Hi My puppy has just turned 4 months old this weekend, and in the last 3 days has been bitten by two strange dogs while greeting them. The first one, on a morning walk along a narrow path, an older dog was walking towards us. So I stopped and stood to the side, making my puppy sit and wait as they walked past. As the other dog drew level, it reached out to sniff my puppy (who is always keen to make friends) and they calmly sniffed each other for a few seconds. Then, without warning, the other dog lunged and grabbed my puppy around the nose. He yelped, the other dog let go, and we quickly carried on away from them. Had a vet check and luckily no injuries to my puppy, just a tiny scratch on his nose. Then today, meeting up with a friend for the first time with her dog, a very similar thing happened. Walked towards each other to greet, again, my puppy was excited, but not jumping/barking, and the other dog, after a few seconds sniffing, lunges and grabs his ear. Again, loud yelp, the other dog lets go, and thankfully again, no injury. We continue the walk and they both have a great time playing and running around together, as if nothing happens. I know on Pippa's book, she says that puppies under 4 months are generally allowed free reign, and then after 4 months can be "mildly disciplined" by other dogs, I was just wondering if anyone had any advice on what I can do with my puppy? He seems completely un-bothered by these two incidents, I'm just worried that either one of these bites could have been much much worse. As I said above, he is normally very excited to see other dogs, but greets them by sniffing, not jumping/barking, so I can't see anything that would have triggered this behaviour. Thanks
Hi @Katherine Osmond You might find that in about 4 to 5 months your dog becomes reactive to other dogs. You will be able to trace the issue to the two episodes you describe. I don't say that to admonish you. Instead I offer the advice that it might be worthwhile carrying out some Look at That training now. It won't hurt, and may well avoid a future bout of reactivity Since the socialisation window has closed for your dog, there isn't any real need to have your dog interacting so closely with other dogs. I would instead enrol in a well-run dog class, in which the positive reinforcement instructor makes sure all aggressive behaviours are avoided.
We're already enrolled in puppy classes, and he's enjoying his training, including ignoring other dogs when we walk past, and greeting dogs in a calm and friendly manner. My worry is that on both of these occasions, the other dog has approached us, my puppy has stayed calm and friendly, and still resulted in being bitten. I don't want to completely separate him from meeting other dogs, which can also be difficult when out on walks with other dogs appearing off lead, I was just wondering if anyone had any advice as to what could be causing this behaviour towards him?
Hi @Katherine Osmond Two options come to mind 1. You've met several bullies 2. Your dog is giving inappropriate dog signals to the other dogs. It might be worthwhile reading some of Stan Coren's work so that you can read your own dog's and strange dogs' body language. Your puppy instructor should be covering body language as part of your class. If not, ask her or him or assistance. Since you don't mention that your dog is having any problems in the puppy class then I am inclined to place weight on 1. Some adult dogs are very intolerant of puppies. Dealing with aggressive dogs that are not under control by another handler is a real problem. You might try carrying an umbrella with you. Unfurl it if you need to startle and avoid an aggressive encounter, and create distance between your and the strange dog.
