Socialising pup and how would you deal with this?

[Jericho]

Our little 12 1/2 week jack Russell is now getting out and about with us and so far she has been fab with meeting other dogs eg a 2 yr old Lhasa aphso cross who we see regularly who she has great fun with and who will growl if our JRT gets too boisterous, an elderly JRT who just growls at her and who our JRT respected ant left alone and a wheaten terrier who who was calmly tolerant of her. Today however we tried going out for a walk with an aqaintance who has a 13 week old dalmation dog.

We have met the dally before and his first response was to bowl our girl straight over, which scared her. Eventually she became more confident but the dally was very dominant and stands over her, they did engage in some good old rollicking rough and tumble and we ended on a good note, although i was a bit concerned that chilli our JRT became quite snappy and snarly which I was sad to see as she has nt shown any tendency to do even when playing with other dogs

When we met today they greeted each other well And had a good play. Then we started walking but every time our JRT wanted to run and actually follow us, the dally ran after her, grabbed her neck or back and then rolled her over. It wasn't particularly aggressive just boisterous and using his size and weight. Eventually chilli seemed to just get fed up of this and seem to snap as though to say she had had enough and they had a bit of a scuffle and the dally had a small nick on his lip. At this point I said we wanted to leave it and walk chilli a different way on her own but our friend got upset, said our dog was a "snappy little thing" and said we were being too sensitive and that we should just let them 'sort it out'. However I said no and that I didn't want chilli to learn that aggression was acceptable and would rather avoid that kind of confrontation at this stage.

I know this dally pup lives with a very old staffie and who he bullies and pesters constantly and the poor old staff growls and barks but never actually puts the dally in his place.

What do you all think? Was I right? How could I have dealt with it differently?

 

[soloabe]

She is a terrier, snappy and rough and tumble is her play style probably always will be.

I agree i would have let them work it out.

Puppies rough and tumble and batter each other and snark and make the most terrible noises when they play.

 

[Spudlet]

Do you take her to a puppy class? If not I would look for one locally. Vets run socialisation classes for puppies sometimes, or look for a trainer that does specific puppy classes, so you and your dog get used to being around others. That would be my advice, anyway

 

[CAYLA]

I agree with the decision you made, this is ho puppies learn, he learned that he cant just rough around other puppies without learning a lesson and being told off and she learned that when she has enough she knows how to jolly well stick up for herself bit with a dally she is going to get sick before they give in and no I would not allow a bigger puppy to wear down a smaller one to the point of temper breaking for a prolonged period. Her dog may well of been having fun but your pup got a bit peeved. It may have been a good idea to put them both back on lead and have a chill and calm walk but if the dally was going to constantly pester her then I dont think its fair.
Pancake (my cav) is very meak and mild, she certainly is used to rough play cos my whippet drags her around by her ears and she like it to a certain extent then she goes off in her crate out the way when sick, if he kept on I would step in and tell him to bugger off and this would go for any dog that proceeded to pester her, esp when there is a big weight/size difference, some breeds are very ott (dallies being one) had it been 2 bigger more boisterous pups then sure let them get on with it, in general its best to find some rough and play with her similar size but never discount of a bit of play with the biggies

 

[ofcourseyoucan]

puppy training classes!!! they learn to interact nicely, and learn commands. terriers will always resort to snapping/teeth cos they are small. sounds like the dalmation needs puppy training asnd socialising too! puppy training is also good handler training too. good luck enjoy your pup. i did enjoy my puppy training classes and my black labX did too. he is now very sociable and plays politely!

 

[MurphysMinder]

I think you did the right thing removing your pup, I am fully in agreement with letting pups of similar size sort things out between themselves, but sounds as if your girl was trying to tell the dally she had had enough and he wasn't listening. When Evie was about 12 weeks she had a lovely game with a JRT of about the same age, but when she started getting a bit boisterous I intervened and they both had a cooling off period.

 

[Jericho]

Thanks all - puppy classes start in 2 weeks and I was just trying to get her used to lots of different experiences especially as I had heard that socialisation was most important before 14 weeks. She is such a sweet natured dog and I really want her to stay that way. But I do agree that jrts are going to be a bit rougher in play than other dogs and I wasn't too worried about that as actually she was all teeth and noise but not a lot of biting the first time they played and she is lively and excited when playing with other dogs and just seemed far more happier and playful with them. It seemed different with the dally somehow...

I did ask at a few vets etc aboutbpuppy parties but couldn't find any. I guess I would still be worried if another dog did this to her at one of these and how I would react if a dog started on ber and how far do you let them go?