hi all my 7 month old black lab Barnie wants to play with every dog he see's,when he see's them he lays down like he's submitting and most of the time the other dogs seem to be aggressive towards him,Barnie just wants to play all the time bouncing around like a baby lamb not showing aggression of any kind just very playful. how do I avoid this or stop it. many thanks shappy
A lot of dogs dislike playful, bouncy pups. I let mine learn by taking the consequences if in an off-lead area, which is pretty much most free runs round here. They soon learn dog language that way and avoid the snappers and snarlers I simply walk confidently past all dogs and expect them to learn to do the same. If the dog wants to play and the owner is happy I let them have a hooley around before moving on. If I see a dog on lead I always put mine on lead and go on by, no greetings - they could be on lead for many reasons including medical. If there are dogless people or children around I pop pups on the lead as I am very keen that they ignore people and that bouncyness + children don't go well. With my older dog I simply expect her to 'heel' past them.
I do agree lots of dogs find the full on, in your face, bounce up of a young Labrador far too much. Especially Collies, I find. My dog was a horror for this, given the chance (I tried not to give him the chance) and I worked very, very hard on having him stay with me around other dogs and also took him to appropriate classes where he could interact with other dogs under the watchful eye of a professional who made sure everything stayed cool and no dogs got bullied. You are really best off in a class for this - lot of places run teenage socialisation groups. Firstly because not all dogs will respond to your puppy appropriately, and he might get hurt but also, other owners might not be willing to co-operate and just want to get on with whatever they were doing before your puppy arrived. If you are talking about your dog on lead, that's slightly different though....
Hi and welcome to the forum, my 8 month girl is exactly the same. I did exactly as Boogie and it cured the problem but now she's on restricted exercise we are back to square one. I'm back to training her as though she is a 9 week old pup. Once she is off lead I'm sure the problem will disappear again. If you don't go to training classes I would certainly recommend you find some. A good trainer is invaluable. I also find having a training plan and being consist plus keeping calm is key (easier said than done) Also Mabel's walks are always structured. She has free sniffing time, training, playing tug that sort of thing. Good luck.
