Me again - in a panic..

[Fiona]

Help please. . We took my 6mo lakeland/fox terrier to a friends at the weekend, but she didn't seem to enjoy their dalmatian, as it played extremely rough, so I popped her back in the car after ten min or so.. She is used to playing with bigger lively dogs btw. . However at puppy class tonight (admittedly on leads) she got very upset (growling and barking and lunging) at a lovely labradoodle that we have previously got on well with and been on off lead walks with after group.. I am so scared all the work I've put into her socialisation over the months has gone to the wall What do I do next? I have access to a lively collie of my dad's, to a doggy fun park where dogs are grouped by size, and a behaviour lady associated with the fun park who does 1 to 1 stuff... Please how do I pick up the pieces. I'm so worried I've ruined my lovely pup..

So cross with myself and worried for her

Fiona

 

[CorvusCorax]

She's about the age to enter in to the second fear period so Dally encounter may be coincidental.
She's also a mix of two feisty breeds.
I wouldn't worry or panic or stress as this will just go down the lead to her.

Make sure her socialisation is about being around other dogs comfortably, even neutrally, not big uncontrolled splatting sessions. I'd be taking control of who she plays with and when, I learned that lesson the hard way! Playing with other dogs is fab, but be choosy.

Also....your other thread rang a bell...is she coming into season? It can make them incredibly odd

 

[dollyanna]

As above plus if she was stressed by the dally incident it can take several days for their adrenalin to return to normal and in that time they can remain more sensitive/reactive to stimuli than normal - it may just be that she needs a few days of peace to settle again before meeting with the other dogs to play.

 

[Fiona]

She's about the age to enter in to the second fear period so Dally encounter may be coincidental.

Please cc could you explain??

Re the coming into season, she weed 4 times on our walk yesterday, so I wouldn't be surprised.....

There will be no more playing with big rough dogs thats for sure, when we go to the fun park its in the small dog area, and I've booked a one to one with the behavior lady there for next Thursday, I imagine she will bring one or two of her big but exceedingly well behaved dogs with her to help with the session..

Please tell me I haven't wrecked her for good..

After having a JRT who decided she was terrified of most other dogs, I've been so careful this time, and we've worked so hard to socialise her....

dolly - this happened on Saturday, and class was Wednesday.. Was that too close??

Fiona

 

[CorvusCorax]

The second fear period usually kicks off between 6-9 months in my experience.

Not that anyone should use it as a cop out not to train, but no amount of training or socialising will override what's in a dog's genes, it will just mask or manage it.

Having said all that, it's probably more a combination of her age and her first season.
You will hit bumps in the road, no dog is perfect, try not to stress

 

[Clodagh]

Just to agree with CC our labrador suddenly got terrified of men that she didn't know at about that age and used to behave quite aggressively to them, so did her sister who my brother owns, they just outgrew it so try not to panic.

 

[Fiona]

Thanks folks

I'm slightly less anxious about it now, as we had a lovely walk with dad and his boisterous border collie this afternoon. Lily was her normal self with her.. Lots of charging about and rolling about.. and also said hello to an enormous lassie dog.

Still going to have session with behaviour lady next Thursday though...

Fiona