female exhibiting male behavior

Question
QUESTION: I have a question regarding canine behavior. My 1 year old mini dachshund exhibits male behavior on a regular basis. My vet says it's because she's an alpa female -- but she (the dog) knows that I am alpha in the house. By behavior I mean, seems to "mark" territory when we're out for a walk by urinating often and scuffing her hind legs to spread the scent and humping a male dachshund she regularly plays with. She will also growl and sometimes snap at another dog if it doesn't appear that I know the owner. Is this normal? She is otherwise a wonderful, quiet, well behaved member of the family.

ANSWER: Hi, Jean,

Thanks for the question.

This isn't abnormal behavior at all. It's a little out of the ordinary, but it's probably the result of tension and stress, not an instinctive tendency toward dominance, or wanting to be alpha.

I'm afraid your vet is a little behind the times on his analysis: the top wolf experts in the world no longer use the word alpha, or the agree with the concept of a pack leader who rules other pack members' behavior. The real social dynamics of a wild wolf pack don't involve anything like dominance or a hierarchical structure. (I suggest you read my article: "Is Your Dog Dominant, or Just Feeling Anxious?" http://tinyurl.com/2q2esp ) In fact, there really is no such thing as a pack leader, at least not in the traditional sense. And if there's no pack leader in wild wolves, how could dogs have inherited an instinct to follow an authority figure that doesn't actually exist in nature? The real reason for the pack instinct is that it's what enables wolves to hunt and kill large prey by working in harmony toward a common goal. So the pack instinct is about group cooperation while hunting, not who's most dominant.

Humping, and even excessive marking, can be ways for dogs to reduce internal tension and stress. In fact, there's a direct correlation between stress hormones, and ADH, the hormone that regulates urine production. When stress goes up, the body produces more urine. As for humping, that's usually a product of social frustration: one dog wants to interact playfully, for example, and the other doesn't. So the dog whose desires are frustrated downloads some of that tension and frustration in a displaced sexual behavior (meaning it isn't directly related to reproduction). Sometimes the humping will cause the other dog to spin around snap at the first dog, and a game can start from that. Sometimes not.

How much hard, vigorous playful exercise does your dog get every day? Dogs need to play. It uses up their natural predatory energy, it produces neuro-chemicals that create a feelings of pleasure and well-being, and it also generates the production of brain growth factors that increase a dog's intelligence and ability to learn new skills. I recommend you play games that use your doxie's tracking skills, like teasing her with a toy and then hiding it in various parts of the yard. Tug and fetch are also great games for dogs. (If you play tug you should always let her win and praise her enthusiastically for winning.)

I hope this helps you understand this behavior better! If not, let me know.

Thanks again for your question,

LCK

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hmmm.... very interesting article. I've never heard it explained that way, but it does make sense. I know my pup doesn't get as much real PLAY time as boring walks, but I also  know dogs who get even less and don't act this way. Would you say that some dogs are just naturally more anxious than others? Could they pick it up from the humans? (The reason I ask is because currently, my daughter is being treated for severe anxiety and we were hoping that caring for the dog might help her with confidence.) Also, if the anxiety tag is put in place of the dominance tag, would you say that male dogs tend to be more anxious? (Since they more often exhibit this behavior)-- or is it that males require more exercise in general?

This has really got me thinking now.

Thanks.

Answer
Thanks for getting back to me.

It's true that some dogs don't need as much play time as others, but to me it's still a matter of how much stress build up there is given each individual dog's temperament and living conditions.

And yes, anxiety (or stress) can be catching. Dogs are very sensitive to our emotions. In a way your dog's behavior may be a reflection of some of the very same feelings your daughter is struggling with.

Male dogs aren't usually more anxious, no. Testosterone does many wonderful things. Yes, it causes intact male dogs to mark more than neutered dogs do, but healthy levels of the hormone are associated with lower levels of anxiety (this was in shown a couple of studies done on hypogonadal men in contrast to men with normal testosterone), and neutering has been linked to fear and aggression in male dogs.

I hope this clarifies things a bit further!

LCK