By the way, imo ultra scared is if he wees himself, begins to shake or shiver really badly, or his tail tucks all the way and he sort of freezes or is reluctant to move. A tucked under tail is a terrified dog, get him home if you see this.

If he balks and tries to run and hide, let him... guide him away slowly, and go with him and reassure him. I've only had one fearful dog, but boy is she a handful.

@ Gnasher: Thank you! I do try.

@Myrsky: Good suggestions above. It is natural and normal for your wee guy to be afraid of this dog who only recently attacked him! Of course it is. But as Dibby says, the other dog's owner might be able to help you here: if they can keep their dog under control while you walk calmly by, your puppy might get over his fear. But if the other dog barks or lunges, it's better to just turn around and go the other way. Do it in a calm, determined way: you have evaluated the situation, and you have decided not to engage. This is fine! It is perfectly fine to avoid threatening situations, and it is fine to protect your puppy from situations that will terrify him. Some people will tell you to just march him right in there; he'll get over it-- no. That's the 'sink or swim' school of thought, and unfortunately, 'sink' is generally what happens.

Puppies do go through fear periods, where they are far more sensitive to things that might be perceived as threats, even if they aren't-- mailboxes, for example, seem to be a common trigger. It's usually around 8 weeks old, when a puppy starts really exploring their environment, but every dog is different and the time can be more or less that two or three weeks. If Myrsky isn't particularly afraid of anything other than this dog (of whom he has a very good reason to be afraid!) then I wouldn't worry too much. Let him explore-- but if you run into problems, I might be able to help, as I have a lot of experience with an extremely nervous dog, and you know where I am.

I will emphasise all the points made above about not picking him up: please, don't do that. You'd do it with a child. It will make them feel more comfortable and safe. But for a dog, you are literally taking his legs away from him. By raising him up, you're also making him far more interesting to other dogs: people sometimes do pick up their dogs when they see me coming with my three, and when they do so my Akita almost invariably wants to jump up and see what's going on with that little dog, where if they'd left them on the ground it would have been polite sniffs and all is well. I can't tell you how pleased I was when a lady with a Chihuahua puppy, instead of picking her tiny tiny dog up, encouraged him to go say hi-- he did, and even though he was about as big as Taji's face they got on splendidly. Your pup will feel more confident if he has room to move, and if he does feel like he wants to check out the situation, he can-- or hide behind you, whichever suits.

Good luck! I hope everything turns out well with the neighbour's dog.

Thank you guys, in that case few days ago, he ran to the door and after i wanted to walk with him (away from the other dog but he only wanted to go home) thats why I did, later on it was fine, saturday myrsky met a very nice big adult male dog, his first meeting, he was very scared and try to flew but we showed hm that the other dog is nice, and he was courious and said hello, todays morning he met another little smaler dog, he was a bit skeptic but was fine.sometimes im not sure if the dog and owner are the right to meet or not, Im very careful since,.... I know of course a little bit of dogs body language, but sometimes its hard for me to predict the other dogs behaviour (would be fine if I can trust the owners they should know better how there dogs are with others?!? any tips?

Thanks strangechilde I will let you all know how he is doing..

Well, when I see raised hackles, I'm always leery. They may go down once the dog becomes comfortable with the other dog, but they may signal trouble. If Nigredo and I greet another dog and I see raised hackles, I take a step back and give the other dog his space.

Also, stiffness. If a dog freezes or stiffly moves during a greeting, it could mean trouble. Nigredo met one dog, some kind of skinny Greyhound mix looking dog at the dog park, and the dog was ramrod stiff when Nigredo went to sniff him, give it a few seconds, and he turned and snapped at Nigredo, who swiftly dodged it, as usual. The owner grabbed their dog and apologized.

My Jade is standoffish with other dogs and will attack some dogs that enter her space, and if she sees one coming, she will lower her head. Because I know how Jade is (she always wears a muzzle, BTW), if I see a dog lower his head when we are approaching, we go the other way.

Needless to say, any growling, snarling, barking, or lip curling should be avoided. As should dogs wearing muzzles, of course. One other thing does bother me. Dogs that don't wag their tail at all during a greeting. Dogs that don't wag probably don't want to be bothered, so I'd avoid them.

Beware of pinned back ears, while they could be a sign of a peaceful greeting, they could also be a sign of a wary dog. Panting with the tongue still inside the mouth (instead of hanging out like normal) signals distress, too. Clamped jaws are not good, it means stress, as well.

All in all, lots of dogs are a little standoffish when they meet new dogs, but it doesn't mean they are going to attack or be mean at all. Many dogs greet with raised hackles, and are perfectly fine once they get acclimated to the other dog.

If at any time the other dog freezes, I'd get puppy outta there. The times when other dogs have attacked mine have been when that stiff, frozen body language was present.

Thank you mjfromga, that helps a lot, because I appreciate your experience, which I don't have yet
so if a dog is barking(-) and maybe waging the tail(+), it should be fine?!.. Im gonna find out and anyway, myrskys reaction I take too.

Excellent advice from mj! That stiff body language is a dead giveaway that the other dog is on high alert.*

For nice, friendly dogs, look out for an open, relaxed expression on the dog's face and an easy body posture. A waggy tail is a good sign, though some dogs do wag even if they're nervous, and some don't wag much at all even if they love to greet other dogs. If they've met and things seem to be going well, and then suddenly the other dog slams down on their elbows with their butt right up in the air, that's good: this is a play-bow, an invitation to play by the other dog. You might see Mysky reciprocate it, or invite the other dog himself! It's usually accompanied by tongue-out panting and a happy look in the eyes. Adult dogs will often put up with nonsense from puppies that they'd never tolerate in an older dog, so do be aware of that as Myrsky gets older.

Dogs are extremely expressive, and the more time you spend with them the better you'll be able to read their expressions. Both Huskies and Malamutes can be quite vocal, too, so you might find yourself with a very good conversationalist! Malamutes in particular have a endearing thing that they do when they're content: they sigh. We used to have long sighing sessions with our half-Mal. Him: Mmmmmmmmm. Us: Mmmmmmmmmm. And so on. It's very nice.

He will get more confident as he meets other nice dogs, and as he plays he'll be able to learn the rules of Being A Dog. It's important that he do some serious playing while he's little. I'm sure he won't object.

*Incidentally, this makes life a little hard for Akitas. Take a good look at one next time you see one: they have very straight legs, an upright posture, pricked forward ears, small eyes that are hard to read, and a curled tail that unless they wag it very enthusiastically indeed is hard for another dog to see. Taji can appear on high alert even when he's half asleep!

My boy has that curled up tail, too Strangechilde. He's a Pyrenees mix. I love the curly tails. They wag over the back and don't knock things down like normal tails and they give the dog a regal look. Dogs with pricked ears like my Gsd mix can be hard to read, too.

I just really don't like the stiffness, especially if the mouth is clamped shut. To make things worse, many owners don't read this as a sign of danger. They think, "Oh, my dog is being still while he's sniffed, and not snapping or snarling, so he's nice and calm". Absolutely not!

You're quite welcome. I'm 25 and still learning myself. You can never stop learning when it comes to dogs. As for barking and a wagging tail, I'd beware. Almost all dogs tails wag when they bark, but not all barking is to be trusted.

I avoid barking dogs, because even if it is just an excitement bark, the dog is often rude and pushy, even if it's only playful. Myrsky won't like this and it may scare him.

Thanks guys I would be so happy if I can go to a (puppy) class with myrsky, where he can learn these things in a good environment with no stress. But unfortunately I didn't find one.I just hope we will meet enough different dogs for him to get confident.Is it true that its important for big dogs to meet small dogs? My boyfriend told me sometimes breeds like myrsky will see tiny dogs as prey?!?! True?!