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All you have to do is what you’ve been doing except that I would suggest toning down the counter-aggression ruckus.

[Cardinal rule #1: Aggression -breeds- aggression]

*Calm and in control* is king.

The “alpha dog” is -so- in control, it needs only to stand still and *be*.

This is the psychology of the canine mind.

I’m currently working with a 100 pound Euro Dobermann who is without doubt the most “driven” Dobe I’ve ever had.
[so much so that I’ve not had to do the months of training I did with American Dobes. He just innately *knows* his job. “Harm Mom. Die a bloody death.”]

If anyone ever does kill me, it will have to be a little kid because he totally adores them to the point of making a public damn-fool of himself just to get their attention and affection...LOL

There is not one single doubt in my mind that, if he chose to do so, he could take me apart in 10 seconds or less.
[he outweighs me and I’m just a little runt]

Yet, because I have trained so many Dobes [and other breeds] what freaks him out more than any other form of ‘discipline’ from “mom”, is the dreaded stiff-backed, stony, silent treatment.

In dog language, he understands that I am calmly and without question stating my place in the pack...the one who is “so big and bad”, I can afford to just disregard my underlings.

Ten seconds of that gets me 10 minutes of him trying to smooch up and ‘apologize’ for his lapse in manners.

Next time you run into a small “practice” dog, give it a try.

Keep the bike between yourself and the dog, just in case but stand there and look straight ahead, quietly disregarding its existence.

Odds are you’ll blow its little yappy mind.

You are not reacting like you “should be” and this confuses them to the point where they get nervous and run off.

Who knows?

In their mind, they could fear that you are so confidently alpha, you could suddenly bite them.

[I’ve walked and rode a horse on a *lot* of dog-filled country roads and it’s never failed me. 99% of the time, I just ignored the dog and kept on going like it wasn’t even there. They got bored and frustrated by the lack of ‘expected reaction’ and went home.]

*Never* been bit.

It sure beats killing somebody’s improperly trained dog just because the owner is an idiot.