Is It Normal?

[Ellie1]

My problem is that I dont have many friends with dogs as I have just moved to australia and the ones that do have dogs I dont trust their dogs not to play too rough. I kind of dont have a choice with the growling, if people dont keep their dogs on lead and control them what must I do? My yard has harldy any grass and I cannot keep him away from other dogs forever.

Join a dog club. The chances of your pup being scared or harmed by a strange offlead dog in a dog park shouldn't be underestimated.

You only get one chance to give him good experiences. What he learns now will stay with him for life. He needs to learn confidence and that means controlled socialisation with dogs who's behaviour you know want be over the top.

We do go to dog club, however that is once a week, I feel bad that he has to play on paving the other 6 days a week...

[huski]

I don't really use any of our local dog parks, as they are the kind that are fully fenced, small areas and I've had a lot of bad experiences there in the past. If I do take the dogs in, it's when it's empty and just so they can have a run around.

I do go to DOL meets fairly regularly, because generally I know the other dogs well.

[Ellie1]

It's hard candice, I'm a bit the same, don't have any doggies locally that I know, they're all quite a drive away so it's not really a reality, at least on a regular basis like young ones need.

Candi, I am taking Archie to 'kindy' now, the next step from pup school. There are dogs up to six months, so some of them are virtually fully grown, it's giving him exposure to them in a controlled environment and he's also getting to know them. He gives the big GSD lovely likes on the nose/face and gets them back but he also has the freedom to 'escape' from them if he doesn't feel confident.

I will try see if there is puppy kindy here in WA but i must say I have not heard of any. At our club where we belong the pups go to pup school until 16 weeks and then go to obedience class 1A. There is no kindy there but I will google it and find out. If the dogs are on lead, he is fine with them, its just the offlead ones he has a problem with, and not all of them he rolls over for, some he has no issues with. I personally feel if people have their dogs off lead if they call them they must come back, if the dogs are disobedient they must stay on lead.

okay, well obedience 1A sounds fine too, I realise there will be a period between end of pup school and when he's old enough for obedience, this is where the kindy filled a great hole for us and there's sure to be junior/kindy schools in Perth. Otherwise re-enrol him in the next puppy school if there's no transitional school. At least this will give him exposure to more dogs, even if it's small-ish ones. When you get a new batch of pups, it's quite possible that there will be others more submissive than him especially as he grows in confidence.

From the vetwest site:- http://www.vetwest.com.au/pps.htm

How old should my puppy be?

Puppies should be between 6-12 weeks of age. This is the optimal time for training and ensures all puppies in the class are socialised in a safe environment which is appropriate for their age and size. If your puppy is older than 13 weeks then please contact us for our recommendations on Junior dog training.

Mason starts the bigger pup school this week, its dogs age 14-16 weeks, at 16 weeks they then go on to obedience class 1A. He starts this sunday as last sunday was rained out.

[Ellie1]

I don't really use any of our local dog parks, as they are the kind that are fully fenced, small areas and I've had a lot of bad experiences there in the past. If I do take the dogs in, it's when it's empty and just so they can have a run around.

I do go to DOL meets fairly regularly, because generally I know the other dogs well.

I took Mason to the DOL get together, the dogs from the group were fine but the strange dogs kept harasssing him at Whiteman Park, I eventually picked him up and held him and then took him home.

[huski]

I will just keep Mason at home then, pity he wont get any other dog interaction except at training. Maybe I will get another dog so that he doesnt miss out on socialisation.

Dogs don't need to socialise with other dogs every day. He's not 'missing out' on any dog to dog socialisation if he has positive interactions with other dogs at dog club once a week.

Meeting and greeting other dogs is only a very small part of what socialisation is about. Your puppy doesn't need to meet with other dogs every day to grow up to be a dog friendly dog.

Sometimes I think there are a few misconceptions about what 'socialisation' actually means and entails.

Edited July 23, 2009 by huski

[Ellie1]

I got an email from Mason's breeder and there is a lady who has his brother from the same litter that wants to have a playdate, we are meeting this weekend, hopefully it goes well and we can meet up more often.

[Miranda]

the strange dogs kept harasssing him at Whiteman Park, I eventually picked him up and held him and then took him home.

The trouble is that your puppy is very young and you want him to have positive experiences with other dogs. If you keep taking him to parks where he's hassled by other dogs there's a possibility that the bullying could affect his attitude to dogs when he's an adult.

Edited July 23, 2009 by Miranda

[Ellie1]

the strange dogs kept harasssing him at Whiteman Park, I eventually picked him up and held him and then took him home.

The trouble is that your puppy is very young and you want him to have positive experiences with other dogs. If you keep taking him to parks where he's hassled by other dogs there's a possibility that the bullying could affect his attitude to dogs when he's an adult.

Like MRS TS asked earlier, what age is appropriate to take your dog to the dog park, when do they cease being puppies? My pup is almost 16 weeeks old.

[poodlefan]

So many variables.. it depends on the size of the pup, its temperament, the behaviour of park users and their dogs.. .

For a pup that lacks confidence? I'd be delaying it until he's more confident. For some dogs.. never.

One things for sure, you don't want him interacting with other offlead dogs whose behaviour you don't know about because if there's trouble, their owners sure ain't going to get there fast.

If a dog approaches with no owner close by.. no interaction. Pick him up if you have to.

If a dog approaches ask the owner "what's he like with pups". If you hear anything other than something like "great, he's really gentle and patient".. then no interaction.

It's not so much the number of dogs he meets IMO that's important now but the number of times he has positive interactions that encourage him. One thing's for sure, he's not going to learn confidence when he's on his back. ;)

If you must go there, ask owners to have their dogs onlead initially. It's no guarantee of a completely safe interaction but its better than nothing.

Edited July 23, 2009 by poodlefan

[Ellie1]

So many variables.. it depends on the size of the pup, its temperament, the behaviour of park users and their dogs.. .

For a pup that lacks confidence? I'd be delaying it until he's more confident. For some dogs.. never.

One things for sure, you don't want him interacting with other offlead dogs whose behaviour you don't know about because if there's trouble, their owners sure ain't going to get there fast.

If a dog approaches with no owner close by.. no interaction. Pick him up if you have to.

If a dog approaches ask the owner "what's he like with pups". If you hear anything other than something like "great, he's really gentle and patient".. then no interaction.

It's not so much the number of dogs he meets IMO that's important now but the number of times he has positive interactions that encourage him. One thing's for sure, he's not going to learn confidence when he's on his back. ;)

If you must go there, ask owners to have their dogs onlead initially. It's no guarantee of a completely safe interaction but its better than nothing.

Thanks Poodlefan, will give the parks a miss, Mason is too heavy for me to pick up at the moment.

[poodlefan]

So many variables.. it depends on the size of the pup, its temperament, the behaviour of park users and their dogs.. .

For a pup that lacks confidence? I'd be delaying it until he's more confident. For some dogs.. never.

One things for sure, you don't want him interacting with other offlead dogs whose behaviour you don't know about because if there's trouble, their owners sure ain't going to get there fast.

If a dog approaches with no owner close by.. no interaction. Pick him up if you have to.

If a dog approaches ask the owner "what's he like with pups". If you hear anything other than something like "great, he's really gentle and patient".. then no interaction.

It's not so much the number of dogs he meets IMO that's important now but the number of times he has positive interactions that encourage him. One thing's for sure, he's not going to learn confidence when he's on his back. ;)

If you must go there, ask owners to have their dogs onlead initially. It's no guarantee of a completely safe interaction but its better than nothing.

Thanks Poodlefan, will give the parks a miss, Mason is too heavy for me to pick up at the moment.

Timing is everything with dog parks. You could go when its super quiet and leave if someone else comes. He can also go to the beaches there can't he. You can usually find a quiet spot somewhere.

It is important that he gets out but 10 minutes on the lead in new places is not a bad way to do that for a pup.