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Anxious/Curious pup around other dogs?

Brodie982754

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Hi all,

I have a 15-month-old lurcher pup who is fantastic and is doing great with his training. It might be easier to give some background on him before asking for advice.

He was the runt of the litter and very badly bullied by his siblings, to the point where he couldn't be kept or transported with them. We worried about how this would impact his social interactions, but we immediately saw how much he loved other dogs. We made the mistake of over-socialising him as a pup, and therefore, our biggest challenge with him has been his obsession with other dogs. He would pull on his lead, not move, not pay attention to us, or have any interest in even his favourite treats. We've worked with a trainer about this; he has come a massive way and can often ignore them when walking.

When he was about 6 months old, another dog bit him badly on the back leg. We worried this could impact his behaviour with other dogs, so we made sure to continue to socialise with him but take it at his own pace. He did great, and although he was slightly more wary of other dogs, he was still dog-obsessed.

Flash forward to now. When he sees a dog, he will freeze and stare. If given the chance, he would go and say hi to them and we do let him say hi to dogs that seem up for the energy of a young lurcher. When he greets another dog, he shows typical signs of fear: ears flat back, hunched position, tail between legs. But he also wants to say hi and initiate the greeting, and once he sees the dog is friendly, he wants to play. It is like he has an inner struggle where his heart says he wants to see the dog, but his head tells him to be nervous. We want to make sure that he doesn't become reactive or have other dogs react badly to him, so we are keen to help him but aren't sure of the best way to do it. We have worked hard on his training, and teaching him to ignore dogs has been a huge accomplishment, but we also don't want him to fear them either. I wondered if anyone had advice on how to help him overcome this fear without encouraging him to go to the other extreme of being dog-obsessed.


Really appreciate any advice :)
 
inner struggle where his heart says he wants to see the dog, but his head tells him to be nervous.
That sounds like a pretty accurate assessment.
freeze and stare
Before starting on what I suggest you do, can you please try to stop him from doing this? It's actually quite intimidating body language for dogs (and humans, like when you see boxers eyeballing each other at the pre-fight press conferences). It could actually cause another dog to become aggressive.

Most of us aim for our dogs to be dog-neutral, like you are doing. If we meet another dog, a five second meet, sniff and move on is a good way to accomplish that. I'd call out to the other owner first to make sure they are okay to do it, or walk with a friend up ahead if necessary and if possible.

If you know anyone who has a dog with a similar play style, size and energy it's okay for your dog to have them as a play friend - but having just a couple of friends is better than trying to be BFF with every dog he meets. Similarly if you know anyone with a well-mannered, calm and confident dog, walking with them might give your dog confidence.
 
Hi, thanks so much for your advice. I should have clarified that we don’t let him stop and stare at dogs. He will do it but we immediately get him to walk on and then reward him for not doing the action. I understand it’s not a good thing for dogs to do and I would certainly be a bit nervous if I saw another dog doing that!
 

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