy?

[sandyago]

Hi Folks!

Jack is a 15 month half Labrador, half Australian Shepherd we adopted from a rescue group in September when he was 9 months. He is one amazing dog. Very friendly, curious, fun loving, and just happy. We don't know much about his past but this is what we do know: He was caged for long periods of time which lead to him losing the enamel on the backside of his canines. He was returned to the rescue group after a family adopted him due to his separation anxiety. (Barking and whining. No destroying of objects, at least since he has been with us. ) He "knew" basic commands like sit and shake to gain a treat, so we feel he could have had an owner (he also use to try to get into any Jeep Wrangler that was parked on the street...) but he could have been a stray or born out on the streets. He had a tough start in this world and we have been trying to show him how great the world is and to not fear it. We have had loads of progress from walking on a loose leash to a solid recall so we can take him to the beach and other off leash areas to romp. But we also have a few issues.

1. Lying down when another dog approaches while on lead.
He has only done this off leash twice and both times at the dog park when an older, small breed dog was coming into the park. Here's how it normally goes: We are on a lovely walk. He sees a dog, any size!, coming down the side walk. He quickens his pace and then... he stops. And he lies down. The other dog is still a good distance a way. Once the dog gets to us, Jack stands up and statue still to allow the other dog to sniff him and then Jack sniffs. Finally, Jack allows his personality to come out and Sometimes they both are disinterested and walk away and other times they both want to play. If the other dog growls or barks, Jack wants nothing to do with it and keeps moving. We have worked on this to keep him walking, which looks like a low crawl/stalk. But I have been working with him and his posture has raised a lot to where it isn't as "creepy". People remark he looks scared or "is he a hunting dog?". He does not take this posture when "stalking" a bird on a beach or a bunny at the park. Part of me feels this is his way to get his way. Shows the other dog Jack is submissive and since he isn't pulling to get to the other dog and going crazy, maybe the owner will walk over (because you can't get him to move when he goes down. even if you start to walk towards the dog!). The other part of me feels it could be stalking because this morning, he didn't lay down. He walked close, stood still, waited for the dog to get on the other side of me, and then lunged. He has never done this lunge thing before and I made him sit and settle after each. (our form of time out) Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! I feel I am on the right track, new obstacles keep presenting themselves.

2. I am going to wrap the separation anxiety and the jealousy into one. We have worked on when we aren't home and he has really come around. Our neighbor rescued a shepherd mix and Jack and Berkeley play almost everyday. Since my neighbor is a nurse with evening shifts, I will sometimes pull Berkeley for a play session. Last night I pulled him over and they had a grand time. But Jack was only interested in the toys Berkeley had in his mouth. Jack also would jump on top of Berkeley when I would pet him. And Jack had a complete panic attack when Berkeley sat on the couch next to me and also again when I took Berkeley home. He use to displayed the jumping up at the dog park when other dogs would come to greet us but it has stopped. Any tips for ways to show him the proper way to behave?

[Nettle]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

I'll just briefly explain the lying-down - this is a sign of uncertainty, and a defensive measure while he susses out the other dog. It is a normal unremarkable behaviour so you don't need to do anything, and indeed you shouldn't do anything. Dogs lie down in this situation as an instinctive measure to protect their vulnerable underneath.

I'll let someone else explain the other interaction more fully, but it is basically his age - he is a teenage lout . Almost all dogs go through this phase. He will grow out of it eventually. If he has already been neutered it will take him longer to grow out of it. Meanwhile it would be better if he skips these sessions for now, because his breed mix is one that can get very bumptious, and the more he practices those behaviours, the more he will want to do them. So concentrate on doing lots of things with him yourself, and for now at least, commit to avoiding situations that may tempt him to try and bully other dogs.

If you would kindly give us a detailed rundown of his average day, no detail too small, we can give some suggestions for getting you both through this phase.

[sandyago]

Nettle-- Thank you for your comments! And you are so right, he is a teenager. I think I'll stick to keeping Berkeley and Jack out at the parks and beaches where they run and chase rather than wrestle and jump on each other for socialization over play dates at the house.