Question regarding my 7 1/2 Week old's first meets...

Hi folks, I've done a bit of searching but not found anything specifically answering my question so I hope people don't mind me posting.

We've introduced our little fella to a couple of our friend's pups, he'll be spending a lot of time with them in the future so we wanted to start early.

They're all very young (the oldest is 17 weeks) and vary in size and temperament. All of them are typical puppies, some more dominant than others but all very friendly and playful. We were slightly concerned about the fist introductions so did it gradually (lots of bum sniffing) before letting them loose together. We have however noticed a pattern, what follows is a description of how each meet went down:

We individually let each pup sniff the other's bum before letting them meet face to face, following that we popped them both down together where initially, Gatsby (our pup) would tuck his tail between his legs and skulk off. The other pup would chase him and sniff and usually try and dominate him and start play, some more boisterously than others. Inevitably Gatsby would end up backed into a corner where he would start growling and snap a little, then toddle off tail held stiff and high. After this they would play a little until it got too rough and it would happen again.

Each meet seemed fine once each dog had got used to one another but I've not seen this before with any of the pups in our social circle. My mums dog (a 17 week old German Pointer) is by far the biggest, oldest, most boisterous, and has a tendency to dominate the other pups, be overly nippy and relentless. He tried the same excitable boisterous play with little Gatsby and got the same reaction. Gatsby has been the only pup so far to really tell him enough is enough despite being less than half his age and a fraction of the size.

I suppose my question is, is this something to worry about? Could this lead to fear aggression and is there anything I'm doing wrong/should be doing differently to avoid this sort of reaction. The last thing I want is a dog that is in any way aggressive to other dogs as you can imagine.

Any advice would be most appreciated! Thanks!

Heya!

I think the main problem is that your boy is quite a bit younger than the other pups, who have all had time to establish play boundaries and gain some physical and mental strength. Your pup, being 7 weeks old, is in a new and scary environment, which is probably a little stressful for him at the moment. Couple that with older pups bouncing all over him, and he's probably just feeling very intimidated.

Personally, I would wait until he's had his vaccinations before he's introduced to other dogs outside your household.

I'd also allow him to get used to his new home before he has to deal with boisterous puppies, as well. The last thing you want to do is have him frightened by dogs twice his size at such a young age, which could potentially lead to nervous aggression issues later in life.

Socialisation is important, but it's always best to start at home! Get him used to being in his new home first, and then gradually introduce him to other pups over a few days. Again, regarding health, I'd wait until he's vaccinated.

I'd also like to add that, when the time comes for socialisation to take place, it's often best to do it with an older dog. This allows the puppy to jump about and play, establishing a good association with other dogs, without the boisterous, rough play of another puppy to intimidate him.

Many thanks, yes maybe I'm just doing things a little too quickly. I need to find some older calmer dogs for him to meet so he can find his feet and learn some manners. I suppose I'm just worrying about getting the balance right. On the one hand I've been told that as early as possible is best and on the other hand to maybe wait a little. So I think I'll let him settle in properly, get into a routine so he feels completely comfortable and then consider socialisation. Many thanks!

Great advice for you from Eleanor (as always).
Hope all goes well with the socialising