Was she being dominant?

Question

I took my 6 mo old pit bull mix pup to the vet today. We've had her about a week. The vet was holding her, petting her bottom area, near her tail and giving her treats, looking into her eyes. My pup started growling at her and my vet thought she was just "talking". She continued to pet the pup and give her treats and my pup snarled and snapped at her.

I know pits have a bad rap, but she's such a sweet baby and I don't want her to develop aggressive tendencies (naturally!). Now, we took her to the vet because she has some green discharge and she was diagnosed with vaginitis, she also has worms. Do you think she was just scared (poor baby was shaking like a leaf), or sensitive to being petted in that area or do you think she was being dominant?

Answer 1

It's natural for pets to be snippy at the vet since it's an unfamiliar environment with people they don't know doing things they aren't used to, not to mention the sounds and smells of all the other animals. I doubt it was dominance as much as it was probably fear and insecurity that made your puppy bite.

As long as you don't reward the aggressive behavior by petting, etc it shouldn't be a problem. Also, aggressive games such as tug of war, wrestling, etc will encourage this behavior because they think it's play and isn't a good idea for 'aggressive' breeds. Encourage calm and friendly and firmly but gently correct aggression when it happens. Pits are great dogs and very lovable and loyal. Good luck. :)

Answer 2

I wouldn't call it dominance at all. A lot of dogs have an "at home personality" and a "scary/foreign situation personality" that can be like Jekyll and Hyde. She was probably just terrified and was reacting out of fear. Since a dog can't say "That's uncomfortable and I don't know who you are and this place is scary so stop touching me!" they try to pull away or growl. It's a fairly normal reaction to such a situation, which is probably why your vet wasn't at all alarmed to surprised when it happened.

That doesn't mean it's something you want to allow or encourage, mind you...but since you've only had her for a week, you haven't really had time to teach her what is acceptable and what is not. A puppy you just got is not going to react to a situation like an adult dog you've had for years might. I'm sure over the next several months of firm but patient training, socialization, and learning to trust you, she'll be a completely different dog behavior-wise.

EDIT

I would tend to agree with you that she was just reacting out of fear. As I said, you don't want to encourage/allow such behavior, but I just don't think dominance was the cause. Without being there and seeing her body language though, it's hard to tell. Socialization is the best thing you could do if you are worried she might develop aggressive tenancies.