How much interaction?

[stavrast]

Hello everyone. I have recently begun taking my puppy to the park. He just finished with his shots so I could hardly wait. With some treats in my pocket and him always on the leash everything is going well. He meets many dogs and they sniff each other, look at each other from a distance, etc. However, sometimes, irresponsible owners leave their dogs loose and they come right up to Argos (my dog) and he tends to panic for a few seconds until I step in and tell him to relax with an EASY or GOOD BOY command and he does so. Sometimes a big dog runs over and my poor puppy is scared "poopooless". I always step in to relax him and tell him that it's OK and he does relax after a while. But I can see that he is really scared for a few seconds.

I read in Culture Clash that in order for him to have a natural interaction with the other members of his species I shouldn't panic and go crazy when other dogs come by but should just let them sort it out by themselves. That's what I'm doing. But what happens when a dog becomes aggressive toward my dog? How far is far enough? Argos is a confident and curious dog so he rarely hides behind me anymore as he used to do some weeks ago. But some dogs we've met are triple his size.

When do I step in? Should I let them go on and sniff each other or should I just keep on walking with him and have him focus on what we were doing before the other dog showed up?

Thanks

[Carina43]

Personally I would limit his interaction with strange dogs whose intentions may be questionable...is there any way you can take him places to play where there aren't off leash, out of control dogs? Especially at his impressionable young age, there's no point in him being forced to deal with large with large scary dogs.

For socialising with other dogs, find some safe and friendly dogs, like friend's dogs that he can interact with in a controlled and safe manner. There are some whose position is that there is no need for a dog to interact with ANY other dogs & that's OK too.

My dogs' default position is "ignore other dogs." They're allowed to interact only if I give them permission. No way do I want uncontrolled strange dogs getting in their faces at any age. Could be a recipe for disaster.

[Luvs]

I don't allow strange dogs to come up to mine. When I see a strange dog approaching I will go in the opposite direction if needed to avoid making any kind of contact. I make Akasha heel and focus on me as we continue on our walk. I have gotten inbetween Akasha and a strange dog that was running up to us and yelled at him to chase him away. I don't know if he was friendly or not, but I was NOT taking any chances. You just never know what may happen. Especially if the other dogs owner has no control over them.

If I want my dogs to have interactions with other dogs I have friends who have dogs that I know they get along with. If I introduce them to a new dog, I make sure that BOTH are on leash so I can control the situation if things get out of hand. I also make sure that I know either the dog or owner.

I personally try to avoid parks where I know there are alot of dogs. If I want my dogs to run and play I take them to a ball field that is fenced in and usually empty.

Take your boy different places and have fun with him. Just be wary of dogs you don't know;)

[Carina43]

You might find the article Judi posted here valuable:
http://rottweiler.net/forums/showthr...5&pagenumber=1

[stavrast]

Thank you very much for the advice and the article. Very interesting. Of course, it goes in the opposite direction than Jean Donaldson and I have learned to take her methods very seriously. I wonder though about what you said, because when we go to the park I have observed that when a big dog approaches he tends to hide behind me in the beginning. I have wondered about what does that do to his psychology.

My position is that I don't want him to learn to stand up to bigger dogs, you know make him brave, or teach him to tolerate small dogs. I just want him to be normal, as normal as he can be living in a household with only one dog. I suspect that it would be much better for him if he had another dog to constantly play and grow up with. Of course, since I'm a very new dog owner, this is out of the question.

I think I'll try to keep him away from other dogs, as much as possible. I do have a friend with a dog that we can arrange for them to get together.

But what happens when a big dog on the loose comes charging on top of us? Should I just keep walking??

Also, another reason for him not to interact too much with other dogs in the park is because I'm in the process of training him to follow my commands with many distractions around.
Thank you for the advice.

[damp]

I assume your dog is still a young pup.

It’s not building up confidence, when he is approached of another dog and he panics.

I do believe in making a pup brave and strengthen its confidence. I do that, being aware he is only confronted with dogs I know and if possible not confronted with situation a pup can’t handle. I know that easier said than done, but when it happens, my pup will have to work out his fear/panic itself. I don’t believe in stepping in or solve the problem for a pup/dog…(so unless it could injure the pup it’s HIS problem not my!)

In other words: Confidence is gained by positive experiences and by working out problems itself and then realise the item/situation was not that scary... and the confidence is ruined by negative experiences and mom and dad telling that it's ok to be scared.

Concentrate on the basic commands without no distractions… it’s way to early to expect a pup (who has just finish the shots) to obey under distractions of other dogs, kids etc.

Many dogs are quite NORMAL living in a “one dog household”. They don’t need a dog playmate at all.

[Carina43]

What I do if an unleashed dog comes running up is a: holler at the owner to GET YOUR DOG!!! And if that's not an option, b: yell & stomp or whatever to make the dog keep its distance & go bug someone else.

And I've had a few dogs who really didn't care much about interacting with other dogs...not aggressive, just not interested.

[stavrast]

Thank you all for the advice. For now I think I'm going to have him interact, mainly, with dogs I know, like my friend's Italian Greyhound. Also, our neighbor's German Shepherd is a 14 month old, female and they are getting along fine--across the fence. With other dogs, especially those double his size!, we'll be more discreet.

Something damp said has me thinking. I think I'm rushing my puppy's training all the time. I expect too much of him and I do get his obedience, 90% of the time and many compliments from those who see us, but I still think I demand too much of him. I know that the sooner you start with training the better. But I swear sometimes I get paranoid. His play-biting a couple of weeks ago had me sleepless for a couple of nights. Some of the advice I got really didn't help either (with calming my nerves I mean...) Until we decided to get him a professional trainer...

Things have gotten much much better. But with such sensitive issues as dog to dog interaction or dog to human interaction I must be extremely careful.

Thank you.

[poohbearsmom]

You are in control of your pup's future. Careful and thoughtful socialization is paramount in building a confident, happy dog.

It is normal for a pup to startle. It is normal for a pup to recover. Recovery, and what you do, or don't do to assist the pup with this is the key.

Allowing larger, aggressive dogs (whether aggressively friendly, or not so friendly), to scare your pup would not be what I'd call positive reinforcement. Control the situation, and you can control your pup's destiny, so to speak. There are enough "new" things for you and your pup to discover together and work through, that I'd stay away from ANYWHERE there are unleashed dogs roving around.

You are in control of your pup's future. Careful and thoughtful socialization is paramount in building a confident, happy dog.

[tugger5000]

Our trainer suggested that we limit dog-dog interaction between puppy class and dogs that we know, not only because of the disease susceptibility of a young pup, but also for the reasons that you've noticed at the park.
With that being said, dog-people interaction should be encouraged. As our trainer put it, "if you're dog hasn't met at least 100 people by the time puppy class is over [10 weeks], you haven't socialized him enough".

[poohbearsmom]

Originally posted by tugger5000
Our trainer suggested that we limit dog-dog interaction between puppy class and dogs that we know, not only because of the disease susceptibility of a young pup, but also for the reasons that you've noticed at the park.
With that being said, dog-people interaction should be encouraged. As our trainer put it, "if you're dog hasn't met at least 100 people by the time puppy class is over [10 weeks], you haven't socialized him enough".

100 is a good number, 1000 is better. :)

[tugger5000]

Originally posted by poohbearsmom
100 is a good number, 1000 is better. :)

:Dhttp://www.rottweiler.net/forums/icons/icon14.gif

[stavrast]

Thank you for the sound advice people. I'll be much more careful with the dogs I let him socialize with in the future. Especially those huge ones! We'll just go about our business and exercise/train together the way we've been doing for some weeks now.

As for human/dog socialization I agree 100% with you. The more people he meets the better off he'll be and will get used to all different types. (And here in New York we have all different types!)

Thanks

[lblax]

Originally posted by stavrast
I always step in to relax him and tell him that it's OK and he does relax after a while.

everyone has given you good advice but here is the main thing that was wrong...never coddle or tell your dog when he is acting fearful that its ok

[stavrast]

Iblax, that's also good advice. But in case he does get scared, for example, when I don't have time to get him away from a big, rushing dog fast enough, I should just keep out and let him get over it by himself?