[harley_quinn]

Hi,

what do you guys think of my pug's behavior around other dogs?

When we are on our walks and on the leash, she will walk up to other dogs and sniff at them. She has never showed aggression to other dogs, but sometimes the hair on her back will prickle slightly when she's meeting a new dog. The other day, somebody led his dogs across the street to meet her after catching my pug staring at them for some time. Even though she let the dogs sniff about and the owner touch her (she likes people, but there are few who she warns to stay away), a patch of hair on her back was standing up. They were both large dogs so I thought she was intimidated, yet she still welcomed their greetings.
Something else I find strange is how shy she becomes around non-leashed dogs. I take her to a small park near my home where other dog owners let their dogs off the leash to run around and play. I thought it would be perfect for my little one, but she seemed terrified of the other dogs. She'd run to me and hide behind my legs or hop into my lap with a look of horror on her face when the other dogs came to greet her and give what seemed like a warm welcome. She ran wide-eyed into my arms when a tiny Yorkie ran up to her to play, and trotted quickly away for what seemed her life from a puppy. This continued for some time until finally she let a Beagle say hi. I thought it was funny because the night she met the Beagle, he lead her to a group of dogs like he was introducing her to his friends. It was so cute. She calmed down after that, but still is a bit apprehensive around dogs off of the leash.

[PowerNubby]

Well first thing is that you are anthropomorphizing your dog - you are giving him human emotions and feelings that just arent happening..

Its great that you obviously think of your dog as a member of your family, but actually treating them like humans will do you a lot of disservice when it comes to socializing and training.

The first thing is, some raised hair on his back is not a bad thing as long as he also isn't curling his lips, snarling, growling, has his ears back and his tail either between his legs OR raised straight up without moving..

Any combination of those things paired WITH the hair raised means that your dog is generally not comfortable around other dogs, even if he is not snapping.

You need to approach socializing your dog carefully but with a firm stand. If you bring your dog to a park that is off leash try going to one where there is a small dogs section so you can move at a pace that is comfortable with him.

Not all small dogs can integrate with a pack of large dogs, so you might never be fully able to have a happy dog off leash at an open air dog park with a bunch of black labs.

That being said, your dog sticking near you, walking behind you, or jumping up on your lap when he is nervous is not a horrible thing.. He is looking to you for guidance, so lets work on giving it to him!!

First things first - ignore than behavior. You don't want to punish for it by saying "NO" and then pushing him to play with other dogs, but you also don't want to encourage it by cuddling him and saying "Ohhh its ok". Then you are reinforcing the scared behavior.

What you want to do is just be the vigilant leader dog. Walk around the park if he will only stay behind you.. So do laps around the park and when a dog approaches keep a firm and calm stance and greet the new dog and let the new dog greet your pug and then keep moving..

Whatever you do - NEVER just pick up your dog in the middle of a dog park.. if your dog (for some reason) seems to get really scared and yelps in fear or snaps, scooping up your dog to attempt to bring him up and out of the situation can seriously injure your dog.

What happens is you lift the dog off the ground and instantly he is not a dog to all of the other dogs and becomes a play toy in the game of KEEP AWAY.. Larger dogs will snap at his legs or tail that is dangling down and you can really end up with an injured dog..

Your best bet is to just kneed down and stand over your dog with one hand on his collar and the other hand to push away other dogs.

So my point is.. Dont be that over zealous mom trying to force your dog into being friends with all of the other dogs.. Dogs are like people.. they like some dogs and not others - and its MOSTLY a personality thing.

I would definitely suggest hooking up with that owner of the beagle who he seemed to attach to and try to do some one and one play dates, or try and schedule each other so you can get to the dog park at the same time.. it could really make a HUGE difference in how quickly your dog acclimates to the park.

Dogs definitely learn from other dogs.. I have seen it first hand and have used my own beagle to teach a neighbor's scared basset hound that didn't leave the house in 8 YEARS to walk through woods and play and run.. So it can definitely be done with the right knowledge and a good helper dog.

[harley_quinn]

Thanks, I didn't think of the keep away thing when I was picking her up, but it makes sense. It probably just made the dogs more interested in her like you said. She never snaps or yelps, the most she does is run off. I'll use the advice, but it's not only large dogs that scare her, the little ones do, too. There's a great dane in my apt. complex and their owner will allow her to approach him sometimes. She doesn't seem apprehensive around them, but then again they're always on a leash.

[PowerNubby]

You just have to maintain a calm and collected demeanor yourself and remember to just follow these steps CONSISTENTLY and your dog will be fine.. Shes just nervous, not aggressive, so it will not be too hard.

[Lara's mom]

I also have a little dog. I've been called over-protective more times than I can count but, I don't take chances. If Lara seems at all uncomfortable, I pick her up to remove her from whatever is frightening her.

[harley_quinn]

Lara's Mom, I can relate. I've been called over protective by people, too. It's the whole, "It's a dog not a baby!" I guess some people just don't understand because it's not their dog.

[Lara's mom]

Better to be safe than sorry. It's too late once your baby has been attacked.

[harley_quinn]

I don't even want to think about that. My uncle's weenie dog was attacked by two pit bulls that jumped his fence and both he and the little dog were bitten up real bad. The weenie had a huge gash across his back and it was a miracle he survived. I'd never forgive myself if my pug was hurt when there was something I could have done to prevent it.