Is this a teenage-phase-then-it-will-stop kind of thing or should we be concerned?

Hi everyone,

Limón is about to turn 10 months (he actually lifted the leg yesterday for the first time ) and has started to show some symptoms of what could be dominance or just teenage-rism but to the heaviest side of the spectrum.

So far, he has been amazing and positively responded to training. We did have some problems at the crazy nipping stage, true, but nothing out of normal, I reckon. For the last weeks he seems to have forgotten everything, but this is also something in the realm of "normal", according to some posts here plus other sources we typically consult. But there is one thing that could potentially be a bit more disturbing.

Since he was a puppy he never backed down or show any form of submissive behaviour with other dogs. In fact, to my knowledge, he has NEVER ever let a dog place on top of him when playing. He always tries to hump dogs on the neck and to put his head over them (even though he is a short fella - tried once with a rottie 3 times his size).

A few days ago Limón mouthed me for the first time when I tried to grab his collar to correct him after he misbehaved. After this day, he does that pretty much everyday when he doesn't want to be grabbed (it is important to note that when he's relaxed or doesn't care, I can grab him without any problem). When this happens I still grab him by the collar so he doesn't think he can get away with it and he starts to fight like crazy... All of this is to say that we think we may have a fairly dominant dog.

Any opinion or experience here with similiar stuff? Should we change how we train him?

Thank you everyone for your contributions, it is highly appreciated

César

Firstly, if he's in a 'heightened' state, don't grab him! You're likely to get bitten. If he needs to be grabbed, you're not stepping in quick enough. You need to teach an 'out' command to cease play when YOU want him to. It's not aggression and it's not 'dominance'. If we're either of those things there would be growls and snaps.

How did you socialise him in the early days?

For a while, at least, I would limit his interactions with other dogs. Yes, it's probably those dreaded 'teenage years' (know everything, listen to nothing, nobody understands him), but it could also be a lack of manners. Keep him on lead & make sure that greetings are kept quiet & controlled.

How do you introduce him to a possible playmate? Do you allow free play for as long as he wants?