Small dogs hate my Golden

[HelgatheHairy]

I have a 19 month old unneutered golden retriever and pretty much every small dog we meet hates him! Met a Shih tzu yesterday who was trying to bite him - my boy looked a bit bemused at first then tried to run away (he was on a lead the Shih tzu wasn't). The Shih tzus owner just seemed to think it was funny.

It's not just this dog, there's been a succession of JTs, Westies & assorted small mutts that just bark and growl at him! He's starting to get a bit nervous around small dogs now which I don't want.

He's really friendly but as he's on a lead it's always these other dogs approaching him so it's not him running up to them. I'm not even sure what my question is, think I'm just having a rant!

No answers for you but my Patterdale doesn't like big yellow dogs ,when he's on his lead they are the only ones that he barks at ,perhaps it is a colour thing .

Why unneutered?

kate it's recommended the bigger the breed the later you should neuter the dog. With goldens it's recommended the earliest they be neutered is 18 months.

Those small dogs are rude and their owners are worse for letting them behave like that.

But....as the owner of 3 small dogs can I just explain to you what might be behind some of this bad behaviour? We have met countless large, bouncy friendly dogs that bound over to my dogs and proceed to bounce all over them. They have not got a vicious bone in their bodies, they just want to play, but can you imagine if a giant toddler bounded over to you and tried to play with you? Silly, I know, but if you think of the difference in scale I hope you'll see where I'm coming from?

2 out of my 3 just stay out of the way, unfortunately the third has decided that the best strategy is to bark first and warn the big dog off. We are doing plenty of training to prevent this but I admit he's still a work in progress.

So although your goldie is on lead and bothering no one, some small dogs will go on past experience and act badly. This is rude and unacceptable and the owner's shouldn't permit it. But for your dog's sake do you not know any small well, behaved dogs he could socialise with?

mothership actually that's a very good point. My boy was guilty of being the big bouncy one but after a bit of training he's a lot better. The Shih yesterday came running up to him, there was some mutual bum sniffing then the Shih started. So maybe he was going off past experience.

I don't actually know anyone with a small dog! Everyone I know has spaniels, goldens, boxers etc.

My little Lhasa Apso, similar to a Shitzu but quieter, knows the difference between neutered and unneutered dogs and flirts outragiously with the latter. I suspect the male neutered dogs can also tell by the smell that yours is unneutered and perhaps feel threatened..

She has however, a mad crush on a neutered Golden. I am surprised a Shitzu was off the lead as they with my breed are known for being stubborn and hard to recall. But also known for being easy going and non aggressive.
Small dogs and big ones all play together well where I live, except for one Border Collie female who is kept on the lead and got aggressive with mine who just ignored it and left her alone. Owner had her 2 years from a rescue and is now 5 so we don't know her history.

Thanks HelgatheHairy. You live and learn.

I think it was a Shihzu. There were 2 of them wearing black coats with pink hearts and the one that came up to mine was called Winston or Wilson!

On our walk today 2 Jack Russell type terriers growled at him despite him going no where near them! Poor Bailey (my boy) just wants to be friends!

mothership's post is very good. I'm afraid my stroppy terrier also associates large yellow dogs with boisterous unwanted intrusions. They are just too friendly! Your well behaved dog might be getting the fallout from other big labs and goldens being too determined to play. That doesn't excuse the small dog owners of course. It is their responsibility to keep their little warriors at bay.

Certainly the fact that your dog isnt neutered yet is also a big part of the difficulty. If/when you neuter him things should start to improve.

I have two large male dogs who would proberbly dislike yours- they can smell an entire male a mile off and seem to get very stand offish from the start... Although this is my problem not yours :-)

Is it always other males? Females should have no problem with him unless they are a nervous type.

I'm not sure if it's always males. Just the ones where I've heard the owners call them it's male names.

I'm sure it is only the males. He will be happier if neutered as the other males will not feel threatened by his smell of Testosterone.
Good luck.

We are planning on getting him neutered soon so hopefully that will help.