Loui and other dogs, what do I do now?

OK, to start at the very beginning would be long
Some of you may remember that we had a spell where we just seemed to be getting accosted by aggressive dogs...

Anyway, a lot of work later and Loui is no longer staring or anything else. I just don't think he is totally 'back to normal' though. I suppose we are all shaped along the way from our experiences though, human or dog. So maybe this is just 'par for the course'?

What I noticed today is that he has definitely learned to walk with me/come to me when he sees a dog he is unsure of, so that is good. However, I feel like he just isn't sure what else to do!

A couple of dogs approached today that he hasn't met since "before all that" previously he would have probably played with them once he had been around them for a while. Today he just (after standing with me a while) looked like he wanted to skip past them, avoid them.....(it took a while just for the hackles to drop back down) one was trying to play (perhaps because it was the male he was more unsure?)

Maybe I'm worried about nothing here but I did feel a bit like maybe by teaching him not to get involved/stick up for himself, that I have actually taken away a defence? Or that somehow I have muddled up how he is reading dogs/situations and thinking about what he should do?

Or maybe he has just changed and no longer wants to interact with other dogs (even though, he used to read dogs so well and give off all the right signals, play with dogs..)?

sorry just realised that's a lot of questions for one post!

The lodger never really bounced back fully from having to be rescued from the large thing that ambushed him,left minor teeth marks & some pretty good bruises.

He's a lot more picky about who he'll play with and how if it's a larger stranger. Less trusting/ more wary initially. It's a shame but maybe not an entirely bad thing. He's also grown up a bit and playing mad games is no longer the be all and end all. I walk him with a bunch of other dogs once a week or so.

Not any help.

Thanks for the reply Sosha, I just feel really sad because its like looking at another dog. I suppose the other way of protecting himself isn't there now (because of training, at least on the surface) so maybe this is his new way. I'm very proud of him for behaving well though.

Anyone have any advice? Maybe I should be trying to build his confidence in other ways? or leave him be..?

Do you know anyone who has very playful but dog-savvy dogs, who your boy could meet, maybe building up to play over a few days...?

He may need to get his confidence back with a few 'safe' dogs.....?

It may be that he's forgotten how much fun playing with his canine buddies can be, and you just need to help him remember

Fab that he will come to you when he's unsure, though

Hiya, thanks for the reply TabithaJ. There isnt really any dogs we know here that are "in the middle" if you know what I mean? They seem to all be one way or another. He has one dog that he LOVES but thats his girlfriend! So he does play with her, but the rest of the time, I'm just not sure he actually knows what to do now.

Your right about it being good that he knows to stay with me if he isnt sure though (his option before that was plod on, if they are ok, their ok, if not I'll floor them) so its really good that he has "got it" and sticks with me now, the other day he even ran to me when he seen a dog that always growls at him so he gets praise for this. I just felt that to go from initiating play to wanting to totally avoid the same dog was a little sad

Don't get me wrong I am glad that we did all the clicker and ball stuff so that he is good in the way of not getting involved in spats etc I just feel a little sad that its so obvious he isnt sure what to do!

I just dont want to end up with a dog that might get nervous of all dogs etc just because he isnt sure what to do now, if you know what I mean?

Is there anyone with confident dogs you could walk with? These things take time.

I think thats my main problem tbh. I dont really know any calm dogs that are still sociable, that we can walk with. My other dilema is that some females he can get a bit too "showy-offy" when on lead and I dont want to encourage that as its a bit too self rewarding for him! (part of this is that he can be a bit guardy of a female, if he is walking with her) Yet at the same time he does need to walk with others to gain a bit confidence, and large males are proving a bit of a temptation to go back the way...

He really is sociable (or was!) and is a good natured boy, we just seem to have hit that bit between the rock and the hard place!

To be honest Natalie, I'm sure Loui will one day soon find a dog he'll like to play with, and you'll just know from the reaction he gives when you greet such a dog. I also think they grow up, and are less inclined to want to play all the time. That's what I've found with Zena anyway. She's far more happy just trotting alongside her friends nowadays than actually playing with them, BUT, there has been the odd dog that has come over to say hello, and I've seen by her reactions that she actually wants to play with it , so I let her off and she does play, for a short while anyway, but nothing like she used to in her puppyhood. I just think they grow up and get a bit more picky about who they play with.

My previous dog used to meet lots and lots of dogs out and about coz she was friendly, I had no problems with her, BUT, I could count on one hand the dogs that she chose to play with, otherwise she was quite a stuck up bitch and wouldn't give them the time of day, although she was always pleasant, never picking a fight (unlike you know who!).

I'm noticing the same here with Zena, and I honestly don't think it would have made any difference, whether I'm doing like you are, putting her onlead or keeping her close for approaching strange dogs, or whether I just let her approach them like I used to before, I don't think she'd play like she did in her younger years.

There's one dog she knows who she absolutely adores, he's a large terrier bitsa and he see's Zena and he goes mental to get to her for a play like they did when she was a puppy, she would love chasing him around or being chased, but then even that's changed now, and I never put her onlead when this dog is approaching, they run around for all of 15 seconds, then they just trot along together never playing again for the entire walk, it's all a bit odd isn't it. You can't say this is because of what you are thinking with Loui, because this has been a friend since puppyhood, she wouldn't be feeling threatened or wondering what she's supposed to be doing with him would she, she is just acting like a dog who is happy to be in another dog's company.

What about doing the same as this, find a dog that you know Loui used to play with a lot and see if he has changed towards it?

I have to say, I have often wondered with Zena the very same thing that you are thinking too, but then when you compare it to kids, you don't see 15 year olds playing like 6 year olds do you, and when you think one year is 7 years in dog years, a dog of 3 is acting like a 21 year old aren't they?! I'm certain that a well known playmate would bring out the puppy in Loui again, or even a submissive playful dog that you might meet up with. Zena still plays with Georgie here at home, but again, it's a different sort of play, it's more an assault nowadays on the poor old fella, nothing like the play I remember her doing with Lily on here, or some of her very best friends. She doesn't even play with Lily now when we meet up with Lily and Alfie. She watches them hurfing past playing, and only sometimes, she runs off with them to join in the fun, but it never last for long. I think Loui has grown up just like Zena has.