Poor social skills?

[Luci07]

I was interested after watching how my youngest Stafford was when introduced ( on her own) to our farriers terrier. She was trying to be dominant and was very in his face before calming down. Walking together she kept trying to jump on him etc. Now he happens to be a laid back little chap but that would not have gone down well with some other dogs.

She was exceptionally submissive when I first got her. Her place in our house is now carved out, she knows all the other dogs at the yard and they all have their own place too. She is not allowed to mix with other dogs on our walks and hacks and knows she has to leave other dogs alone. There have been a couple of exceptions when an off lead dog has gone bowling into her but treats and us moving on mean its a short meet and greet. In this instance hr attention is more on me and the treats so she tends to not be fully focused on these dogs.

Anything I can do to improve this? I think she would like to amend her pecking order but is almost clumsy with trying to be top dog with another?

 

[eatmyshorts]

I do sympathise with you fully and would urge you to deal with it asap. Social skills are something dogs learn really early - I read somewhere the first 16weeks of their lives is the most important. My lurcher came to me at approximately 8months old (having been left behind by travellers, probably due to his allergies) with no social skills whatever. He had no idea how to approach another dog and would bolt up at 100 mph then bounce all over the top of it! He is a big lad and needless to say,that's enough to make most dogs nervous, or worse, defensive. Initially, he could be unpredictably dog aggressive too (also food aggressive and didn't seem to have ever worn a collar or lead, or walk on anything other than concrete). I admit I made the mistake of avoiding other dogs and keeping him on leash for the first few years - until we met a few dogs offleash round sudden corners e.g. in the woods and he was, not normal, but acceptable to them. He is 10 now and the natural doggy etiquette never did totally kick in - despite all our efforts (and we have tried hard) he is still not fully trustworthy. Without doubt the most difficult dog I have ever had, hence urging you to deal with it and allowing her (if safe to do so)the opportunity to mix freely with other dogs in a controlled environment.

 

[Luci07]

She does mix freely and we can have a LOT of dogs up at the yard (upto 12!) but they all know each other. Its meeting new dogs for the first time when she is clumsy.. when she met all the other yard dogs she was little Miss Humble Pie and my own boy was the most boisterous with her...

 

[RichmondPark]

Luci07 how old is your dog and how old is the farriers terrier? And what do you mean she is/was trying to be dominant? What exactly was she doing?