# Scared of other dogs



## michellenewyork (Oct 30, 2012)

I have two twelve week olds, I do everything with them separately as much as I can, when we are out walking and meet another dog they are really frightened, they are due to start puppy class next week and I am worried how they will react to the other puppies (it is only a small class), my son is the only one we know with dogs and he is visiting shortly so that may help....any tips, thanks


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## sugerlump (Oct 6, 2012)

when i first got ginger,and i would take her out in my yard,if the dogs across the back from my barked ,she would tare my arm off trying to get back in the house, but after a few times out and me keeping her out there when they barked and petting her and talking to her she is fine now .she just looks at them and goes on and does her thing, so i think she will get over it but when she gets that way pet her and talk to her,and reassure her that she is safe ,i think she will be fine ok.hope i helped you out......Lumpy


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## Marzi (Sep 17, 2012)

Kiki used to literally scream if another dog came towards her when we were out... didn't last long, I kept taking her out and she soon made friends (she particularly likes the people and hides under their legs if their dog gets a bit boisterous...) She also used to panic if we went past a house, garden or car that had a barking dog in it - but as Lumpy says time, praise and treats got us over that one.
Take them out lots and keep calm yourself, don't pick them up if they start acting up when you encounter other dogs - that can make other dogs keener to get at them, better the puppies learn to submit on the ground and discover that all the other dog wants to do is have a good old sniff...


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## tessybear (May 1, 2011)

There were lots of scared little puppies in the puppy classes mine went to. By then end of the classes they were all fine and knew how to mix with and read other dogs.


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## Pollypiglet (Oct 22, 2011)

Choose your puppy class carefully. I took Hattie to one run by my vets there were eight dogs there some very big puppies. The first thing the vet nurse said was let them all off together! Disaster Hattie screamed and was so traumatised I had to take her home. I later found out the best off lead socialising is three dogs only to give them all a chance to escape. I did not go back but found a properly run puppy class where all dogs remained on leads for socialisation and she gradually gained confidence. She will still scream now at 13 months and I think she was overfaced but she is helped by Minton who is everyones friend!


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## sugerlump (Oct 6, 2012)

are you kidding me ,,she said every one off the leads...well hell that would scare the hell out of any one ,,that was not to smart on there part,i glade you found a real puppy school, and good luck with her being scared ..ginger is getting a little better but is still a scaredy cat haa Haa god luck,,,Lumpy


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## Lozzie (Apr 1, 2012)

Both the vets puppy class and our regular obedience training classes choose to let all the dogs off together. Personally I think it's great! It is done towards the end of the class so the dogs have been in the hall together for about half an hour and at obedience it follows 'pass the puppy' which is another great socialisation exercise. Yes sometimes there are new puppies who don't fancy joining in but the trainers keep an eye on these dogs and move them away from the others if they get too boisterous. I have seen some puppies who never come round to socialisation and try to sit with their owner during puppy playtime, when I've seen these dogs as they get older they seem to be afraid of other dogs. I look forward to puppy playtime every week, Bracken is often the leader of the pack racing round the hall and playing well with all the other puppies, she's boisterous with the big or same size puppies and gentle with the scared ones. On Bracken's first session, she hid behind my legs but I knew in her own time she would love it and I was right!


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## sugar (Aug 15, 2012)

Hi 
I had the same with Poppy, I posted here about it. I just took her out lots, let her off the lead and just carried on as normal when other dogs came close or she heard barking (she is still a bit nervous of barking). Its been around 6 weeks but she is absolutely fine and confident now. 

Good luck


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## sugerlump (Oct 6, 2012)

yes but Laura,,what happens when your little lady is scared out of her wits, she may never recover,,i can see your point , but there are dogs that just could not handle that,


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## tessybear (May 1, 2011)

In my puppy classes the puppies were let off the lead two at a time at the beginning. It was done very carefully in a calm controlled environment. The shy puppies soon got their confidence and the bouncy ones learnt to be calmer.


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## wellerfeller (Jul 12, 2011)

I was really lucky as when I took Weller for training there were only two of us! Weller and a lovely naughty little black lab girl. The trainer would make us work and do our stuff in quite close proximity to each other but on lead ( teaching puppy to focus on its owner regardless of distractions) and as a reward at the end we could let them off to play together. They would play but if one looked like they were being over boisterous or were scared by the other we had to remove them both from play. At the time I was disappointed with the class size but it enabled us and the trainer to closely monitor the situation.
Although we did still have the screaming panicked dash out of the park after being chased on one of our first walks, so I think most puppies are initially scared/ unsure/ panicked by the approach of other dogs but they do grow out of it, when they learn nothing bad is going to happen. The trick is making sure nothing bad does happen, that's the hard part.


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## sugerlump (Oct 6, 2012)

yes Tess,i can see that and if all the dog are in maybe there fourth class where they know most of there buddy's there it is ok.but your class has the right idea for new puppys that are shy.when i first got ginger and i would take her out in my yard to pee, she was afraid of every thing .we have other fenced in dog here and they would bark at her,wow zoooom right in side and and up in my wife's lap, Haa Haa ,but she is doing better i would hold her out there and pet her and talk to her ,,it helped,,


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## michellenewyork (Oct 30, 2012)

Thank you for all your comments, hopefully they will get better with time!


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