Frightened or Highly Submissive Behavior
Identifying Frightened or Highly Submissive Behavior
The frightened dog will attempt to make itself as small as possible. You will generally find this personality trait more in dogs with adaptable or insecure personalities. Overly fearful or submissive dogs typically act in this way in an attempt to make the aggressor believe that they are already beaten and offer no threat. The frightened dog may act like a puppy by crouching and cowering or trying to lick the aggressors face from the submissive down position, this is another instinctual behavior in that dogs generally do not like to attack young dogs.
A frightened dog may roll over onto its back exposing it’s vulnerable under belly and showing that it is not capable of threatening behavior, even going so far as to urinate on the floor or on themselves while laying on their back. The majority of the time the conflict will resolve itself without violence however if the aggressor continues to press the issue, a scared submissive dog can quickly become a fear-biter and initiate the fight. The best course of action when you observe this behavior it is stop it before it escalates, not by scolding the aggressor or yelling which will only serve to fuel the conflict by adding unneeded excitement to an already potentially explosive situation.
A better alternative is to try clapping your hands loudly, or shake a can full of coins to create a distraction that causes them to shift their attention elsewhere diffusing the situation. In the event that all else fails then casually walk up and take control of the aggressor and lead him to a different part of the play area and apply correction if he attempts to reinitiate conflict. Do not attempt to reach down and grab the submissive as this can result in you getting bit by an already frightened dog. The other likely outcome is that the aggressor will see this as admonishment of the submissive by the pack leader (you) and choose to attack the submissive at this moment.
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