Puppy doesn't like other dogs

[XelaM]

We have a little 4-month-old pug puppy. He absolutely adores people and would walk off with any stranger without a second thought tail wagging and trying to give them kisses. He is also completely unfazed by any scary/loud noises, cars, motorcycles, bikes, scooters, cats, birds, large animals like horses, would sleep through loud music, loud TV-noise, hoover, even a sudden firework etc etc. Nothing fazes him, EXCEPT his own species!

He absolutely hates dogs for whatever bizarre reason and barks at them regardless of how far away that dog is or how little that dog cares about him. He spots them miles away and starts barking and growling! He is a usually the smallest fog around, so it looks ridiculous and people laugh it off, but he really doesn't miss a single dog without angrily barking at them. I used to think he was afraid of them and that it was all fear-related, but actually... it's not like those dogs are invading his space (very rarely some friendly dogs approach) most of the time my little warrior seeks out the fog and pulls me towards that dog only to start loudly (angrily) barking at it once we get closer and he follows the dogs barking from behind once they leave. He's on a lead, but he pose isn't fearful at all, but quite combative (like he thinks he's big and scary and wants to stand his ground/pick a fight). He does it to dogs of all breeds/shapes/sizes, even to puppies! I have a theory that he thinks he is human and doesn't recognise he's of the same species as those dogs

Distraction doesn't work at all. He stops whatever he is doing (eating/drinking/sleeping) and starts barking if a dog walks past.

It's something I would love to fix, especially as our next door neighbours just got a rescue dog and they are barking at each other over the fence non-stop (he usually just quietly mooches around the garden).

Take him to puppy classes, you'll get given lots of help to sort this.

@Postdatedpandemic Thank you! I was going to sign him up, but I think being in the same space as other dogs he will be barking the whole session and no one will hear the instructor I will definitely sign him up though

I wouldn't go straight to puppy classes...I'd go for a one to one consultation and training with a behaviourist... but chose an (IMDT) (IMDTB) one...there are a lot of people out there calling themselves behaviourists when they are simply trainers..and there is a big difference

A reactive puppy (and that is what he is) will grow into a reactive dog if he isn't helped correctly..and the sooner the better. Reactivity is based on fear, even when it looks like bolshiness, and often on frustration..a frustrated greeter might want to meet another dog..but then can't cope.
Reactivity is almost always worse on lead.

My girl was a puppy like yours and we have had to work really hard to get her to a place where she is polite to most dogs..not all.. and I have to really read her signals to know when she is likely to react and how to change how she feels.

The fix is relatively simple but you need training (you..not the dog) on how to do it properly. The sooner you find someone and start the better, because every opportunity to get riled up at another dog reinforces the unwanted behaviour.

He might never want to be with every dog he meets (mine doesn't) but it can be improved massively . He doesn't think he's human.

Are you sure it's fear and not that he's a frustrated greeter?

121 with a qualified trainer who can help you get the right plan in place to deal with this. The sooner the better.

I would NOT go to a group class at this point

If you can find an animal behaviourist who does puppy classes, they will create a customised plan. A few 1-1 s and then classes with adaptations for your pup.

We hit the jackpot with ours, classes, behaviourist and secure field
It is worth travelling a bit to get the right one. Ours did a 1-1 assessment first, as we admitted having a slightly difficult pup. One of the other pups on the course had a very individual plan (for similar reasons to you) and turned into a lovely dog.

Good luck

Thank you all! We were away for half term to a very dog-friendly place, so plenty of dogs on the beach/in our hotel and it became very apparent that he just hates all dogs. It's really odd, as he is otherwise extremely friendly to everyone and like I say, would lick any (dog-less) stranger, loves people greeting him and making a fuss.

Now that we're back home I will book a behaviourist. I have already been recommended someone, but they only work particular days of the week, so need to catch them on one of those.

Update... we have now been to a puppy class last week (and going back tomorrow) and although I pre-warned the trainer that he barks at other dogs, she seemed very relaxed about it and told us to come to a class with 2 other puppies. She doesn't think his barking is aggression, but as a PP mentioned he appears to get over-excited and be a "frustrated greeter" rather than not liking dogs. I must say he has recently been much better and would sniff and wag his tail at dogs, but will furiously bark after them as soon as they leave.

The barking as they leave is likely shouting come back!!

Find a proper dog trainer - if you can - and they will sort this out quickly. He simply needs to know that this is not the way to behave. Distraction is useless because it does not teach the puppy that his behaviour is wrong. I cannot think why some people think it is amusing for any dog to be aggressive no matter what the size of the dog is.

@percheron67 This trainer has been recommended to us by numerous dog-owners and pet groomers (independently of each other). She appears to be very well known in North London and had decades of experience. Hopefully she will be able to sort it. She seemed confident it's not a big deal

@Wolfiefan I recently figured this out

Mine respond to that sort of over enthusiasm by standing still and raising their heads high whilst ignoring the chaos! They’re giants so it works on pretty much all pups.

@Wolfiefan Haha what breed are they?

Our little warrior was barking after a Great Dame the other day

Great Dane*

Haha. Wolfhounds. Hence my username. They tend to be wary and respectful of anything much smaller!

@Wolfiefan Aww they are adorable!! We met a Wolfhound/Greyhound mix the other day and they had the gorgeous Wolfhound coat and were super calm with our little one

They are generally. Unless pushed. Then they deploy the clobber paw.

Just out of interest what did the trainer suggest you do?

@pilates She says we should prevent him focusing on the dog or having any eye contact with the dog. So if I see a dog coming from afar I should get him to turn away from the dog and focus on me/some trick.

I must say that we had a follow up group puppy class this morning with quite a few other puppies and our pup was amazing! The class was all about teaching him (very basic) tricks and he was incredibly well-behaved because he was focused on the various commands we were asking of him. He didn't bark at another dog (during the class) once! I was amazed.

Of course once he left the class we had a few barky encounters with other dogs, but it was all sooo much better! I can see a massive improvement

As said previously in the thread, sounds very similar to the leash reactivity my dog has.

Glad you are getting some training help with it, as our dog's behavioural issues turned up just as lockdown began the first time round, and it was impossible to get a behaviourist to help / had to halt all puppy classes. We got some advice regardless, but it did take a bit of trial and error to figure out what would motivate our dog to focus on us rather than the other dogs. I think nipping it in the bud at 4 months is definitely the best and quickest option!

For us our dog LOVES and is used to greeting any and every dog when he is offlead, which is very bad especially with dogs that are on lead! When we put him on lead, he will bark out of frustration at the other dog he cannot reach. We've been working at trying to desensitise him to other dogs, and to basically train him that he cannot say hi to every dog.

We found getting him to focus on us instead of barking when he sees a dog, then rewarding him with a high quality treat when he does so has been the only method that works! When we started out, we were giving him loads of treats and praise when he did it correctly (like stupid amounts) and he got the idea so we have been able to taper it down over time. This method involves us constantly on the lookout for dogs coming round corners etc 🤣 Sometimes if we see a triggering dog coming down the street and no other way to avoid it, we have to turn around and walk the other way!

Warning...gosh it has been a long process to get us to a point he is (mostly) relaxed and not barking at every single dog that walks past. He is still pretty bad with bigger dogs. We have been doing this particular training since December, so it's something that needs to be stuck to and consistent with whoever is walking them! Taking him to a cafe or out with us has for a while been totally out of the question as he will lose his shit at any dog walking past!

@JaffacakeJanine This sounds soo similar!! "Losing his shit at any dog walking past" was exactly us in Bournemouth over half term! There were dogs EVERYWHERE (including our hotel), beaches, pubs etc etc. He was always causing a barky scene every 2 minutes ad another dog walked past. It has really improved recently though so fingers crossed! The trainer is telling us to do exactly as you said and always be on the lookout for the next dog around the corner

Puppies can't "hate". They can be afraid, curious, wary, excited, frustrated but they can't hate.

Great Dame 🤣🤣🤣