Puppy's first walk, first time meeting other dogs.

[Marne]

Today I took my pup (lab with a touch of collie) for his first walk, he did great on the lead with the clicker and lots of treats but on the way home my neighbours Jrt was out in their garden and came running up to the fence barking, pup freaked a little and barked back, I picked him up and took him over to meet the neighbour and her dog, he howled once at the dog and then seemed ok.

I'm now worried he will react this way when we meet other dogs, I used the clicker and praised him when he was being quite. Did I do the right things? How do I get him to behave when we meet other dogs out? I know it's early days but eventually I would like him to be able to walk past other dogs without pulling, barking or making a fuss.

Also, I had him on a lead and collar, he has a harness but managed to get out of it in the car so I'm worried to use it, is there a harness I can buy that's harder to get out of? I would like to have more control over his body rather than just his neck.

[Blistory]

Keep taking him out.

I wouldn't have picked him up or made a fuss to be honest as he doesn't seem to have reacted too negatively and you could end up reinforcing behaviour that you don't want.

Any friendly dogs you can arrange to meet on walks ?

I'd also stick with the lead if you can - it's so much easier to have a dog that walks well on the lead than having to rely on a harness or headcollar ( I speak from experience having never achieved this with my girl ) If you do want to stick with a harness, it's trial and error as what suits one dog won't suit others. Harnesses are often put on incorrectly or it might be the wrong size or shape for your pup.

I think you're worrying a little too much at this stage and dogs can pick up on that. I have had some hellish walks with my dog but she's come good in the end and has trained me much better than I've trained her. It is however surprisingly soul destroying when it's going wrong.

[Marne]

Thank you, I think I'm just threating

[Floralnomad]

Is your other dog good when you take her out ?if so I'd take them out together ,even if you then have to walk the other one again as he will learn by her example. Obviously this won't work if your other one is a nightmare or if I've mixed you up with another new puppy poster who doesn't have another dog!

[Marne]

Oops, posted to soon.

I picked him up as he started walking backwards, I was trying to pull him along with the lead but was pulling so hard his collar almost came over his head .

So far he hasn't got a problem with pulling on the lead, more a problem of refusing to walk but over all he did great. I will try and take him somewhere where there are more dogs or meet up with a friend and their dog. He's fine with our dog and came from a house full of dogs, I think it was just the fact the other dog barked so he felt the need to bark back, will see how we get on tomorrow.

[Floralnomad]

BTW I use a Doxlock harness and my dog has never escaped from it although he has escaped from lots of other types.

[Marne]

No flora, my other dog is a nightmare, she pulls as soon as she see's another dog or person, she over friendly and wants to play but is hard to control, I don't want the pup to be like this. We live in the middle of nowhere so it's not often we see other dogs. I'm going to take him to pick the dds up from school tomorrow to meet some of the other dogs outside school, I'm trying to get him used to the car so I can take him to places where there are more people and dogs (my other dog doesn't travel well). We are also looking for puppy training classes.