drive by nipping

[daisyandme]

I am having a problem with Daisy when it comes to playing with other dogs. It seems to have just started.

 

Each morning I bring Daisy to the park with a group of friends and their (4-5)dogs. The dogs usually interact with each other for 30 min to an hour. In the beginning Daisy and one of the dogs seemed to like playing together. However all of a sudden that has changed and the dog does not want to play with Daisy. I believe this is because Daisy is getting too rough and also she just might be getting too big. Today they played briefly, the other dog stopped and that is when Daisy did one kind of drive by nip. I was able to redirect her to one of her toys I had with me. Five minutes later, Daisy did another drive by nip. However, this time I leashed Daisy. The dogs owner then said she did not want her dog around Daisy, so I left.

 

I have been trying to figure out what is going on and the best I can come up with is Daisy is getting frustrated. I think Daisy is frustrated because this dog no longer wants to play with her and Daisy has not quite figured it out yet that if she is rough then that means no play time.

 

(before this happened this morning)In my obedience class, the trainer told me the best way for Daisy to learn how to interact with dogs is to be around dogs so that they can teach her what is acceptable behavior.

 

Is there any way that I can correct Daisy, so that she will understand? Or is my best hope through her interaction with other dogs? I don't know if I can go back to the park because of the reaction I got from the owner. I don't think she would put up with much more of this. I am starting to get the feeling that as a group they are kind of turned off by how much energy Daisy has so I started bringing some other toys as a way to break up Daisy's interaction with the dogs as well as trying to teach Daisy a verbal command of break time or that will do.

 

Ugh! I feel like a failing parent and my child has been kicked out of school!!!!!

[mbc1963]

wants to play with her and Daisy has not quite figured it out yet that if she is rough then that means no play time.

 

(before this happened this morning)In my obedience class, the trainer told me the best way for Daisy to learn how to interact with dogs is to be around dogs so that they can teach her what is acceptable behavior.

 

My dog is reactive, so he doesn't get loose with other dogs much. But honestly, he doesn't try to kill: what he does is strongly correct dogs who are "rude" in his mind. When we used to walk with a consistent group of dogs, I could take the time to let him meet them and safely correct them by snarling, nipping, etc.. Once a young dog had learned what was not OK, the young dog would very consistently give Buddy the bit of personal space he demands. Dogs are pretty smart that way.

 

If there were a dog who could safely correct Daisy without hurting her, I think she'd learn really fast what is what.

 

I will say, though, that we rarely meet a dog over three who's knucklehead enough to try to get in Buddy's face. It seems as though dogs learn at some point how they should act.

 

Mary

Mary

[Ms.DaisyDuke]

It does sound like Daisy is frustrated. So, on your part, do teach her a chill command. Of course, that might take a while, but keep at it.

I'm in the process of adopting a 1 year old bc (Riley) who is a bit of a knuckle head. My foster dog (Cash) is Mr. Mellow and quite submissive towards other dogs. When these two are together, they play, play, play, but Cash does not have near the energy that Riley has. Plus, Riley gets a bit bullish after a while. I usually separate them before this point, but it's not always possible. Cash eventually has enough and tells him off. It's the most polite "tell off" I've ever seen too. He just nips in Riley's general direction every time Riley gets out of control until he leaves him alone. Eventually Riley gets the hint. I agree with Mary, if you can find a dog that will tell her off (without hurting her), that would be great! Or, if you could find a daycare (a good one that is) for her to attend a day or so a week, she'd likely learn there too...

[Ooky]

Being friends with a couple of adult dogs that corrected Odin fairly harshly for being a butthead did wonders for him. It takes a bit of luck, though, to find the right person with the right dog so you can be sure that your dog won't get hurt, the other owner doesn't get upset at whatever butthead thing your dog did to deserve the correction, and everything is predictably cool. The corrections were very loud sounding, quick, and left Odin laying on his back, and he learned. He was friends with both these dogs after - I mean THEY actually liked him too once he learned his manners. One of them was a large intact male mastiff mix who usually didn't like other males, and the owner was impressed that Odin was able to get him to be such good friends!

 

When Odin was nipping smaller dogs (the dreaded "dog herding"), though, *I* corrected that rather than expecting the small dog to do it for me. I was severe and playtime was over at the first instance. Now he is a favorite with the small dogs in my complex - super gentle, no sign of "herding", and will even try to get on their level by layng down to play bitey face. He has some really good friends now that are tiny - a pug who is normally terrified of larger dogs, two chi mixes, and an adorable bichon frise that is maybe approaching "best friend" status. When he was 8-9 months I thought I'd never see the day. So, take heart, even if she's being a little jerk now, there is definitely hope.