[tenderfoot]

Cesar is not all bad, but he tends to toss everything into dominance or submission when there are lots of places in-between.

We like to look at things as 'whose in charge of the moment?’. When your dog 'nose punches' you it could be for several reasons. It could be attention getting behavior, it could be to solicit play, it could be a challenge, and it could be aggression.

You do best to read his energy. Anger/frustration would be easy to interpret as aggression. A soft face with soulful eyes could be attention getting “please pet me” emotions. Perky ears, wide eyes and higher energy could be “let’s play NOW” energy.

Everything your dog does has meaning and it is up to you to interpret it correctly and respond appropriately. It’s not a bad thing for your dog to give you the ‘please pet me’ touch, but how often does he do it and what is your response? Do you pet him right away and say ‘yes sir’ or do you ask him to do something first to earn it so that it puts you back in control.

It’s not that you need to be a control freak but dogs basically do what works and when it works they do it even more. So an immediate reward for his demanding behavior can lead to a lot more demanding behavior – is that what you want to sign up for?