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Warning growls should never be suppressed.

The dog that doesn’t growl is the dog that will bite.

It’s learned that giving a perfectly normal dog-language warning results in punishment, hence the alleged “sneak/silent/sudden biter” dogs.

An appropriate amount of growling is a good thing as it’s the best way for dogs to communicate their boundaries and intentions to one another.

[wanton, constant snarling is not acceptable]

That’s why early socialization is -so- important.
They need to learn to interact sanely with other dogs as well as humans.

[usually, you’ll find more behavior problems in a single dog home than a home with a “pack” of any size...the “only child” dog has no peers to put it in its place, so to speak]

My dogs, for example, are pretty much self-policing.

If the bitches bicker, another bitch or Odin will insert themselves between them to defuse the situation.

Hubby freaked out when Gypsy [as usual] started picking on Pookie and Djinni rushed over to them.
He thought they were going to “gang up” on Pookie.

I just said “No they’re not. Watch them” and Djinni defused the bickering by simply getting in between the other two and just standing there with neutral body language that put Gypsy’s mind in a calm state again.

If Gypsy is preoccupied with crickets or bunny smells outside and is slow coming back in, I send him out and he -brings- her back in.
[he fancies himself the Official House Cop]...:)

Phoebe [an Ibizan] has a serious grudge against Gypsy from the time Gyps first came here and “puppy played” by nipping her back legs.

Phoebe was very low in pack rank and didn’t discipline her for it.
Izzy [the former “enforcer”] passed away and the rank shifted and then later, Odin came here.

One day, Phoebe saw her chance for “payback” since The Enforcer was no longer around to stop her and went after Gypsy in the back yard...and she meant it.

Even though he was only 6 months old, Odin heard Gyps yelping in fear and saw his little “surrogate mom” being knocked down on her back and flew into the fray, body slamming Phoebe off of Gypsy and then blocking her from coming back.

Phoebe got the point, the “order” was re-established and even though she shoots Gyps dirty looks now and then, Odin is always watching....and she knows it and Gypsy finally learned to stop harassing her.

Take all of that and add myself interjecting my own commands as it’s happening and everybody pretty much knows what’s allowed and what isn’t.

Considering the wildly varying breeds/temperaments I’ve got going on here, the 6 of them do very well as a fully functional pack.

Ancient [14 years] Jack, who just doesn’t like Dobermanns once tried to pick a fight with much younger Odin and Odin very reasonably but definitely let him know there would be no more of this arbitrary foolishness.

Jack just ignores him now and stands completely still and calm if Odin decides to give him a sniff-over.

Our pack hierarchy is a subtle, always slightly shifting thing, much like a river flowing lazily along with ever-changing currents and eddies but the shifts are imperceptible to anyone who doesn’t “know the pack” yet they always find the new balance and harmony, themselves.

I rarely interfere because if I do, I will create sublimated conflict that -will- “flare up” sooner or later.

They have their own natural order.

I let them “just be dogs” but everybody knows who the Biggest Bitch is....;D

What’s odd is that “Dobermann show experts” keep telling me [and everyone else on our forum] that “no one can keep more than 1 male Dobe at a time”.

It’s a good thing I didn’t know that when I had anywhere from 2 to 4 adult, intact males running around the house during their rehab-to-rehome period.

Never had any “issues” and if I left 4 of them alive at home, I still had 4 alive when I came back.

Go figger....:)