Not having a good week We live near a beach which is great but it's a busy beach for dog walkers. Nevis is 7 months and loves when he see's other dogs, I have him on a lead because of this, but whats happening ( 3 times ) in the last week is the other dogs rush over to him then have a go snapping and growling. Nevis gets excited when they come over but i keep him close so he can't jump up on them. I know he needs to socialise with other dogs and at this moment i think he still thinks its a game when they do it but it doesn't feel like a game when it happening. Yesterday a woman with a lab and a small terrier got dragged over to us, the terrier was going mental at him, thankfully the dogs were on a lead and the terrier was muzzled She let go of the lab but it then started barking at us. I think it would have been ok with just the lab as it was fine but because the terrier was so upset i think it thought maybe protect his own so started barking. I don't want him to be put off meeting other dogs. Today i found myself going in a different direction when a saw a group of dogs as i just felt i couldn't face another confrontation. He's such a good natured pup, excitable yes but not a nervous pup at all. When this happens you can see he's a bit bewildered and unsure what going on. I just don't want him to be nervous of other dogs. Thanks for letting me rant :-[ its probably me more than him
Re: Walking into trouble Could you maybe try having Nevis on a long training line rather than a lead Elizabeth ? This way , you could observe what happens when he has more freedom to interact with other dogs whilst still having some control, just a thought
Re: Walking into trouble He is at that age where his Puppy License has expired, his boy hormones are kicking in (other dogs will know this) and he is still lacking in doggy social etiquette, so you'll find many other dogs will want to put him in his place for a while. Is there anywhere else you can walk where you can let him off lead to socialise with (usually) friendly dogs? He will probably still get told off occasionally, especially if he goes charging in and is a bit In-Yer-Face, but he needs to interact and he really needs other dogs to teach him how to behave. Unfortunately us humans are rubbish at teaching dogs Dog Language, so they need as much time as possible spent with their own kind, with as little interference from us as we can muster.
Re: Walking into trouble I think introducing dogs on lead can be difficult - both dogs need to be used to it, I think. One off lead dog, and one on lead, can be especially difficult. The lead can stop a dog from behaving in the right way, and so it can give off the wrong signals. This is one reason, but far from the only one, that I don't do doggy interactions on lead, only off lead. By 7 months, Charlie had much, much better social doggy manners than the vast majority of the dogs we came across, and I put this down to him having a great deal of freedom off lead to mix with a huge number of dogs - and he has always been much better at dealing with a poorly socialised off lead dog if he is off lead too. I'm not very tolerant of the "putting a puppy in his place" thing - mature, well socialised dogs do this swiftly and effectively and generally once. Ongoing snapping, growling, and pushing around (particularly if the interaction starts with that and continues for some time) is not the same thing at all.
Re: Walking into trouble Hi thanks for answering. I have a long lead which i put on him when we get down the beach so he can run about and practice recall. But because there is so many dogs i haven't let him off the long lead. Trouble seems to happen getting to the beach which is pavement and road. He used to pull awful so we got his a harness and he walk great with it now but still gets distracted with people and cars so i use the normal lead. I can see where you're coming from re hormones maybe they are sensing it from him. I think we've just been unlucky this week. Will try a change of venue. I definitely think the lab would have been fine and as you said was just putting him in his place. Had tried dog classes but it was well one woman and 20+ dogs cramped into a small place! in the hour we sat for 50min of it. So it the socialising he's missing out on. We need to find some nice doggies ;D and more training!
Re: Walking into trouble [quote author=Bruer link=topic=4865.msg60601#msg60601 date=1394720403] But because there is so many dogs i haven't let him off the long lead. [/quote] Can you find a place where most dogs are off lead and let him off lead too? I know dog parks aren't common in the UK, but there are usually places where most people seem to have their dogs off lead. I let Charlie off his lead pretty much straight away - sure, he embarrassed me from time to time, but nothing I couldn't smooth over with "so sorry! he's still just a puppy" as I dashed to get him. Your boy is still young enough for you to use the same excuse. I agree that it's not great to have him off lead if there are on lead dogs he will bother before your recall is in place, but most owners are just fine with off lead dogs saying hello to other off lead dogs. I think it's really important for their socialisation to interact freely with loads of other dogs. I don't mean having a massive out of control hoolie with a big pack of dogs, which I don't think is good at all, but the freedom to play and say hello to a few dogs for a few minutes a week is pretty important I think.
Re: Walking into trouble Harley is also 7 months and generally her behaviour around other dogs is really good. She is off lead a lot as we have woods and a few large green areas nearby. I have worked hard on getting Harley to sit and wait for me if another dog is on lead so I can ask if she can say hello. If they say no, I run off in the opposite direction making lots of noise so she follows me. Harley has been put in her place a few times, but generally just the once as when she gets too hyper. I have found most people will remove their dogs if they are being too aggressive. We have just got back from the woods - Harley was off lead. She said hello to 10 different dogs (9 off lead), out of these, one was quite aggressive with her and the owner apologised and took her dog away. I appreciated this and it didn't stop Harley from say hi to other dogs she seen after this. I guess what I'm saying is they learn quickly and 'most' owners will intervene if their dog is too aggressive. I haven't found that Harley has been affected negatively at all
Re: Walking into trouble We did a lot of walking on sheep fenced paths which meant the leg it room was restricted and we only met a dog or two at a time. Riley's an intact male and he certainly met with some dogs that wanted to firmly establish the pecking order. As Julie says as long as they put him in his place once, swiftly and left it once he's been submissive I let them get on with it. If they didn't let it go I expected their owner to step in.
Re: Walking into trouble Thanks for all the replies, we're going to try new places where we can let him off the lead and see how it goes. Tonight my son has taken him to his friends house who has a Westie and a lab 3 months older than Nevis. Told him what you'd all said about meeting new dogs. He has just sent me a photo of them all lying on the floor together, he says they are all having a great time ;D
