Our 8 week old puppy met two big dogs, one at a time, and her response was to cry bloody murder and tuck tail and run. Eventually she warmed up slightly, after an hour of watching at a distance. We have access to a trainer supervised socialization class, which we will be attending this weekend for the first time. My husband and I are looking for tips on how to change our behaviour and set it up so our timid Stella makes a better first impression.
Hopefully the trainer will be helpful at the class. I don't think that it will help to put your puppy in an overwhelming situation, an 8 week old pup must have just left its litter and mother and will need time to settle in. I would just take it easy. When your pup has found it's feet maybe you could try to introduce one dog but I am hesitant to recommend that. My pup didn't mix with dogs at 8 weeks as she hadn't had her injections. Are you in the UK?
Ella met one of my friends (fully vaccinated) dogs when she was 9 weeks old. She was quite nervous and spent most of the time sitting on my lap. We took her to puppy school after her second vaccination and she was pretty confident with the other puppies so it could have been a size thing. However, she's 16 weeks now, fully vaccinated and full of confidence with all dogs (sometimes a little too much confidence I think) so I put the first introduction down to her age and the fact that she hadn't been with us for that long either. Hopefully Stella will gain a little confidence with age as well. Good luck ☺ Emily
Jane, we are in Ontario, Canada. Stella has had her first round of vaccinations and the adult dogs were vaccinated as well. And Emily, the other dogs were BIG dogs. We are chalking it up to too much too soon. She had only been with us for two days. We are going to try a supervised puppy socialization this coming Saturday which will make Stella 9wks. We are trying to make the most of the time we have to socialize. Thanks for the feedback Margo
I'm sure things will go better with the puppy class, but just watch for Stella getting overwhelmed and give her plenty of chances for rest breaks, treats and pats too. It's a very good idea to introduce her to vaccinated older dogs - but maybe try to arrange for one at a time and maybe not such huge dogs It can help a lot of the older dog is well trained and will sit and look at the owner of even lie down so Stella can approach and investigate on her own terms. An older/adult dog that will basically ignore a puppy is a perfect start for a hesitant pup
Hi there, Come back and let us know how Puppy class goes.I reckon she will,have a ball zooming around with little pals her own size ,and it will give you confidence too.Puppy classes can be a bit chaotic ( I'm smiling as I type that...bit of an understatement when I think back to the first classes I did) so Rachael ( Oberon ) is right in saying watch her for signs she might need a breather from it all,you can always join back in when she's had a break. Good luck with it and great to see you on the Forum x
