[TobyTanzanite]

My Dog, Toby (Topaz Tanzanite) Has Never Been abused in his whole entire life, for we got him as a pup, but as i try and pet him and cuddle and play with him, he couches down on the floor, with his ears flat submissively, and gives me that look that says: "Please don't hurt me, please, please, i'll do anything just don't hurt me." He is even submissive to puppies!! I want kknow if i am doing somthing wrong, as the only time I even think about spanking him is we he pees in the house, I feed him everyday, groom him every other day, and play with him as much as possible,

Note: He is Submissive to anything that moves, But is happy when he sees me
(he's my adoptive doggy son)

[Alpha]

I think there's a big difference between being submissive and being fearful.

Spanking during housetraining will get you no where, in fact it's likely that you will cause your dog to be fearful, while making no headway in the housetraining.

There are a tonne of topics on this board about housetraining that could be of some use to you

I have a submissive dog. Now as I said, that's not to say that he's fearful. He doesn't cringe when I go to pat him, but if I have an angry tone of voice, he will cower, ears back and tail between his legs. I suppose in a sense he is "fearful", but I look at being submissive "responsive" and being plain fearful differently. If Hades was trully fearful, he would be afraid ALL the time, when I go to pat him, when I stand up near him etc. But that's neither here nor there.

I would firstly, change how your handling the housetraining. You may even see a large difference in personality with just that. Than working on some bonding excercises with your dog. Training with your dog can also build a tonne of confidence and respect between the two of you.

Good luck

[Keenan]

Agreed, I was able to potty train my dog Sydney in only a month. The last thing you want to do is hit your dog for doing what comes naturally to them (or ever really). If you catch them in the act typically a firm NO! will startle them enough to stop in their tracks. Pick them up straight away and take them to a place you've designated as the potty spot. Once they go where you want them to praise them straight away and use positive reinforcement. It does no good to punish a dog 5-10 minutes after they have an accident. They associate them getting in trouble with the fact that they went to the bathroom, not that they went in the wrong place. Thats why you see so many dogs who make messes in plain site of the owner but immediately hunker down with their tail between their legs. Owners often use the line "dumb dog, he knows not to go in the house but he does it anyway." The truth is not only do they think it's wrong to go in the house, but in their mind it's wrong to go anywhere. You need to have instant corrections or no correction at all. If you don't catch them in the act, appear indifferent to it, just try to catch them next time.

[Jen D]

Is it a Yorki you have and how old is he? One of my dogs will go after a chain saw but if you go to pet him on the head his whole body will lower. I always make a point with him to start out petting him under his chin never on top of his head and that has made a difference.

[Dogstar]

If your Toby were my dog, we'd be doing a lot of obedience work as a foundation for moving into agility or freestyle once his training level was there- very positive, lots of reinforcement. Training is a GREAT way to increase your dog's confidence.

I *do* think that being excessively submissive is a negative thing for a dog, partially because it's my experience that dogs who are so very submissive are generally reacting as if stressed to all sorts of things. (Just minor stress signs- licking lips, head turns, panting). A low stress threshold means the dog is living in a state of nearly-constant but low-level anxiety and well, that just sucks.

[bluesbarby]

I know this is just semantics but this thread has me confused. Is the dog submissive or skittish?

[TobyTanzanite]

I just want to help him, He is so scared all the time, i guess that's a better word than submissive. well I'll stop spanking him. but is there anything I should do to help him not be so...... Frighted

[Ginny01OT]

I think I have a submissive dog but not for the reasons stated in other posts. Riley is a really nice dog with other dogs. He never starts anything and will play with anyone other dog willing---he can almost be naive. In fact he loves to be chased and then he will chase and then he will be chased, etc. My kids thought he was too nice/submissive as a few times other dogs would knock him on his back, I was always there to break it up but it really upset my kids to see him knocked on his back by another dog or two (at one advanced obedience classes, they had a "playtime:" afterwards and two sibling boxers took him down--no fighting, no biting but still--we all stopped it just in case.

The funniest thing tho, his "best friend" was a rottweiler who is about 3 months younger than him but weighs almost twice as much as him and is unneutered. This dog has even been a little dominant to its owners (particularly when food is around). Well, him and Riley are soulmates and that rottie was even more submissive to Riley, it was actually cute and almost odd to see. Anyway, the rottie has moved and every time we walk by the house Riley still looks for him in their backyard (where they used to romp). So although Riley may be submissive, he steps up to the plate when he has to and he is not fearful at all.

[Jen D]

What do you do when he is frightened? Do you baby him or ignore the situation he is reacting to?