Quote:
Originally Posted by SWHouston  It is a very rare situation, where I don't have both of mine together.
My Male Sneakers, doesn't like 80% of the dogs he meets, and is suspicious of the other 20%.
My Female Becca is just the opposite, save she likes ALL the other dogs, and meets them with vigorous tail wagging and friendly posture.
If I see a situation coming, when mine are going to have to "meet" another/others, I shorten up my Male's leash, and let the Female take the point. I can tell my Male doesn't like that, first I think because it puts "HIS" little puppy beyond his immediate protection, and that position is supposed to be his anyway. I rarely allow either of mine to get close enough to another dog, save to maybe touch noses, and always evaluate the ability of the other person to control their animal. I've seen some rather diminutive people, attempting to handle rather large dogs, and I frequently just avoid them if possible. I am highly protective of my two, don't approach socialization as most others here do, and don't mind it at all if I see someone scoop up theirs as we approach. I often thank that person for that, and have gotten many curious looks.  |
This is pretty much me as well. I learned my lesson early with Ringo as a puppy.
I allowed him to approach many strange dogs (thinking I was socializing him) on our walks. Well, several weren't all that friendly and he got snapped at a few times. A few rounds of that - and Ringo quickly decided that the 'best defense was a good offense'.
Later, we went to a trainer who advised that he rarely allowed his dogs to meet/greet other dogs willy nilly. It had to be a controlled situation. His advise was 'they simply don't need to meet every strange dog they see.' You never know what the other dogs reaction is going to be and it may or may not be friendly or helpful to YOUR dog.
Ringo
is good with small females and if I see someone is allowing their dog to get close to him, I quickly ask if it is female. If yes, I ask if they are friendly. If yes - THEN I let Ringo and the stranger have a 2 second sniff. If that goes well, then I may allow more interaction.
Usually, when I see someone with an 'extend a leash' allowing their dog to veer too closely to mine- I just say 'they don't like strange dogs getting too close' and keep on going.
Lucy has no desire to meet/greet other dogs. She does veer toward every PERSON walking by - no doubt assuming that they all want to fawn all over and pet her. Which they usually do. She is great with kids too.