Five month old puppy, parks and other dogs

[Puppypuppypuppy]

I could do with some advice on encountering other dogs when out and about. So with lockdown it's been hard to do any socialisation with other dogs. Our puppy socialisation classes were cancelled and he has not had much chance to meet other dogs – other than lead greetings which I sometimes allow with the owner’s permission and sometimes we walk past nicely.

He was quite a shy puppy but has come out of his shell more in the last few weeks and is very excited to see other dogs. I have been using a longer lead for him outside when we have space to give him some freedom, practice recall etc. But quite often we have one of the following scenarios:

• A dog off lead bounds up to say hello. Owner will either call it back or I will end up asking them to (and this can take a while if the dog has poor recall). Either way puppy will run round in circles like a mad thing getting tangled in the lead however much I have shortened it in anticipation and then tries to run after the dog as it leaves. Sometimes I will pick up puppy if the dog isn't leaving and is over-bouncy and I can see he is getting nervous, but that's a last resort now he is older.

• A dog on lead comes over to say hello with the owner. I say something like ‘he’s quite young and gets a bit nervous and over excited – he’s still learning about other dogs’. Owner either does a quick hello and moves on swiftly, or hangs about and puppy does the above running around tangled up thing, this time potentially with another dog's lead involved.

I’d just like to feel a bit more confident about how to handle interactions with other dogs, to help my puppy be confident and speak ‘dog’ but without expecting every dog to be a potential playmate, but not sure how to do this?

I think you just need to be confident that if the interaction isn't wanted or going well to say something like 'let's go' and walk off.

Have a stock list of answers like 'sorry need to get him to focus on me' or 'trying to train him to ignore dogs' and get your dog and walk off. Don't feel embarrassed or concern for the other dog or owner.

But to be honest if you are trying to practice recall I would be walking where you won't encounter other dogs much. I did this for months and if I saw another dog I would walk away and get him to sit until they passed in the far distance and eventually he would look at me to ask if he was ok to approach other dogs which is what you want.

Thanks @biteyshark I suppose my dilemma is that I would like him to have a few interactions with other dogs as he's getting very little and I worry that he will never learn to calm down around them. So meeting dogs out and about is an opportunity to do that. How do they learn otherwise? Maybe that is a better q. to ask

I do try and steer clear of other dogs too but the reality is I have limited time sometimes and there arelots of dogs using the spaces nearest to me

Know anyone with a sensible dog you could have a (socially distanced) walk with?
Daycare for a short while. Choose carefully. They’re not all equal.

@wolfiefan I was thinking about a bit of daycare. Good idea about trying to find a sensible dog!

We have a puppy who sounds the same as yours. We did online puppy classes. Our trainer said doggy day care was probably the worst place to send a puppy who gets overstimulated. She also suggested going with a sensible dog for a walk which we did.
I've just bought a book called Mission Control. It's a bit expensive but seems like it's already been put to good use when DH went to park today. Our nearest park is full of dogs no matter the time of day and it's just too much for our puppy. Last time we took her she was just mental on the long line. Pulled like a nutter to get there and squeaking with frustration/stress. Today he took her and crouched down with her and they just waited and watched the other dogs. The aim is to take it bit by bit to help her cope.
We also visit another place where there is hardly anyone there and she is fine with great recall.
Walking on the opposite side of the road has also given her a chance to get used to seeing dogs at a distance too. One of the few benefits of social distancing/Lockdown!

I wouldn’t do daycare. Interactions with other dogs there will be uncontrolled and it’s almost impossible for every single interaction to be observed and managed, so you won’t have any idea if he has a bad experience.

To be honest, for socialisation purposes, you just want him to have positive experiences. They don’t need to be prolonged introductions or lots of play/running around. In fact, 3 seconds is the advised length of time, enough to time to approach appropriately, but not so long that things can go wrong.

I would do lots of work of getting him to focus on you and learn that you, not the other dogs, are the most fun thing in the park. Incorporate a ‘Let’s Go’ cue into his training, so that you can hesitate for a couple of seconds when passing another dog, allow a swift interaction and then get him to quickly move on and focus back on you. In some cases a ‘Say Hi’ cue can also be useful so they know it’s ok to approach and you have more over control which dogs you want them to interact with.

Having had a really fearful dog myself, I know unsolicited interactions are nerve wracking and to be honest a complete pain in the arse, but if you work on your pup focussing on you and wanting to be with you over and above the other dogs, it gets easier to extract yourself from those situations.

If approached by a persistent off lead dog, body blocking is your friend. Literally stand between your pup and the other dog. This has the effect of diverting the other dog’s approaches and also letting your pup know that you are in charge of the situation and have his back. It usually buys you time for the owner to catch up and ‘hopefully’ remove their dog.

We have a local (very small) and well staffed daycare. Excellent place. But they vary hugely.

Your puppy sounds interested rather than nervous from what you've said. Do you have any friends with dogs or local dog groups on FB (my local parks have then). It sounds like you'll both benefit from relaxed off lead socialisation sessions to learn more about doggy interactions

I think daycare would be too much too and you have no choice over the interactions. Our puppy goes out for two walks a week with a couple of older, calm dogs. I met the dogs and walker before she started going. She only goes so she learns that not all dogs present play opportunities not because she needs the exercise. It has worked really well for her and she is delighted when her walker turns up. It’s also been really reassuring to have someone else to observe her behaviour.

Hi OP whereabouts do you live? I’ve got a 5 month old pup too. She’s super friendly (retriever) and loves other dogs. Initially we were also having the lead tangle thing but what I did was practice recall loads then on walks if we met a dog off lead that was happy to play, I’d let her off. She’s never strayed too far from me, always stayed playing with the other dog and would come back when play time was over.

We’ve also got an area in our local park that’s quite enclosed and lots of walkers use it for pups to play which is nice.

We also meet up for doggy play dates with one of DD’s school friend who has the same breed and that’s been brilliant.

I’ve found that because she has lots of nice interactions, when there’s an on lead dog or I don’t want her to play for whatever reason, or the other owner says their dog is old/grumpy/doesn’t want to play, she’s happy to carry on with the walk.

I too had thought about day care but at this stage I want to be involved with her interactions because I’m a first time dog owner so I’m learning too!

Our dog went to day care from being a pup.
I visited before we had him. They have a separate area for the puppies and small dogs.

As a result he loves other dogs but has very good manners around them. When out on walks now he will say a quick hello and move on. He isn't wound up or intimidated by other dogs and is friendly but not over eager.

You have to pick carefully though as a pp said.

If you want a well trained pup, first step is to get rid of the long lead and have a standard length lead.

Another thought is early walks. We are London based so extremely busy parks. At 6:30 it is starting to get light but still very quiet on a dog front and most of those who are walking are keen just to get the walk done.

We’re in the same position as you OP, although our pup is a few months older. Not sure whether to stick with the ‘low distraction’ walks where I can keep things calm and he focuses on me. That way there’s no tangling up of the long line or pulling on the lead. Or take him to the park to get him used to seeing people and other dogs, so at least he is getting some interaction. It’s a tricky one and I’m not sure what the answer is - so I’m watching with interest. (Sorry not to be any help though!)

I don't understand your dilemma. You say you want to socialise your puppy but then are not happy when this happens.

Dogs going to each other and getting excited is normal. You quickly learn how to avoid the tangling. Then wanting to run after them.us normal too, there's nothing wrong with it and it's when you introduce commands.

I have a very small breed dog but who was always excited at getting close to any dog whatever the size. They had a few experience of other dogs telling him off a bit and he learned to be more cautious approaching them.

We took him off the lead in areas of little distractions and learn recall very well.

Mine 6mo pup goes to a lovely "daycare" which is actualy just a family in a big house with lots of land who take in 2-3 dogs per day alongside their own. She's definitely got used to coexisting with other dogs. Obviously they have play time outside but then when they go Inside they all just chill on their beds.

Also can you walk with a friend with a dog? Again mine found this hard at first and wanted to play, but now pretty much ignores the other dog when they're both on lead.