Not again - Trouble greeting other dogs....

Hi all,

I have a bit of a problem (well me and diz really), it has happened before then he calmed down but now its back again in all its glory ....

A little about Dizney:

Dizney absolutely lives for other dogs, He just loves to play and if he could he would all day! He is very very big but still "puppy plays" he is very lively and doesnt seem to be able to take a hint when another dog doesnt want to play with him. He will playfight if wound up (similar to a child, he gets over excited) which is fine if his playmate is of a similar size,weight and age but not ideal when your faced with a puppy,older or smaller dog...let alone the ones who are mollycoddled .

He doesnt seem to be able to take a hint when the other dog doesnt want to play....I am ashamed to say sometimes he will "bully" (thats a bit harsh but I think you will get at what I'm trying to say) the other dog into playing with him or chasing him. At which point obviously I try and call him back but on occassion he turns a deaf ear, although recall wise he is perfect in every other situation.

As a result of this return in behavour I am being extra cautious, trying not to send that tension to Dizney.

What can I do to change this behaviour? I just want him to be a little calmer, more gentle when with other dogs.
He has had all manner of socialisation so I dont know whats happened, TBH Its all very stressful I'm always waiting for an accident to happen.


BTW this behaviour only happens with dogs not introduced to him in the house....For example If I have a friend come over and they bring their dog he greets the dog nicely, shares his toys and when outside plays nicely.

Having said that we just had a fantastic walk and he was very good!

Glad you just had a nice walk. I'm not really sure what advice to give but just to let you know your not alone. When people see a Dobermann come bounding up to their puppy/small dogs you can see the look of fear pass through them. I have to shout 'its ok she's only a pup' but we still get people pick their dogs up and run past.

And dont get me started on the molly cuddled dogs!

The other problem we have is that if another dog comes over who is over-confident, Roxy get all protective and crouches and keeps whipping her head about which also scares owners she'll only be all confident if the other dog is, like you say, Older and doesn't want to play with her, younger, or tiny.

I'm lucky in that some owners will agree with me that we just have to let them get on with it, it annoys me sometimes and I do tell her 'No' sternly if she is really winding the other dog up, but it should be up to the other dog to tell your dog off, not us.

The only thing I can suggest is practising recall around distractions and also, what we did with Roxy as a pup. Dont let Diz greet other dogs until he has got your agreement to do so. In puppy classes we used to walk around with our dogs on lead, then they would pull and pull to get to the other dog. And only when they stopped pulling and looked at us, in the eye, we would nod and let them off to go and play.

I'm not sure if this will work off-lead, but on-lead its a good idea.

I wish there were more people who thought like you dobiegirl.

Dalmonda...Been there with mine too. The weird thing is one of mine started out so so shy and couldn't barely look at another dog in the first weeks with us then turned over confident with other dogs and sounded alot like your boy.

The only thing I can suggest is more exersize and mental work. How old is he? is he old enough for unlimited excersize yet?...The one thing I found hard was when they are younger pups and you have to restrict set excersize, I am finding it easier now they are out of that stage and I can give them as much as they can take which means they are more calm on meeting other dogs. I sympathise with anyone with a playful boisterous larger dog when they are pups because you have to regulate the excersize as well as wearing them out somehow...lol

If your dog is too young for unlimited excersize maybe try to wear him out just as much mentally too.

I can't think of too much other than it does get better when they get a little older and you can really tire them out.

Other than that I wish you walked our routes...lol...mine would love a dog like yours and you would probably find that mine are even worse at least that would make you feel better!...LOL

I'm soo glad I'm not the only one!!!!!

The thing that really winds me up is that I know he only wants to play but other owners/dogs dont think the way we do!!! All the family dogs are just like Diz but they are a lot older and used to him and will grumble so he gets the message!

That's the only problem really! But we have to respect individuals wants and needs and that some just don't appreciate it...So much more fun when they do of course...But with mine my key to getting around this is, recall trining and then some and then excersise and loads of it (now that they are old enough) One thing that works with my two also is instead of always using their 'come back' recall they do a nice 'this way' which means the fun doesn't end but we are going this route instead, (I run off - so that they chase - in another dierection that hopefully looks like it is worth investigating!) with that they seem happier legging it back to me to go off somewhere else that might be even more interesting than the other dogs...

Pick and choose who you let them play with...just on the onset of someone you can generally quickly suss out the mood of that person and what their dog is like...It can be hard at a distance but, If you see bouncy lively dogs and a smile on the owner you generally know it will be fine if you don't...'This way'!!

Also on days when you know your dog has had alot of excersize and play it is worth approaching these quieter people and dogs and learn calmer interaction, but I only do this on times when I know my dogs have had a full run and play so that I get success.