Meeting new dogs

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Grey_Eventer

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My border pup is lieing on my bed (naughty puppy :p ) fast asleep, tail wagging and woofing.
She's such a crazy little puppy but i love her to pieces.
On the other hand, when she meets new dogs she is fine off the lead- very friendly etc. but when she's on the lead she woofs, but as soon as she's said hi she's absolutely fine, its just that initial bit before she reaches the dog- its definitely a nervous thing as when she went to puppy classes (lol) she woofed and woofed to begin with but once she got more confident she was absolutely fine and very friendly. She's not aggressive, but she just woofs, which puts other owners off and so then she can't say hello....anyone had a similar problem?
 
Just keep up the training classes and keep up her exposure to other dogs.
The worst thing people can do (and I used to) is to drag the dog away and avoid all other dogs.

TBH it is not the worst thing in the world, any owner with their head screwed on should be able to tell the difference between Wuff! Who are you? Wanna play? And GRRRR I'MGONNAFUGGINKILLYOULEMMEAT'IM!!!!

Dogs on a lead can feel more restricted and insecure and feel the tension down the line from the handler, especially if the lead is always reeled in and the handler is tense when they see other dogs, thinking 'oh no! dog is going to play up!' dog reads that as 'stress, must go on offensive/defensive'.

FI yesterday we met a boxer and a bichon.
Boxer was straining at lead and family tried to put an UMBRELLA under his chin to stop him forging, I just said 'it's OK, don't worry, we're friendly' and the dog had a nice play and a lick.
The bichon and my pup first time we met had a sniff and we went on our way, the second time I made to walk past and the bichon went BARK BARK BARK - I just laughed and said 'you're brave!' and kept my pup distracted with his ball and just kept walking.

I think we humans do inject too much stress into these situations, she is still a baby, if she is off her head barking, distract her with food or a ball or a toy or just chill and I bet she will grow out of it.
 
Thanks for that- I hope she will grow out of it- It is just a woof, but as shes a terrier its more of a yap, and you know what some people are like!! Shes such a nice dog and really playful- I think taking a ball out or something to distract her with is a good idea though (shes not interested in food really!)

CaveCanem said:
Just keep up the training classes and keep up her exposure to other dogs.
The worst thing people can do (and I used to) is to drag the dog away and avoid all other dogs.

TBH it is not the worst thing in the world, any owner with their head screwed on should be able to tell the difference between Wuff! Who are you? Wanna play? And GRRRR I'MGONNAFUGGINKILLYOULEMMEAT'IM!!!!

Dogs on a lead can feel more restricted and insecure and feel the tension down the line from the handler, especially if the lead is always reeled in and the handler is tense when they see other dogs, thinking 'oh no! dog is going to play up!' dog reads that as 'stress, must go on offensive/defensive'.

FI yesterday we met a boxer and a bichon.
Boxer was straining at lead and family tried to put an UMBRELLA under his chin to stop him forging, I just said 'it's OK, don't worry, we're friendly' and the dog had a nice play and a lick.
The bichon and my pup first time we met had a sniff and we went on our way, the second time I made to walk past and the bichon went BARK BARK BARK - I just laughed and said 'you're brave!' and kept my pup distracted with his ball and just kept walking.

I think we humans do inject too much stress into these situations, she is still a baby, if she is off her head barking, distract her with food or a ball or a toy or just chill and I bet she will grow out of it.
Click to expand...
 
Get a couple of balls on a rope, they are great as you can keep them moving/active and tease the dog, plus they save your hands if the dog is a grabber, and have a second one so if she runs off with one, you can tempt her back with the second one!
 
If your BT is anything like mine then a squeaky tennis ball will be your best friend :p

B is 17 months old and still pulls like hell to get to another dog, squeaky ball / cheese is slowly working. As soon as I see another dog the cheese / ball is at nose level to get all her attention on ME, I continue acting like a tit untill the other dog has passed. I think other dog walkers hate me round here :o
 
CaveCanem said:
Get a couple of balls on a rope, they are great as you can keep them moving/active and tease the dog, plus they save your hands if the dog is a grabber, and have a second one so if she runs off with one, you can tempt her back with the second one!
Click to expand...

Sorry to hijack!
CC - can you recommend me a decent ball on rope? B has had and destroyed everything they sell at PAH. She loves her noisy balls but a ball on a rope would really save my back:o
 
Zak is appalling when meeting other dogs: he wants so desperately to say hi that other dogs get annoyed and start fights!:eek: If he's off lead, he is excitable but better and will recall.

Bear and Brig are shameful: they totally ignore other dogs. A staffie pup wanted to play with Bear this week and Bear just didn't want to know and was acting all confused! Duh! :o All he wants to do is run with Brig or chase his ball. At least I can guarantee that there'll be no bother with those two.
 
Also reccomendations for ball on rope- my BT has destroyed near on everything- squeeky toys are only allowed on special occasions :p as they get destroyed very quickly!
Whod have a BT :p
 
Nylabone do a good strong ball on a rope, I got mine from the vets.

Might I just suggest :p

Balls are for chasing, fetching, carrying proudly and exhanging for another, not for sitting and shredding to pieces/destroying, there are tonnes of other types of toys for that purpose.
If I see the pup trying to do a number on a ball it is taken away immediately.
 
CaveCanem said:
Nylabone do a good strong ball on a rope, I got mine from the vets.

Might I just suggest :p

Balls are for chasing, fetching, carrying proudly and exhanging for another, not for sitting and shredding to pieces/destroying, there are tonnes of other types of toys for that purpose.
If I see the pup trying to do a number on a ball it is taken away immediately.
Click to expand...

We have a few toys that are "allowed" to be destroyed and a few that are kept in the cupboard that we get out for distractions- we had a squeeky bone thing which she loved... i have no idea how but she managed to chew the end off while we were doing some training (shes still teething and very chewy, but not biting people)
Ill look into getting a ball on a rope. Mum bought some mini tennis ball type things which are a lot harder than normal ones which seem to be going down well for training purposes/chasing around the kitchen due to confusion over it bouncing!!
 
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