Dog introductions; is this normal?

[PupMumBrum]

We've got a lovely small breed pup and are trying to get her well socialised.
I always ask the owner if their dog is friendly, and try to read the dog's body language too.
Twice already, an owner has told me their dog is friendly and encouraged an interaction and their dog has immediately snapped at the pup's face.
It just makes me so angry, because it's bad for my puppy's socialisation and could potentially injure her. One dog was a Husky, the other was a Labrador; so not small dogs, and both adults.

If their dog is going to snap immediately at a puppy who has just approached them (not jumping up, calm, tail wagging), surely they KNOW their dog is not friendly?

I feel like these people know their dog is unpredictable but think they should just say it's friendly and hope for the best.
If you are one of these owners please just say No! Grrrrr. Rant over.

It’s actually a little known/accepted fact that many dogs do not like puppies. Lots of people are very naive about it or don’t realise.

Puppies very bouncy, often have bad manners and know when to stop. Even if you can’t see your puppy doing it, other dogs will pick up on it.

I’d also add that all dogs can do serious damage - the fact these dogs snapped actually shows their restraint. Likely your puppy had annoyed them already and they were putting it in its place. If they wanted to hurt the puppy they would have.

But a rule of thumb for the future is let other dogs approach your puppy, don’t let the puppy go up to them. As I said, adult dogs can be very funny about puppies - one of mine absolutely hates puppies.

Owners can be very irresponsible but chances are this is more a ‘puppy’ thing than a ‘irresponsible’ owner thing.

I wouldn't let my puppy approach random dogs - even friendly dogs can snap at puppies as they tend to be quite overwhelming and in your face.

I'd also say if these dogs were on the lead (or your puppy was) then any meeting at all is a bad idea.

Ideally, yes, owners should say "no" of course but you can't trust your puppy's socialisation to random strangers.

OK, interesting replies. I presumed I was doing the right thing by asking the owner, and then letting the dogs say hi if the owner says it's OK.

I was under the impression (from vet and dog owning friends) that it's good to let puppy meet as many dogs as possible, especially when young. Of course these should be friendly dogs (but both owners assured me their dog was friendly!).

Puppy wasn't bouncy or lively, she literally just approached. But, yes, both dogs were on a lead.

We don't let her off lead as she obviously doesn't have recall yet, she's only 12 weeks.

How can I socialise her if not by interactions with other dogs?
We've got several dog owning friends locally, but only 2 have friendly dogs locally and they have met a few times, but she needs to socialise more than that!

There's a local puppy class, but it's stopped for summer and only starting up in Sept. The next nearest I can find is 40 min drive, so not ideal.

Would love to hear what others do?

Oh, and name change fail above. I'm on my laptop!

I think it's far more important that your 12 week old puppy learns to walk past another dog then actually approaching it.
By all means let him have a sniff if another dog approaches, but it has to be on the other dogs term not puppy term.

Same applies to humans teach your puppy that humans don't always want to say hallo to dogs. Puppies are cute, but adult dogs aren't. So make sure that you don't let everyone touch or say hallo to your puppy.

How to do this? In a safe space, off lead, puppy come / walk best lured on with a tasty treat!
Also have a look a the thread about off lead walking... at 12 weeks it's perfect to teach that!

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/the_doghouse/5134663-when-did-you-let-yours-off-the-lead?page=2&reply=137365917

Well worth a read!

I was under the impression (from vet and dog owning friends) that it's good to let puppy meet as many dogs as possible, especially when young. Of course these should be friendly dogs (but both owners assured me their dog was friendly!).

Socialisation is all about getting your puppy used to seeing other dogs, but that doesn't necessarily mean interacting with other dogs. Ideally, you want a dog that is friendly and confident but that's happy to walk past without feeling the need to interact, if that makes sense.

Lead-to-lead greetings are generally not a good idea, as they can make dogs feel restricted and trapped, causing them to lash out whereas they wouldn't if they were off-lead. Leads can also cause them to change their body language which can make interactions confusing.

So I would be taking her out off the lead (she won't go far, she'll stick to you like glue) and encouraging lots of interaction with you whenever she sees another dog.

This is SO helpful. Thank you so much, we're going to change up what we've been doing.

My dog is very friendly but he can be an arse to on lead dogs, especially puppies who are in his face.
Its best to be cautious

Here's the PDSA socialisation for puppies check list

As you will see, meeting other dogs is only a very small part of it.

If an older dog snaps really gently towards a puppy, it's a sign that they are not happy with how the puppy is behaving. It's not aggression, it's teaching dog manners. It's how your puppy will have started learning dog manners from her mother.

This really was just a rant thread but I'm so glad I posted. Really useful info from all, so thank you.

I also love that checklist PP posted, and will be working my way through it.

As a couple of pps have said puppy socialisation isn't about meeting other dog and playing, it's about puppies being exposed to a whole raft of things that they should experience so that they are calm and able to cope in various situation.

wetotter has drawn your attention to the PDSA puppy socialisation check list. When my dog was at puppy classes many years ago the emphasis was on such things, interacting with other dogs was not something that was encourage and more about, as pp said, calmly walking past other dog without reacting.

Puppies do not need to meet and greet adult dogs, they need to be able to walk past and ignore other dogs.