Meeting Other Dogs

[amanda9586]

Hi there,

We have Poppy - an adorable and exitable 12 week old cocker and I'm looking for some advice on procedure for meeting dogs when your out and about on walks.  We have introduced her to my sisters dog and my parents dog but I'm wondering what is good procedure when your out and about.

She just seems to want to jump all over any dog she meets (could be due to the fact that she still regularly see's one of her litter siblings and they have a great time rolling about and fighting and I think she thinks she can do this with all dogs she meets!). 

I know she is only a baby and she is finding everything new and exciting but I just want to make sure that we try to get things right if possible than get into bad habits! 

Any tips?

This is Poppy by the way (bit tired after all that jumping around at other dogs!) 



Any help appreciated - Amanda

[Aearoniel]

Very keen to hear opinions on this as Callie is very much the same, luckily we haven't met any dogs who have reacted in any way but good to it but I do worry and wish she would learn some manners!

[Helen]

puppys generally have a 'puppy licence'....which means most adult dogs will withstand their exuberance!

Adult dogs will also sometimes tell a puppy off, which is all part of your pup learning good manners and learning how to socialise with other dogs...

have a look at this article, I found it really helpful 
linky

[pinkcarys]

I'm not sure whether we did the right thing but it seems to have worked. We let Griffin off the lead from the start and he would keep close to us which gave us an oppertunity to teach recall, and he would bomb up to other dogs. Some would be deligted an play, others would attempt to walk off. He didn't get bitten or snapped at as Helen has said most adult dogs seem to accept playfulness from a puppy.  He's had the occasional growl and even a lip curl and at first he didn't back off which forced the older dog to tell him off. He's now learnt to be a bit more discerning and its hilarious. He runs up and stops half way between us and the strange dog and sits on the floor. He will sit there with his head cocked as though thinking hard before doing one of two things. If he decides the dog is good for a game he'll get up again and try to play, but if the dogs body language says back off, he'll run back to me a Dave like teh big wuss he is.  I feel that by letting him get on  with it he's learnt to read the body language himself rather than relying on us to allow or recall him when we approach dogs.

[Cob-Web]

I'm not sure whether we did the right thing but it seems to have worked. We let Griffin off the lead from the start and he would keep close to us which gave us an oppertunity to teach recall, and he would bomb up to other dogs. Some would be deligted an play, others would attempt to walk off. He didn't get bitten or snapped at as Helen has said most adult dogs seem to accept playfulness from a puppy.  He's had the occasional growl and even a lip curl and at first he didn't back off which forced the older dog to tell him off.

I strongly advice you against this, tbh - it relies on the other dog being socialised and puppy-savvy, and not all are. Your puppy may be badly hurt if he "bombs up to" the wrong dog. Not all dog owners are responsible, and will allow their dog-aggressive dog off lead  I am assuming you don't let him approach on-lead dogs?

[pinkcarys]

I'm not sure whether we did the right thing but it seems to have worked. We let Griffin off the lead from the start and he would keep close to us which gave us an oppertunity to teach recall, and he would bomb up to other dogs. Some would be deligted an play, others would attempt to walk off. He didn't get bitten or snapped at as Helen has said most adult dogs seem to accept playfulness from a puppy.  He's had the occasional growl and even a lip curl and at first he didn't back off which forced the older dog to tell him off.

I strongly advice you against this, tbh - it relies on the other dog being socialised and puppy-savvy, and not all are. Your puppy may be badly hurt if he "bombs up to" the wrong dog. Not all dog owners are responsible, and will allow their dog-aggressive dog off lead  I am assuming you don't let him approach on-lead dogs?

I've made it seem a bit more blase than it was.  Sorry. As I said, he kept close to us anyway so he'd never go that far away. So when he did go up to other dogs we were always close enough that we could grab him.  We'd call over tothe other dog owner "Is he ok to play" and would call him back if they said to.  Wat I was really trying to say was that we'd let them play and I wouldn't step in if a dog gave a bit  of a growl or told him off because we wanted to give him the oppertunity to learn himself, which he has.

[Hurtwood Dogs]

The honest truth is, if I see another dog when we're out I get him straight back on the lead. I didn't like any dogs, adult or pup coming and launching themselves at my last dog... most of the time it's fine, but he was ill for a bit which made him very grumpy when other dogs came bounding up with their owners yelling 'oh don't worry my dogs fine' and I'd have to say 'well mine isn't he's in pain at the moment and likely to snap which is why he's on a lead' it was very tedious. I want to encourage Dave not to want to play with other dogs when he's on a lead or they are. I am very happy for him to play with other dogs in a controlled environment when we know the dog or have talked to the owner first and got their permission, but not really random dogs that we meet when out walking.. I had a nightmare with my last dog who never really grew out of the enthusiastic puppy stage and would bolt off the minute he saw another dog if I didn't spot them first - it was my fault that happened and I'm determined not to have a dog that does that again! It's not fair on my dog or other walkers IMO...

Your best bet, IMO, is to arrange to meet up with some other people who want to socialise their dogs and do it in a planned way.. Dave has had some great play dates with other dogs that we've met through this site and that we know locally which he gets loads from in way that's safe for all the dogs 

Hannah x

ETA: With ref to my last dog, the bolting off as soon as he saw another dog was largely to do with his very over enthusiastic character and him being a but hyper and highly strung.. However, he got turned on a few times by dogs that didn't appreciate it (quite understandably) and that in turn caused a very happy sweet dog to become a bit aggressive towards some dogs later in life. So I'm not saying that letting your pup go up to strange dogs will defo result in a problem, but the potential is there if they have a bad experience from it and I don't really think it's very fair on the other dog/owner.

[amanda9586]

Thanks to everyone for advice. 

I think as usual with these things there is a lot to think about......  I think I'll try to socialise her more with the dogs that we already know in the family as I'm happy that if she gets a bit too much for them they will tell her off and she needs to learn that.  Also I think the advice not to take her to dogs that are already on a lead is a good way of judging.  I'm a bit nervous about all this as my mums dog was attacked by a lab (of all things - usually so nice!) when a puppy.

Also we have one of the siblings from the litter in the family and they roll about having a right good time. 

On another note we do take Poppy to meet her sister from the litter fairly regularly and the two littermates really go for each other with the play fighting.... is this normal?!?!  Neither seems to be hurt and there is lots of tail wagging but it looks and sounds a bit bad!  Should we just leave them to it? or is this teaching them bad things as well?

Thanks again - Amanda x

[*Theresa*]

Can I just say though, yes try and stop your pup approaching other dogs as  much as possible but be prepared for them to be quicker than you sometimes and leave you in their wake. Glen got good at spotting dogs about 10 miles away and making a bolt for it so we really had to work on recall but sometimes he ignored as and reached the other dogs. When this happened we apologised profusely and thankfully everyone I met was really understanding about him and he never had a really bad experience.