Advice on puppy meeting reactive dog

[janem_g]

Hello,

We have a recently acquired terrier bitch puppy who is 18 weeks old, she belongs to my daughter and lives in my house and we have owned her for 7 weeks now plus a 6 year old dog. They get on fine most of the time however I would very much like to introduce the puppy to a friends dog so in the future hopefully we can socialise. My older dog and their dog are friends but the other dog, a cocker, is a pain in the bum at times. He too is 6 and resource guards and generally can run rings round them at times and snap and snarl if asked to do things he doesn't want to do. This causes me no real issue as he is not mine but I really want to be able to see them sometimes with all the dogs if I can. Top tips for a first meeting from those more experienced than me would be gratefully received. The only thing I can think of so far is to meet on neutral territory....

 

[meleeka]

Yes make it neutral. Go for a nice short walk and keep dogs on the leads. Don’t ask them to go ‘head to head’ but rather keep your distance and walk one in front of the other for a while, gradually getting closer. Resource guarding is a pain, but your friend should ensure there aren’t any resources to guard when dogs are visiting.

 

[CorvusCorax]

I'd leave it til your pup is older as a bad experience at a young age could imprint on her for life. I waited until mine was 7.5 months before I let her run with one of my older dogs, who is friendly but large and strong.

I think it's about being realistic and managing expectations.
I'd love all mine and my Mum's to be able to run together, but the eldest is not a social butterfly and would spoil the party!! Plus, most importantly *he* wouldn't enjoy it either. Puppies are annoying