like a moth to a flame

[rossie]

Just wondering if anyone has any tips for dealing with this situation.

 

I like to give my dog a chance to interact with other dogs off leash. However, I am encountering a problem in that my dog doesn’t back off when other dogs make it clear that they don’t want him in their space.

 

A dog can be VERY clear with Buzz that he should back off and Buzz continues to try to make friends. I.e. This one dog, Anouk, who is slightly larger than Buzz, always snarls at Buzz when he approaches her. When Buzz moves towards Anouk, Anouk moves away, trying to escape Buzz. If Buzz reaches Anouk, Buzz lies down and tries to lick Anouk's jowls/lips. Anouk snarls and tries again to get away. Buzz pursues her.

 

I, of course, try to call Buzz off and tell him to “leave it” but Buzz’s recall is not yet 100% so I can’t always control the situation by using commands and sometimes need to grab his collar (which can be tricky when the dogs are moving quickly).

 

With your average dog, Buzz does just great. He approaches other dogs in what seems to me to be appropriate for his age, usually putting his belly to the ground to say hello, then getting up quickly to play with the dog or just sniff butts.

 

We only do the dog park thing once a week as it is an informal neighborhood gathering and only happens once a week.

 

Any tips for teaching my boy better manners?

 

Do you think this is something that Buzz will outgrow (he is 8 months old)?

 

Besides continuing to work on recall and “leave it”, can you think of any other training that might help?

[Anda]

Honestly, I think this is something that Buzz will just have to learn it on his own, when someone will make it VERY clear to him that learning to read subtle body language hurts less than a mouthfull of teeth. I don't see how YOU can teach him dog manners... I think it's something they experience on their own skin (literaly, if necessary).

 

Mine is super friendly with dogs we encounter during our walks, but, once off leash at the dog park, he usualy ignores all other dogs and stays focused on the tennis ball. He occasionaly does have to snarl and show his teeth at some "badly mannered" dogs clinging to him too much. But it never, ever gets to actualy bite the other dog.

[MrSnappy]

You can't teach Buzz manners but Anouk can Really, he is being submissive to her and she is growling at him, and if she gets tired of it she'll snap at him and that will probably get him to back off.

 

My only advice would be to get Buzz's recall a little more solid so you can call him off of situations where you think it might get ugly. But Buzz is not doing anything untoward for an 8 month old puppy and it sounds like Anouk is not reacting in any particulary horrible way. At age 7 Tweed still does the creep/crawl and lick top RD, who responds by growling and trying to move away.

 

But none of it is inappropriate, as was, say, the bastard Brittany spaniel that nearly removed Woo's pretty blue eye at the dog park today. He has a nice hole in his face and he did nothing to instigate it except exchange pleasantries with the other dog. Really frustrating.

 

RDM

[rossie]

I think it's something they experience on their own skin (literaly, if necessary).

 

 

Yes. I guess I was hoping to avoid that as he's my baby and all....

 

He was bitten by another dog at one point (different situation, not really Buzz's fault) so he's not totally naive to the power of the teeth.

 

Also, I'm just not sure how appropriate it is to LET it get to that point in a park setting. I have told Anouk's mom that in my opinion, the problem is not Anouk being grumpy, but Buzz being a pesky little devil.

[MaggieDog]

Too bad you're not close enough to drive here. Maggie has set quite a few obnoxious adolescents straight about proper etiquette when their puppy license expired.

 

I agree w/ everyone else that he needs to meet a dog that will tell him off in no uncertain terms, but w/o injury. The trick is finding that happy balance unfortunately. Maggie is fabulous because she does strike that balance w/ young dogs - she warns them off w/ snarls and growls and when that doesn't work, they get a nice veiw of her shiny white teeth about 1/2" from their noses and a body slam to be sure they understand. If they heed this, then Maggie has a new buddy and if not, she'll continue to make her point very clear each time they cross the line, but with nothing more than a bit of drool and generally not even that. She's become the go to dog for my friends with obnoxious adolescent pups that are over the top with other dogs.

 

One of her best buds is a 18mo hound/lab mix that plays waaay too roughly around other dogs. He and Maggie play extremely well together however because she's shown him what the rules are; he overwhelms other dogs that aren't quite so good at setting boundaries lol.

[rossie]

But none of it is inappropriate, as was, say, the bastard Brittany spaniel that nearly removed Woo's pretty blue eye at the dog park today. He has a nice hole in his face and he did nothing to instigate it except exchange pleasantries with the other dog. Really frustrating.

 

Poor Woo! I prefer his brown eye, but I do think it would be best if he could have both. Hugs to both of you.

 

I just think it is so weird that Buzz gets fixated on the few dogs that don't like him when there are SO many that will happily chase or wrestle; I'm glad to know that he's not being crazily out-of-line.

 

I am working on his recall. It used to be really great but has fallen apart recently, so we went back to square one and are still building...

[rossie]

Too bad you're not close enough to drive here.

 

 

No kidding! She really IS the Amazing Maggie Mae!

 

My parents have a one-eyed dog that taught Buzz never to approach him on his blind side. Took about 2 minutes and Buzz was 12 weeks at the time. We were all VERY impressed with the whole exchange.

 

Another dog taught Buzz not to run straight at him (I think it can be called "heading"?) and Buzz has generalized that lesson to all dogs.

 

Ah...maybe there is hope for my boy, yet.

 

If not, Indiana is only a couple of hours away....

[MaggieDog]

Hey I'm more than happy to loan Maggie's teaching skills out if you want to drive down here! I'll even do it for free! Mapquest says it's only a 4.5 hour drive for ya.

[MrSnappy]

I just think it is so weird that Buzz gets fixated on the few dogs that don't like him when there are SO many that will happily chase or wrestle; I'm glad to know that he's not being crazily out-of-line.

 

That's pretty normal for puppies. If he views Anouk as being in some way dominant, he is going to try to appease her by grovelling and asking her to recognize that he is a puppy and she should not take offense to him. I don't think it's really weird at all; he's just taking a proactive approach. If you appease the scary dog, she won't kill you when your back is turned!

 

Today at the dog park, Tweed decided that the world's biggest great dane was one scare mofo and snapped at him several times while walking backward (he never makes contact when he does this). It seems like he thinks a good offense is the best defense, while also beating a hasty retreat. The dane seemed to regard him with some measure of amusement. So did I.

 

RDM