Really need some advice, dog now fearful of other dogs.

[holaamigo]

I have a one and a half year old bichon cross. He is the most lovely dog, and was such a sociable puppy. Up until the past couple months, he was so focused on other dogs, always being over friendly with them, and generally obsessed with any he meets on his walks. We kept him leashed on all walks until we got the 'come' command mastered, and he managed this very well- however would always be running up to any dog and trying to play. For the past couple months now, he seems so fearful of dogs he doesn't know. In the park if he is not on a lead, if another dog tries to come close to him (by running up, which he did himself not too long ago) he will take off in the other direction and will not come back. This is happening more and more frequently now, so we keep him leashed more often.

Today at the park, a beautiful pug was eyeing him up, and my dog was staring at him from a distance (off lead) trying to suss him out. Eventually, they both went up close to each other and they had a great time running about and playing. About 10 mins later another pug appears and starts to join in the play, but my dog is all of a sudden so fearful of them both (despite playing so well with the dog previously). Before he had been fearful of bigger, energetic dogs, but these dogs were half the size of him and were playing together so well.

I'm at a loss what to do. He seems to scared, but for no sensible reason to be scared. The dogs he runs away from aren't acting aggressively, and more so just looking to play, which he was so eager to do not too long ago. There isn't a turning point in when this behaviour began. He was not attacked or bitten by another dog - he always seemed so oblivious to when dogs growled or snapped at him for him running up previously. He is not like this with all dogs, but he does take his time to suss them out and to figure out they aren't a danger.

I would love to get him back to the confident wee doggy he was before :( Any help?

I should add that my boy is starting to growl and snap at the dogs he is running from if they keep coming up close to him. I am confident he would never attack another dog, and is acting in defence of himself, but it is something he never did before!

When he has ran off from other dogs I have attempted to lure him back to me with treats - very food focused dog!- but it works to an extent. He is definitely terrified and very cautious about coming back close even for a treat.

Join the Dog Training Advice and Support on Facebook and ask for recommendations for a behaviourist near you. They will be able to advise you on how to deal with this before it escalates - good luck

Thank you basildonbond. I have emailed a dog behaviourist and have found a class which might benefit him, I have asked for more information.

Be very wary - anyone can call themselves a behaviourist and sometimes they can make things worse
The Facebook group will be able to tell you if the one you've contacted is qualified and knows what they're doing

Thanks,
Yes she is a member of 3 different pet associations and fully qualified :)

Just a thought op, have you him castrated?

That can make some dogs more fearful, the testosterone was making them feel a little braver and without it they become more frightened? Just wondering if maybe that had something to do with it if there were no other obvious causes?

I think that keeping him on a lead more will only make him more fearful and wary with other dogs, I would work on his recall at home in the garden, and let him free when in the park, keeping high quality treats to reward him with. The more mad play he has with as many dogs as possible, old, young, grumpy, tolerant etc, the better socialised and the more comfortable he will be. Perhaps the game became slightly rougher with a third dog involved? He may have been worried by the dynamics of dealing with two pals at once. Some dogs do seem to prefer one on one play. My last dog was very well socialised and would often be out walking with a dozen other dogs, but he was a sensitive chap and seemed to prefer one on one play, even though he would join in with groups too.

He was castrated about a year ago. We didn't notice it having any impact on him at the time.

I keep him on a lead out of fear of things escalating, if he is already growling and snapping at dogs, I don't want him to start biting and thinking that it is a better way to keep the dogs he's scared of away- which it will be as some of the younger pups don't take much notice of his growling.

The play was no more rough than what it had been with the first. It was just general chasing each other around, whereas as soon as he had decided this third dog was no good, he was off like a shot when he was approached. I thought he did find it more intimidating with the second dog added, but it was so odd as things had been so well with the first dog before that.

This has happened before both with multiple dogs and with single dogs.

Thanks so much for all the comments, I really want to be able to sort this out as I hate seeing him so fearful when I know deep down that he loves playing with others and meeting new dogs.

Try lots of distraction. This means letting him run around and should you become worried, you can respond in a confident way. This could involve moving away from the situation, calling and encouraging a game of your own, or getting your dog to move away from the others for treats. It's really difficult not to feel worried. But we feed that feeling to our dogs and we make the situation worse. Dogs are usually ok with each other and aren't usually looking for a fight. A bit like us.

Many many dogs will growl and snap on a lead and be absolutely fine off it. Walking away from your dog is likely to stop any confrontation rather than fuel it. He will also feel your worry through the lead and if you try and pull him back will just become more aggressive. I have had dogs almost all of my life, and without fail, letting them off the lead in situations where there might be conflict is better than pulling a dog back, which might work in the short term but leads to an unfriendly, and defensive dog. The only exceptions are if a much bigger, very aggressive dog is actively going for yours, in which case getting your dog away quickly is obviously the only thing to do. I think your dog is feeling your worry and getting anxious. Try and relax a bit about the whole thing, let him make friends and mix as much as he likes. Spend lots of time with other dogs and there will be no problem to solve.

Thanks EasyToEatTiger,
it's been tricky the past few times it's happened as the dogs are so friendly they are coming up to see me aswell. So when my dog runs away (he is really fast) he is far, far away from me. As I call him back, the other dogs come close to me, so obviously he steers well clear. But I will try your different suggestions next time on a walk.

Thanks for the helpful comments SirVix.
I will try your advice.

This is a really useful site - you'll need to sit down and read through it in peace but it's a recognised, effective, kind and widely used technique.

Aaaaaaaand the link. ...

careforreactivedogs.com/

Fab DunelmDoris.
Will stick the cuppa on and settle down for a read [smiles]

I'd think about joining something like a Flyball or dog agility group. So he has fun around other dogs, all of whom are having fun, exercising and who end up concentrating on the fun rather than the other dogs. He could well end up a lot more relaxed around dogs in general.