Having a puppy after previously having a reactive dog - worried I'm going to 'ruin' the puppy

[sunshineyellowwx]

I had a reactive dog for the last 11 years. He was my first ever dog and I think I hold a lot of guilt for him being reactive and blame myself. I now have a new puppy of a different breed and a different temperament (he is much more confident and friendly, my last dog was always nervous even before his reactivity started).

I'm terrified of 'ruining' my puppy and ending up with another reactive dog. He attends puppy classes, and I am thinking of booking him in to attend doggy daycare to let him be around dogs. He is only 4 months old and has only been going on walks for a few weeks, but every time he barks at other dogs (I think because he wants to play with them) I panic that it's the start of him being reactive. I really struggle letting him saying hello to other dogs, as all my instincts having been to avoid other dogs, cross the road, etc. I know this is bad as my puppy will be picking up on this and I'm trying my best to work on it, it's just old habits die hard.

Has anyone experienced this or have any advice?

Most reactivity is genetic, what breed was your first dog? Genetic in that even if it doesn't want to attack/bark at other dogs with a fresh slate, they can have a higher propensity to develop it over something like being barked at whereas another dog wouldn't be phased by that at all. Even being in the womb of a nervous mother can make a dog come out wrong. It's most likely not your fault your previous dog was aggressive so don't beat yourself up about it.

It's your choice but I disagree with letting your dog meet other dogs unless you want a very playful dog with strangers - my dogs only meet friend's dogs and they play with my other dogs but I never let puppies interact with strange dogs and I will also cross the road from a dog I don't know unless it is geriatric or beautifully trained to the point where it wouldn't want to interact with mine either.

If it learns that when it sees another dog something exciting happens, it can turn into too much energy when it sees another dog on the street because it wants to play and meet the dog, which when your dog matures can turn into barking and lunging (happily) at another dog, which when other dogs don't appreciate it and bark back at your dog can turn into aggression with sex hormones. You might also run into the issue that when you want to let your dog off the lead that it learned other dogs are for meeting, which is far more fun than staying near you and doing sniffs. Not to mention if it runs up to the wrong dog it can be attacked or swarmed and definitely become aggressive. If you go down the route of meeting other dogs, these are all behaviours you'll have to train out of your dog down the line in order to have it functional on a leash or off the leash.

None of my dogs apart from a rehome from gumtree (coursing bred insanity) have aggression issues and I've never let them meet strange dogs, I personally think it's better to train a puppy to ignore other dogs wherever possible. When they go through the barking stage they have to sit for a really stinky dog treat, then they have to keep moving. Any little bark they're back in a sit, then keep moving etc. Work on a "look at me" command if it wouldnt annoy you too much (I don't, I find it annoying haha) for crossing dogs on the same side of the street and keep your dog on your opposite side of the other dog. With meeting other dogs, you're gambling on the standard of your average dog owner which is very low and can teach your dog bad habits/give it bad experiences.