Okay, our trainer instructed us to go ahead and get our puppy (11 weeks old now) around other dogs and out and about as much as he can. We still stay away from public grass / public parks due to health risks - but we have other dog owners that we bring him around.
Yesterday we have a family bbq at my Dad's house. He owns a 5 or 6 year old Golden Lab, and my Grandma brought over her terrier who is maybe 3 years old or so.
I brought the dog in on a leash (he's an English Bulldog) and of course everybody freaks out about how cute he is, etc. etc. He was way hyper due to the attention. We go outside and proceed to introduce ourselves to the other dogs on leash. Everything seems okay....so I let him off the leash and stay close.
The lab was not happy. Angus (my dog) would walk up to her and try to introduce himself with some sniffing to her face and the lab would growl, show her teeth and walk away. This happened without fail every time, and it seemed to confuse my dog. The terrier would also do similar but not walk away. Instead, the terrier seemed more intent on standing ground and getting into a shouting match that would just about turn into a dog fight until we broke them up. None of the dogs get along.....
Also, my puppy is extremely good for his age. I am almost floored how much he learns and obeys (not to say he still can be a little devil). But whenever he would NIBBLE (believe me, he can BITE and that's when I discipline) someone they would SMACK him on the nose and yell "NO!". I didn't have the heart to say "we don't discipline with our hands EVER"....but in my heart I was sad and frustrated that some of the work I have done with him is being unlearned by other more aggresive humans. Actually, I use my hands to hold him, etc. but we never HIT him in the face especially since he is a short nosed dog.
So here's my thoughts/questions for some of you other owners.
First, how do you handle other people who feel the need to discipline your dog/puppy especially when they have a different philosophy? For me, I believe in taking the true pack leader position, which means I should never have to hit him in the face with my hands. Others seem to think he needs to be swatted. I dont' swat and he manages to obey....I do not want my dog to fear humans, and especially human hands. I take this extremely serious as I even feed my dog with my hand sometimes to show him that I am his provider.
Second, when socializing your puppy around other dogs when do you draw the line and step in when another dogs lack of social training is doing more harm then good to your dog? I think it's healthy for my puppy to be around both healthy and unhealthy animals, but then again he is just a puppy and one bite could cause serious mental and physical damage for him. I need to protect him but also allow him to realize he's not the biggest fish around - and needs to submit to his "elders".
Also, how do you care for your own dog while not offending other owners? Seriously, some owners never socialize their dog. When their dog begins to growl at my puppy they pick them up and console them saying "it's okay baby....no barking no!" and I can't help but think, "give me a break!". I know already that I have offended my own Grandmother by being a little bit to open with my feelings toward her dog (I don't think the terrier has the best mental health as it wasn't really socialized). So now, I am thinking that I will run into this more and more and in my mind I will be judging other owners and thinking "if you really cared for your dog you would have given him the things he needs so that he can be a sound mental dog"....but what a jerk I am for doing that!
So any thoughts on these issues? I can't be the only one that has had this happen.....this is the first puppy I have owned and cared for myself as an adult so these are all new thoughts and feelings to me.
Yesterday we have a family bbq at my Dad's house. He owns a 5 or 6 year old Golden Lab, and my Grandma brought over her terrier who is maybe 3 years old or so.
I brought the dog in on a leash (he's an English Bulldog) and of course everybody freaks out about how cute he is, etc. etc. He was way hyper due to the attention. We go outside and proceed to introduce ourselves to the other dogs on leash. Everything seems okay....so I let him off the leash and stay close.
The lab was not happy. Angus (my dog) would walk up to her and try to introduce himself with some sniffing to her face and the lab would growl, show her teeth and walk away. This happened without fail every time, and it seemed to confuse my dog. The terrier would also do similar but not walk away. Instead, the terrier seemed more intent on standing ground and getting into a shouting match that would just about turn into a dog fight until we broke them up. None of the dogs get along.....
Also, my puppy is extremely good for his age. I am almost floored how much he learns and obeys (not to say he still can be a little devil). But whenever he would NIBBLE (believe me, he can BITE and that's when I discipline) someone they would SMACK him on the nose and yell "NO!". I didn't have the heart to say "we don't discipline with our hands EVER"....but in my heart I was sad and frustrated that some of the work I have done with him is being unlearned by other more aggresive humans. Actually, I use my hands to hold him, etc. but we never HIT him in the face especially since he is a short nosed dog.
So here's my thoughts/questions for some of you other owners.
First, how do you handle other people who feel the need to discipline your dog/puppy especially when they have a different philosophy? For me, I believe in taking the true pack leader position, which means I should never have to hit him in the face with my hands. Others seem to think he needs to be swatted. I dont' swat and he manages to obey....I do not want my dog to fear humans, and especially human hands. I take this extremely serious as I even feed my dog with my hand sometimes to show him that I am his provider.
Second, when socializing your puppy around other dogs when do you draw the line and step in when another dogs lack of social training is doing more harm then good to your dog? I think it's healthy for my puppy to be around both healthy and unhealthy animals, but then again he is just a puppy and one bite could cause serious mental and physical damage for him. I need to protect him but also allow him to realize he's not the biggest fish around - and needs to submit to his "elders".
Also, how do you care for your own dog while not offending other owners? Seriously, some owners never socialize their dog. When their dog begins to growl at my puppy they pick them up and console them saying "it's okay baby....no barking no!" and I can't help but think, "give me a break!". I know already that I have offended my own Grandmother by being a little bit to open with my feelings toward her dog (I don't think the terrier has the best mental health as it wasn't really socialized). So now, I am thinking that I will run into this more and more and in my mind I will be judging other owners and thinking "if you really cared for your dog you would have given him the things he needs so that he can be a sound mental dog"....but what a jerk I am for doing that!
So any thoughts on these issues? I can't be the only one that has had this happen.....this is the first puppy I have owned and cared for myself as an adult so these are all new thoughts and feelings to me.