:confused: What's wrong with my dog? I have a doberman pinscher, & she is about 3 yrs. She's normally fine but whenever she starts barking and jumping she automatically starts gnawing & whining at her left hip viciously. Whenever this happens in that area she's covered in saliva. I don't know what it is because it only happens outside when she barks at the neighboring dog. We went the to vet one time & they weren't sure but guessed it might be just a behavioral instinct. Before we thought it might be a hip problem, & at one time even thought it could be really bad gas pains... I don't know what's wrong so someone please help me. :(

I would say that it could be aggression, she may see her hip out of the corner of her eye. 1. Is she spayed 2. Is she alpha 3. does she get along with other dogs. 4. When you approach the fence while she is barking and touch her does she snap at you. < do not try her, she may bite you! I would suggest a really good trainer one that would be willing to visit your home.

Bush has brought up some very good questions. It sounds as if your dobie is maturing. Larger dogs take longer to mature than smaller breeds. Anywhere from 2 years to 4 years depending on the breed. So, the questions bush is asking are very important to keeping your dog happy and well balanced. If she is not spayed and if she doesn't get along well with other dogs, the heightened aggressive behavior will continue. So, if she isn't spayed, it would be a very good idea to have it done. Also consider finding a vet/behaviorist or a trainer who is very experienced with breeds such as dobermans, rotties, or pit bulls. You will need further help with this problem if my following suggestion doesn't work for you. The fact that the trigger is a neighborhood dog is very troublesome. She is viewing the other dog as a threat for some reason. One thing you should be doing is to discourage her from jumping up and barking. Since you know her well, you should be able to detect when her aggression is becoming so heightened that she is about to go into one of her "attacks" on herself. You have to try to extinguish the behavior as soon as it starts. So, when she jumps up and barks, place her in a lie down position and make her stay until she calms down. You need her to focus on you only. If she is reacting to any other stimulus around her, such as another dog, you need to block this outside interference from her view. Stand in front of her and refocus her attention to the commands that you are giving her. Again, direct her to lie down and keep her in the down position until she calms down. Ignore the other dog or any people. Focus your attention and energy completely on controlling your dog's behavior.

She appears to be viewing her hind quarters as if they belong to another dog. I have seen this occur with dogs that are not used to being around other dogs. They will bite their feet or tails when food is around or they are playing with their favorite toy. It seems to be a guarding reaction to what they view as theirs, thinking that another dog is trying to get at their food or toy. I did see one dog do this while in a vets presence and it was explained away by the vet as a behavioral "flaw", suggesting that improper breeding was the cause and nothing can be done about it. I am not inclined to just accept that explanation without making some attempt at behavioral modification/retraining. This kind of behavior causes distress not just to the owner, but to the dog as well. It is up to us, as owners, to make an effort to relieve the distress our dogs are experiencing. So, please try what I am suggesting over the next couple of weeks and see if you are able to get this under control. If you are having trouble getting her to respond properly, then consulting a behaviorist or trainer with large breed aggression experience is the next step. Please let us know how you and she are doing.

To answer all of the questions... 1. yes she is spayed. 2. she is an only dog. 3. She, well is very shy around other dogs, like at the dog park she is usually running away. &4. She doesn't snap at us when we make her stop barking, she just runs around making it hard for us to catch her. And actually she doesn't mind when other dogs bark, but there is this one dog that I should've mentioned... It was a dog that attacked her when she was about a month old. Ever since she's hated that dog.. and whenever it barks she goes balistic!
But, yes, that is good information. Thank you so much.
~maybe since she doesn't get to see the dog over the fence she probably takes it out on herself in anger?

Doberman try Ruby's suggestions or her behavior may get worse as she gets older. Even though it is with just this one dog she may transfer it to other dogs over time or possibly people. I do not think that she is taking the anger out on herself. I think it is just as ruby explained. She thinks her hind quarters is the other dog. I do not believe that dogs are capable of anger only reacting to a certain situation.I would also try to get her as socialised with other dogs as much as possible.

Doberman, bushg is right about your dog not being capable of anger. They don't react to situations the way we do. It may be that she will always have a problem with that one dog or any dogs that look like that one dog. Also, please don't misinterprete "shyness" for fear based aggression. I think you might want to rethink the dog park until you get a handle on this behavior. The last thing you need is for her to suddenly snap at or bite another person. If she is "shying away" from other dogs while at the dog park, you don't want her to be off leash and out of your control. She has a social problem. She is not reacting properly to other dogs if she is shying away from them. Dog parks are great but they should be used as a treat rather than as a form of exercise. When you get a bunch of dogs together that haven't been fully exercised and have all this pent up energy, you are going to have a problem at some point in time. From your description, it doesn't seem that your dog is viewing the dog park as rewarding. I think it might be best to find that trainer or behaviorist I mentioned in my earlier post. To have a dobie that appears fearful of anything is an accident waiting to happen. People who understand the fear based dog will set up controlled situations with other dogs and show you exactly what you need to do to create that calm submissive state of mind in your dog and put an end to her attacks on herself.

I think I will defer to RubyPitbull on this one. My thinking is to push the vet on a physical problem, but If Ruby has seen such behavior before, perhaps she is right.