Watching dogs interact can provide a lot of insights into the different ways dogs communicate, and among the variety of behavioral displays, a dog standing over another dog can be one of those behaviors that has many people wondering what it means. Is the behavior of a dog standing over other dogs a sign of trouble and therefore one of those behaviors that require intervention? Is it play? As always, when it comes to dog behavior there are no rules written in stone as there are so many variables. Let’s take a closer look into the behavior and see what the experts in the field say.
A Closer Insight
What exactly is a dog who is standing over other dogs doing? Many dog owners describe it as a dog who places himself perpendicular to another dog in what is often referred to as a “T posture.”
Along with positioning himself perpendicularly at a 90 degree angle in respect to the other dog, the dog may also attempt to place a paw on the shoulder of the other dog, or perhaps rest his head or chin on the other dog (chin-over).
You can sometimes see these fellows literally standing on tiptoe when they do this as if trying to seem taller and imposing. Some dogs will stand over other dogs that are lying down with their neck arched over them.
“The perpendicular or T posture is where one dog stands with his or her head or neck over another dog.”~Karen Overall
What Does it Mean?
Veterinary behaviorist Karen Overall in the book “Manual of Clinical Behavioral Medicine for Dogs and Cats” defines the perpendicular T posture assumed by a dog interacting with another dog as an interaction that is involving social challenge. When a dog postures in this way, he gets in the other dog’s way and limits the other dog’s room for maneuver. Dr. Overall lists the “T posture” as an agonistic behavior that is likely to have an aggressive component.
What exactly are agonistic behaviors? According to Roger Abrantes, agonistic behaviors include all forms of intraspecific behavior (within a species) related to aggression, fear, threat, fight or flight. Behaviors that yes, are functionally related with aggressive behavior, but that yet fall outside its narrow definition.”
On a lighter note, sometimes standing over may be just part of a dog’s way to attempt to control a situation, perhaps because of an underlying sense of insecurity. This posture is sometimes seen in adult dogs dealing with hyper pups as a way of trying to gain control of the pup’s rambunctious behavior.
This type of posturing can also be part of a dog’s play behavior repertoire and can even be seen in young puppies. According to Overall, standing over with the head arched is a behavior that can be seen among litter mates considering that learning the ABC’s of agonistic behavior is a normal part of puppy development.
“Standing over another dog who is lying down… This is a blatant way of saying “I am bigger, taller and in charge.” Adult dogs often stand directly over puppies to make it clear that they are still controlling any interactions with them.”~Stanley Coren
Is it Dominant or Aggressive Behavior?
Is standing over in dogs a sign of dominance? Is the dog standing over the other dog dominant? Many people wonder about this and sometimes heated discussions arise around the usage of the term “dominance.”
Dominance is not a personality trait, reminds us Sophia Yin. It’s a relationship between animals so to determine who has priority access to resources such as food, sleeping areas and mates (Bernstein 1981; Drews 1993).
Social hierarchies do exist among domesticated dogs (after all, even humans live in a hierarchical world, think president, vice-president etc.) but among dogs, the structure tends to be fluid. A dog may therefore show more “assertive” behaviors in one encounter with a dog and act more “deferent” in the next, depending on what’s at stake, explains Pat Miller.
The term dominance should therefore not be used lightly. According to Karen Overall “It would be inappropriate to assume that agonistic behavior alone defines a dominant-subordinate relationship or a pack relationship. Terminology affiliated with packs, pack behavior and rules about social organization within packs is unduly simplistic and should not be used uncritically.” It would be incorrect therefore to imply that a behavior such as standing over means that the dog doing it is “dominant” and the dog being subjected to it is ‘subordinate.”
Is standing over aggressive behavior? When it comes to agonistic behaviors, there may be components of outright aggression, but there also may be certain signals and displays which are meant to avoid aggression from happening in the first place. Unless there are actual injuries occurring, more likely there are ritualistic displays at play rather than overt aggressive ones. In other words, don’t be so fast in placing labels on dog behaviors! Notice how Roger Abrantes in the quote below is careful not to say “dominant dog” or “aggressive dog”, but rather mentions “dominant behavior” and aggressive behavior to prevent labeling/ascribing personality traits.
“Dominant behavior is situational, individual and resource related. One individual displaying dominant behavior in one specific situation does not necessarily show it on another occasion toward another individual, or toward the same individual in another situation… If any of the parties incur injury, then the behavior is aggressive and not dominant.” Roger Abrantes
Preventing Problems
A direct face-to-face meeting of two dogs who do not know each other can trigger conflict at times. It’s important to learn the signs of trouble before things escalate. A safe distance often can provide a better outcome. Dogs should be prevented from rehearsing “standing over behaviors” which can turn problematic and risk becoming overtime default behaviors used in all encounters with other dogs. In the video below you can see an interaction that involves “standing over” and how things escalate from there. What precipitated the “snark?” Did the leash exacerbate things? Or did the brown dog make a move that was just too much to tolerate? In other words, could this have been avoided? As always, readers are free to share thoughts in the comment section.
Disclaimer: this article is not meant to be used as a substitute for professional behavioral advice. If your dog is manifesting concerning behaviors towards other dogs, please consult with a behavior professional.
References:
- Manual of Clinical Behavioral Medicine for Dogs and Cats, By Karen Overall, Mosby; 1 Pap/DVD edition (July 9, 2013)
- AVSAB Position Statement on the Use of Dominance Theory in Behavior Modification of Animals, retrieved from the web on December 11th, 2016
- The Pet Professional Guild, Position Statement on the Use of Dominance Theory in Animal Training retrieved from the web on December 11th, 2016
- Roger Abrantes, Dominance—Making Sense of the Nonsense, retrieved from the web on December 11th, 2016
Dog owners often describe their dogs as if biting at some imaginary fly hovering in the air, but in reality there are no bugs around. For this reason, this behavior of air licking is also known as “fly biting” or “fly snapping.” Other dog owners describe it as a dog who is chasing imaginary things, up to the point of making them wonder whether their dogs are responding to some sort of
We often imagine seizures as the abrupt onset of uncontrollable muscle activity with the dog falling to his side, paddling and foaming at the mouth. These dramatic and scary episodes are known as gran mal seizures, but partial seizures are a type of seizures that are more on the discreet side.
Floaters are not limited to humans, they can affect dogs as well. What exactly are floaters and how do they affect dogs? Just like us, the dog’s eye is filled with a gel-like substance known as “vitreous.” 
In some cases, licking the air has been found to be indicative of a digestive disorder. A
In behavioral medicine, licking the air and fly biting have been reported to possibly be caused by a compulsive behavior disorder. It’s a mistake to assume fly biting is behavioral issue from the get-go without first having the dog evaluated for underlying medical problems. Once medical problems have been ruled out, then, the next step may be consulting with a veterinarian specializing in behavior problems.
Pro Tip: If you own two dogs, avoid giving them names that sound too similar, like “Molly” and “Holly.” Otherwise, you might find yourself with two dogs responding at once—or worse, neither responding at all!
You might have heard about your friend who has been cheating on her husband or your co-worker may have told you how her boss hurt her feelings, but before making a judgement, have you heard both sides of the story?
Owners often describe the dynamics about a dog growling when asked to move off the bed as such: So I was walking through door and found Rover on my bed. I am not really too keen about having him sleep on the bed. So I first asked him nicely to get off. When I said “off” the first time, Rover ignored me. So I said “off” in a more serious tone of voice, leaning over him and pointing near his face. At this point, he even turned his head the other way and then yawned!
Let’s take a closer look at what Rover may be silently telling the owner before the infamous growl. Here’s his version. So I was sleeping comfortably on the couch. I like to stay on the couch because it feels comfy and my owner has allowed it in the past. Now here comes my owner telling me “off.” I tilt my head wondering what that means. It almost seems like she’s trying to say “woof?” Next, the owner says “off” in a more serious tone and looms over me in an intimidating manner. That was quite scary!
First of all, Rover often has no idea of what “off” exactly means. When dog owners are inquired about it, turns out their dogs were never really trained to respond to the “off” cue. We often assume dogs will naturally understand certain words when told in a firm manner, such as telling the dog “off” or 
While the owner perceives the growl as the dog wanting to remain on the couch and “not giving up his throne” Rover is often not growling because of an intent to stay on the couch, but as a way to stop the owner from acting intimidating. Indeed, as soon as the owner leaves, the dog feels relief. In this case, for those interesting in learning how dogs learn, 
Of course, dogs may behave in certain ways for various different reasons, and there’s never a cookie-cutter explanation for all. If it were that easy, there would be manuals with step-by-step guides on how to fix dog behaviors just as those handy-man manuals tackling how to fix a leaky faucet making it feasible for everybody to do it.
Spitz dogs are simply a category of dog breeds which share some distinct characteristics. Most spitz-like dogs share small pointy ears, almond shaped eyes, a dense, thick coat and a fluffy tail that is often curled over the back.
If we take a closer look at the characteristics of spitz dogs we will see how their bodies were purposely crafted to live in a cold environment. Even the facial features were crafted with harsh cold weather in mind.
Interesting in opening your heart and home to a spitz dog? Then you need to know some important spitz dog facts. While every spitz dog is blessed with his own unique personality and characteristics, here are some general facts about spitz dog ownership and what to expect.
While keeshond lost their jobs on the barges long ago, they have still retained their strong watch dog instincts and are always on duty, sounding the alarm for anything they believe is unusual. Being sensitive, keeshond may be reactive towards loud noises and may not cope well in families where there is lots of tension or shouting.
Located at the bottom of Rover’s legs, we play an important role in bearing weight. You might find it interesting learning that dogs tend to carry the majority of their weight in their front legs.
While we help ear weight and absorb shock, we can only do so much. As mentioned, we are prone to injury, something that is quite common in performance dogs, such as dogs engaged in the sport of agility.
When we talk about epimeletic behaviors, we are basically discussing the natural tendency of providing care to others. Nurturing, care giving behaviors therefore fall under this category.
When we talk about allelomimetic behaviors, we are discussing about behaviors that puppies exhibit as they go through social stages of development. Once their ear and eyes open and puppies becomes more mobile, they will start discovering more about the world around them.
To better understand dog to dog greeting behaviors it’s important to know a bit more about pheromones. When dogs meet and greet one another, a whole lot goes on a chemical level. Several pheromone glands are distributed throughout the dog’s body and are concentrated on certain body parts, as seen in the picture.
This is one of the most common ways dogs are forced to interact with other dogs when they’re on leash, basically, head-on. This is generally not a preferred method to meet as seen in the tense dogs in the picture on the right.
Another area of interest is the groin area. In male dogs, there are also pheromones that are secreted here from the preputial area and urinary tract area. The presence of pheromones from the urinary tract explains why dogs are fixated with urine marking and sniffing other dog’s pee.
This is one of the most common ways dogs greet one another, and the one that people are most accustomed to. In a natural setting, unlike dogs meeting head-on as dogs are often forced to do when on leash, dogs arch their bodies in a curve and investigate one another in a head-to-tail, ano-genital greeting.