Having big trouble socialising my puppy with other dogs!

This was not something I foresaw
I am very well aware that puppies need intensive socialisation in their first 3 months of life and the human interactions are going really well with Ted - everyone loves him and he is great to all he meets. However, out the 7 dogs he has met in the last 2 weeks, only one has been friendly towards him.
Unfortunately I do not know anyone with young puppies but quite a lot of young dogs (1-2yrs old) and many older dogs. I had lined up many meetings with dogs belonging to my friends but 3 of them have outright attacked him (all were bitches), 3 were totally indifferent or growled when he approached and only one (entire male) has wanted to play and get to know him.

Is this unusual? It is in my experience with a puppy - I did not have these problems with any of my other past puppies. Ted was one of a litter of 5 Border terriers and left his mum at 9.5 weeks so had good opportunity to play with siblings. He also lived with a dalmation and met his dad a few times as well. I cannot see what it could be about his demeanor or appearance that is elliciting the aggression from some of the dogs we have met. Do terrier puppies get picked on more than other breeds?

The other thing of note is that each and every owner of the aggressive dogs has said how unusual the behaviour was for their dog and usually they are fine with other dogs.
Even my best friend's bitch seems to hate him and we had plans to go walking together when Ted is old enough.

After a disastrous encounter (on neutral ground) with another friend's fox terrier today, Ted ran whimpering into our house after hearing a dog barking in a car outside our house. I am very worried that he will become dog-shy and later dog-aggressive.

There are no puppy classes here. I have put out a call for puppy playmates on a local website but have had no responses.

What to do?? any ideas?

How are you introducing them?

Do you start with them both on lead to give them time to get used to each other gradually, and to be able to separate them instantly if things start to get tense or if either is too "full on" with the other?

1-2 year old dogs tend to be at the pushy teenage stage so maybe older, more settle, mature dogs may be a better place to start with Ted?

Maybe also introduce him and another dog over a number of sessions with those two and don't try to get them together too quickly?

Dog introductions have two halves i.e. each of the two dogs, and the attitude and behaviour of each will affect the response from the other. Handler influence can also play a part, for good or bad.

Maybe Ted is doing something that you are missing that is annoying these other dogs?

Some dogs give "puppy license", others dislike unpredictable puppies who do not mind their manners. If a puppy is nervous some dogs will take advantage and bully.

It is better to take your time and give him positive experiences, than to rush and risk negative experiences, which can even do more harm than none would.

Playing with siblings may depend on whether they were all playing rough and competitively, as terriers often do, and on whether he won with his siblings or if he learnt his manners there.

even though they may be negitve meetings,its still scocializing,i had a ruff go with one of mine,i find that some dogs cant put up with a jumpy pup.mine guy took 3 months to be accepted buy my other 3,they were ruff on him ,there was an other older dog next door who had pups she was pretty good to the pup.sometimes a first meeting with a pup can be negitive if the other dog is not well socialized as well,also some dogs will take advantage of a pup to exert dom,if you will,and i found that some dogs that are sub will also see an opritunity to exert on a pup.i feel that you are doing all the right things and dont stop,pay attention to your dogs behaviour as well.dont worry some of those negitives may turn into a positive with more repition,thats how my pup was able to be accepted..keep meeting new dogs!is what i say,things will get better...hope some of my experiences help

The 3 dogs who went all out with snarling and biting were all bitches under 18months old (2 spayed, one entire), so maybe their age has something to do with it?

We have attempted intoductions at my house, both in the house and garden. Also tried on neutral ground in open fields, and in the village square. We have tried it with Ted off lead and others on the lead; with both on lead; with both off lead but with Ted close enough to me for me to grab him and lift him to safety (which was just as well with the fox terrier, who managed to tear my sleeve as she leapt up after him.

With the first dog he was quite cocky, tail up and strutting but with each successive one he has had his tail and ears down and has even wet himself in submission. I think that he must be doing something that I am not "seeing" but I do not know what it is! I wish I could watch him with dogs his own age.

I really don`t think it`s your dog that has the problem. I think you`ve been unlucky.
Try Puppy Classes or Beginners Dog training? But watch the class first - some are not good.

Try and keep your pup away from dogs like that if you can. If your pup has repeated negative associations with other dogs it will learn to defend itself as it has no other choice. It will become dog agressive itself.

When you are out on walks go to places where you will bump into other dog walkers, even at a distance. When you see other dogs around get your Pups attention on you and have a game with a toy, or give treats, or both. Keep repeating tis over and over so your Pup builds up a strong positve association when other dogs are around.

When your Pup interacts with other dogs, be blunt / rude / brass necked and be clear with the other owner that their dog is OK with other dogs. Keep the interaction short at first and plenty of praise for your Pup for bieng good around the other dog; but, be careful not to praise any signs of fear and anxiety your pup shows such as cowering, hiding behind you etc.

HTH.

I tend to agree - I too think you've been unlucky. It's a shame that you live in the Dordogne because you presumably don't have access to the puppy classes and so on that we have here, which are so helpful.

My advice would be to not let Ted go up to any other dogs yet ... but instead try to carefully select the dogs he can meet. Ensure they are not likely to aggress (I know you can't always be sure, but ...) and make sure he has some positive interactions.

I feel really sorry for you, because you are clearly trying to help Ted and it's seemingly impossible. In case you do manage to find a puppy class, just check on here for info as to how it should be run:

http://www.apdt.co.uk/choosing_dog_trainer_uk.asp

Also do check your lad is not racing up to dogs and kind of overpowering them by being a "crazy puppy" ... if you can get him to be calm a bit, it might help. A lot of dogs are scared of puppy bounciness and unwillingness to read signals and back off.

Does your vet know of any classes? Again, they must be well run, it's very important. A badly run class is worse than no class.

It does sound as if Ted is becoming scared of other dogs, so you need to be rally careful. What sort of dog is your BFs bitch? Ideally if she brings out really nice food treats when and only when Ted is around, and you go on walkls on lead together (try parallel walking, circling, that sort ofthing, and then gradually walking closer together, first with humans in between, then one human in between, then dogs on the same side... but do it very slowly, not all in one session).

Hth a tiny bit...

also can the breeder help with socialsing, at least with the other terriers?

Wys
x

Thank you for all your replies.

I emailed the breeder last night and she confirmed that Ted was the most playful out of all the other puppies, dominating most games but not as aggressive in play as one of the bitches in the litter. Unfortunately she lives too far away to be of any help with socializing.

My bf rang me this morning and she thinks her bitch, a french x-breed pointer, is having a phantom pregnancy. This might explain her aggression to Ted a couple of days ago? usually she is friendly with other dogs.
I had two more dogs lined up to meet Ted but one of them (a male terrierX) is living in a house with an older dog who has just been diagnosed with Leishmaniasis! so now I am waiting to see if the little terrierX has it too before going ahead with a meeting. . I do not believe there is much risk of dog-dog transmission but it is a disease that makes them feel very unwell.
So my last resort now is a 6yr old border collie bitch who belongs to an English couple. I know she is dog friendly with adult dogs, so I guess we'll see how she does with Ted. They often have visiting dogs to their house so I'll take Ted there. I must say that I am much more nervous than I was a week ago.
I understand that some dogs do not like rambunctious pups and I don't mind him learning manners from an older dog; but like you said above, I don't want him to become dog aggressive as a result of these experiences we've mostly had so far.