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So I have a little girl doberman named Remi who is a little over a year old now. She also only has one eye which I feel might be relevant. She has had it since birth, her breeder told me it was a defect and she couldn't breed her because of it.
Shes a very shy and sweet little girl, and only recently has she been coming out of her shell to try to play with other dogs and to approach humans. Shes always friendly but she doesn't ever seem to want anything to do with people, shes pretty much at my hip at all points. I was ecstatic to see at the dog park she was finally venturing out and trying to engage in play. And with some dogs she actually seems to really enjoy herself.
The problem comes if shes by my hip or if another dog comes over to me. If shes next to me or inbetween my legs (her usual spot weirdly) she will growl and snap with her jaws (shes always done that, never bitten anything. For whatever reason she just snaps her jaws, even when she tries to give a kiss.). If another dog approaches me she will stop what shes doing, run over, and get inbetween us. If the other dog keeps trying to get my attention she does the same thing.
I want to state again shes never bitten anything, she just seems to assert her dominance. This is even more apparent when only a couple days ago I was asked to puppy sit a 5 month old pit. I was nervous as inside the house Remi can get territorial. She of course did her normal growling and snapping, but after a half hour she began to play and even play rough in a good way.
However at night when its bedtime she is alert and growling at the door. She doesn't normally sleep on top of me but the last two nights she has had her entire body weight on me, wont move, and growls at my bedroom door when she hears the puppy outside. She was perfectly find during the day minus some instances when the puppy jumped on her, but for whatever reason at night she is being hyper defensive. If I try to move her she goes right back to laying on top of me.
Is there anything I can do to curb the behavior? I dont think she would ever intentionally hurt the dog, or any other dog by trying to assert herself. However with her one eye I worry that with her lack of depth perception she might do so accidentally. Shes very sweet but very skittish and I just want her to feel comfortable. Plus, someday I want to get her a baby sister to play with so she wont be so bored at the house (the only other dogs I have are all geriatric and they dont play).
Shes a very shy and sweet little girl, and only recently has she been coming out of her shell to try to play with other dogs and to approach humans. Shes always friendly but she doesn't ever seem to want anything to do with people, shes pretty much at my hip at all points. I was ecstatic to see at the dog park she was finally venturing out and trying to engage in play. And with some dogs she actually seems to really enjoy herself.
The problem comes if shes by my hip or if another dog comes over to me. If shes next to me or inbetween my legs (her usual spot weirdly) she will growl and snap with her jaws (shes always done that, never bitten anything. For whatever reason she just snaps her jaws, even when she tries to give a kiss.). If another dog approaches me she will stop what shes doing, run over, and get inbetween us. If the other dog keeps trying to get my attention she does the same thing.
I want to state again shes never bitten anything, she just seems to assert her dominance. This is even more apparent when only a couple days ago I was asked to puppy sit a 5 month old pit. I was nervous as inside the house Remi can get territorial. She of course did her normal growling and snapping, but after a half hour she began to play and even play rough in a good way.
However at night when its bedtime she is alert and growling at the door. She doesn't normally sleep on top of me but the last two nights she has had her entire body weight on me, wont move, and growls at my bedroom door when she hears the puppy outside. She was perfectly find during the day minus some instances when the puppy jumped on her, but for whatever reason at night she is being hyper defensive. If I try to move her she goes right back to laying on top of me.
Is there anything I can do to curb the behavior? I dont think she would ever intentionally hurt the dog, or any other dog by trying to assert herself. However with her one eye I worry that with her lack of depth perception she might do so accidentally. Shes very sweet but very skittish and I just want her to feel comfortable. Plus, someday I want to get her a baby sister to play with so she wont be so bored at the house (the only other dogs I have are all geriatric and they dont play).