ibon Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 Sorry if this is a bit long! We have a 5 and a half month old male finnish lapphund who is very timid around other dogs. Unfortunately he was on immune-suppressing drugs for about 2 months which meant we could not begin socialising him with other dogs until very recently. At the beginning of Feb we started taking him to puppy kindergarten. The first week there he was okay, but hid behind our legs alot. The second week he grew a bit more confident. 3rd session is tomorrow. We are trying to give him other opportunities to be around other dogs and have taken him to a beach twice now where the other dogs are pretty much all off-lead. We are still working on recall and don't feel confident having him off-lead yet. He tends to be very timid when other dogs approach him, sniffing noses initially and then backing away. On one occasion he whined and hid behind our legs. Are we doing the right thing by putting him in a situation where he is around other dogs that are off-lead when he is on a lead? Should we be starting him off slower and not taking him to the dog beach? We are new to our area so don't know a lot of people yet, let alone other people with dogs. I guess we're worried about starting his socialising so late and don't know what the best approach is. Thanks in advance for any help. As a side note, he adores people and is not timid around anyone, male or female, only other dogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 Are we doing the right thing by putting him in a situation where he is around other dogs that are off-lead when he is on a lead? In my opinion, no. You're removing his option to retreat if he is unsure and making him a sitting duck if a dog decides to have a go at him. Should we be starting him off slower and not taking him to the dog beach? Yes. I suggest joining an obedience club and giving him opportunities for more controlled socialisation with other dogs. If you're really concerned, consult a good behavioural trainer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ibon Posted February 15, 2011 Author Share Posted February 15, 2011 Thanks poodlefan. I was feeling uneasy about the dog beach and you've confirmed I had good reason to be. the suggestion for the obedience club is a good one and I'll look into that. Are we doing the right thing by putting him in a situation where he is around other dogs that are off-lead when he is on a lead? In my opinion, no. You're removing his option to retreat if he is unsure and making him a sitting duck if a dog decides to have a go at him. Should we be starting him off slower and not taking him to the dog beach? Yes. I suggest joining an obedience club and giving him opportunities for more controlled socialisation with other dogs. If you're really concerned, consult a good behavioural trainer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussielover Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 I agree with poodlefan, although at my obedience club, there are quite a few dog aggressive dogs that are pretty intimidating. They are of course on lead (as all dogs are) but they do occasionally lunge at other dogs. Also depending on how big the club is, the environment can be pretty overwhelming, 20+ dogs barking and carrying on would be pretty scary for a timid little pup. I opted to pull out of obedience till my pup was older- instead i did what was called a "manners class" which is a follow on from puppy pre-school and there is a limit of 4 dogs in the group, all of which are well socialised. The classes consist of training exercises, talking (so the pups have to learn to sit quietly around other pups and people) and playtime, which is closely supervised. Perhaps there might be something like this in your area? If not, do you know any well-socialised dogs you could arrange a playdate with? I wouldn't be taking him to a dog park yet, he could be bowled over by other dogs playing or even attacked by aggressive dogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
betsy Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 You should also talk to the trainer/head trainer at an Obedience Club - they may be able to work out some strategies to help socialise your pup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W Sibs Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 hi!! come join the spitz breed thread.. there are a lot of Lappie owners on there. introducing your pup is very important, but I wouldn't take him to a park for it. Like poodlefan suggest... join an Obedience club. it will be more of a control environment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finnesse Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 (edited) Yes come and join us Lappie owners in the spitz thread. A lot of knowledgeable, helpful, friendly folk there http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?show...amp;start=45795 Puppy kindergarten will be doing him good too as long as it's in a controlled environment with only a couple of pups offlead at one time and all puppies aren't just let off together in a 'free for all' situation. Some one on ones with some friendly dogs may be a good start and a slower/safer way of doing things. I personally wouldn't be putting him in with a lot of dogs or in offlead areas for the time being. Most the Lappies I know are quite social butterflies so given time and the right environment he should come around :D Edited February 17, 2011 by Tobster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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