17 weeks and already a bit snappy at other dogs!

Hi everyone

Winnie has met lots and lots of dogs off lead and on lead and usually she's very submissive initially and then gets bolder after a little while which is great. But lately I have noticed that when we are out and she is off lead in the woods and another dog comes bounding over she starts off all submissive and then gets annoyed if they are boisterous and will snap at them. I must say, I am starting to get a bit annoyed at other people with their dogs off lead because they just let them charge over and then its left to me to push them out the way if I feel they are being a bit too rough. On a few occasions I have had to pick Winnie up because I can just see it getting out of hand, though I don't want to have to pick her up. Also at the weekend a friend brought their 1 year old British Bulldog bitch over. Again, Winnie wasn't afraid of her at all and totally dominated her by blocking her all the time and getting a bit snappy. Fortunately I could tell the signs so kept telling Winnie off and putting her in her place to show that she wasn't allowed to do this. Am I right? And how do you all cope with the daily walks in the woods or parks. I get this horrible feeling that I'm going to have to start keeping Winnie on lead all the time just because I don't want fights to keep breaking out and that would be a shame because she absolutely loves being free.

You're doing the right thing, although you may have to be picky with where and when you let her off lead.

I keep Dempsey (and kept Bandit) on a lead if I think there is any danger of dogs I'm not sure of being around. If I'm in woodland or if there are obstructions to my view I keep him on lead. If I can see for at least 100yards and there are no dogs I will let him off.

I only allow him to play with dogs I know will be submissive, otherwise he pins them down with a lot of noise (no tooth contact, though) and the owners get very panicky! He'll only actually bite if the dog fights back which is why I only allow controlled play with dogs I know.

There are some staffs however that will never be good with other dogs. It's something you have to accept with the breed.

Thanks. Problem is, its very hard to know what dogs are friendly because we're only just getting to know the regular people over the woods. But you're right, I will just have to put a lead on in areas where I feel a bit unsure. I am bit disappointed though that Winnie is even horrible to the submissive ones but like you say, if she is, I will have to accept that that can be the breed.

It also may just take time. Example walking today and 2 very boisterous young labs came jumping all over her and she snapped back (I'm lucky though cause then she will just walk away) and then later on in the walk we met a 6 month old pointer that was on a training lead and all she wanted to do was play, I had a chat with the owner and she said it was because the dog bounces at other dogs and she is worried it will get hurt, she dropped the training lead and the 2 had a wonderfull play. Keep doing what your doing and be aware of other dogs, she's still very young, lots of developing to do yet

Thanks.

You might find that she is merely being 'dominant'. Dempsey is like this - he'll snarl & pin a dog down, but although he shows his teeth they never actually touch the other dog. The problem with that, of course, is if the other dog fights back - then you get a full blown fight!

Just imagine being a puppy and loads of dogs coming bounding over some nice and some not its really daunting and its no wonder they start to display dominance and aggresion. Keep at it Claire try your best for her thats all you can do

Yes, i fully appreciate how daunting it must be, thats why when I see a dog charging over, rather than picking her up or quickly calling her to me maybe I should just calmly step in front of Winnie and block the dog initially and wait and see how polite it is. If its too boisterous I'll just have to shove it away but at the same time if Winnie is showing signs of being too dominant I will shove her away. Its always difficult isn't it? I guess its just trial and error.