My Dog is Scared Of Other Dogs!!

So the title pretty much sums it up. If I am walking my dog and he is approached by another dog whilst on his leash he will do the sniffing out process but 90% of the time he begins to panic and almost wrestle with me. If he is off his lead he firstly stops as if he wants to go and see a dog then when the dog comes towards him he runs off, no matter how small the dog is, it is annoying because it will effect his walk and I am more worried with him potentially, as he has done already, running out of the park into the road and putting himself in danger from passing cars.

Hi and welcome to Dogsey....

Sorry, I'm going to ask a load of questions now!

What breed is the dog?
How old is your dog?
Is the dog a rescue/rehome or have you had from a pup?

How often do you walk, and roughly whereabouts (e.g. park, beach, woodland, urban etc)?

- He is a staffordshire bull terrier 10 months old

- Got him from the litter

- I Walk him in a large park, sometimes off the lead, and I also walk him on public roads and down the local canal.

He was taken from the litter at 6 weeks, I sometimes take him for walks with his dad and he is ok however when we introduce a new dog (a friends dog, a female labrador) you can see he is a bit edgy and unsure and takes a while to get used to the bitch.

I will give a scenario, we were walking the three dogs off the lead last week when a woman was walking a mongrel, as the other 2 dogs done the initial sniffing and walked on my dog got a bit scared which I guess the Mongrel sensed and chased my dog close to the exit of the park and when I went to get my dog back he seemed like he didn't want to trust me and took a few minutes to get him back on the lead.

Sorry if my post is a difficult read, multi tasking at the moment so I am typing this quite fast.

OK, in terms of socialisation when your boy was younger, how much did he have? Has he been introduced to lots of dogs when he was a younger puppy?

Not all dogs like other dogs, a bit like people really. Some dogs are naturally more wary or nervous of other dogs. It could be that your dog prefers not to socialise with other dogs?

I've got one of each. Max generally dislikes other dogs and will actively ignore them even if they come up to him. Murphy thinks everyone is his best friend and would run over and bowl them over if he was allowed.

In the first instance, I would try not to allow off lead dogs up to your boy when he is onlead; then you're not wrestling with him as he tries to move away. You can turn your dog round facing away from the oncoming dog, or block the other dog by standing between them. Try and get your boy in a sit or a down and calm him down (using treats, or a favourite toy).

In terms of him running off when another dog approaches him off lead, and not returning; there is one piece of advice you'll probably hear loads - don't let him off lead.

If you can't say you'll get 'perfect' recall, don't let your boy offlead, especially in areas where he could run onto roads etc. Invest in a long line and keep him on this, and practise recalling him. Make sure you do it in as many difference places as possible (then he knows what he is supposed to do).

I would also say invest some time in training classes for you and your boy. They are an excellent way of both training and socialising your dog. He will meet new dogs, but only have limited interaction with them, and you will be able to work with him through various distractions.

Hope this helps - I'm sure others will be along to add to this!

Think Isochick said it all really. I'd get a training lead on him, less fear of him running into a road or something.

Plus have to agree......training classes, this will provide him with meeting other dogs, he needs to get his confidence, and this will help him greatly

I wouldn`t let other dogs approach mine if mine were on a lead. Dogs get very jumpy onlead as they can`t avoid trouble, and it`s not correct dog ettiquette to invade each others` space. They`ve got big teeth and most of their greeting behaviour is geared around avoiding confrontation. My dogs offlead skirt carefully round other dogs, sending out signals as they go (dropped heads, eyes averted ) to say they`re just passing through, guv.
I get really hacked off with the daft people who assume their dog is `saying hello` when in fact it`s giving the canine equivalent of the Finger to mine by shoving it`s face in theirs.
Yes - try a lunge line as a long lead so you can leap on the end to stop your dog going out of the Park. And tell other owners to control their dogs

Ok thanks for the replies guys, I will leave him on the lead until he gets a bit more confident, I think I will try and find some classes for him to do a bit of interaction, I thought he would have been too old though 10 months and all, I took him classes for 6 weeks when he was younger, nevertheless I;m sure this can be resolved and thanks again for the replies guys.

Oh, they're never too old to go to classes!

In the beginners class where we go, there are young dogs, but also dogs who are 4 or 5 etc...

Yes Isochick has some good points. 6 weeks is the very earliest a dog should go home. However, even if left with its litter a little longer, it does need to get out in the world and meet many new people and dogs before it is 12 weeks old. This is dangerous. Shots may or may not protect them from parvo and other killers.

So keep following Isochick's suggestions.

Here we have a fine program for youths called 4-H that includes dog training. I have watched many older dogs do very well in it, even ones that out weigh the child.