socilizing shay

i wanted to wait till shay had settled in before socializing her to other dogs as everything was new to her when she came to us and didnt want to scare her or anything as we didn't no her either but now i feel the time is right but how would i do this as everyone that lives here will only let there dogs a certain distance from her and in the future i would like to get her another doggy friend so she isnt alone as she always looks so sad lol but dont wanna get one with out knowng how she will react just a bit lost on how to do it :S

There are dog schools out there if you live in the right area, you could even try a sneaky approach of asking a random question to someone with a dog, and while their talking to you, your dogs will introduce each other, remember to stay calm and keep your dog calm ask her to sit ect (if she is to excited you may have to remove her from there because sometimes other owners do not like this) and trying to get ahold of an owner who's dog is quite neuteral in behaviour, curiouse but not to bothered/excited to see your dog so the intro can go without notice and maybe even the owner will see how good your dog is and perhaps allow the approach any other time.
Usually if that owenr knows other on walks he/she may even say aww that staff was a lovely girl and other may not avoid you like the plague

Have you got any mates with dogs you can walk with, or any dog groups around your way??

when i take her over the field there was this one women that looked down at me and said oh thats a shme she has a muzzle really shitty but i explained and she started talking to me although shay didnt get close to the dog as the other dog kept its distance she did get excited but after a while just sat or either lied down but i can never tell with shay as when she is on our balcony her tell wags and she makes a weird sqeeking noise were as over the field when she sees another dog she will creep down into a lieing position waiting for the dog to come close then suddenly jump up is that a way of a dog playing of her saying go away just dont want anything bad to happen but may just be me over reacting xx

hey janey my friend has a english bull terrier she lives next to me but wont let shay anywere near him if im out walking and she is and we meet on our travels she will pull cent away and when i say away i have to shout to tlk to her i think i may have to find a class to go if i find out she isnt good with other dogs can i get it out of her or will she always be lke that

dannii wrote:when she sees another dog she will creep down into a lieing position waiting for the dog to come close then suddenly jump up is that a way of a dog playing of her saying go away just dont want anything bad to happen but may just be me over reacting xx

I think Shay is being submissive to the other dog x

what does submissive mean lol sorry :S

Cassie does this all the time she'll lay in the grass or behind a leaf thinking she is invisible then once Taz or Blondy get close enough she darts off for them to chase her or jumps them, this is submissive play, your friend doesn't seem very understand if i'm honest, she must know it hard to socialize these type of dogs. Her behaviour how ever doesn't seem aggressive at all more submissive play which is fantastic...to an exent, some dogs do not like over submissive dogs they find them too weak and may want to give them a correction as if saying grow a pair.I would definatly try a school if you can, even if its jsut to experiement to see and learn all your dogs behaviours in a safe environment.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_communication

scroll down to dominance and submission this page explains it better than i can. theres also a few extra things you may wish to take a look at.

aww thank you for your help i shall have aread through it all.when i do take her to classses do you think i should put her muzzle on or when meeting another dog or will that make her funny i think i just need to stop being silly but its hard as i dont want her to get hurt but i know what you mean bout my friend i told her ill have her on the lead and at anysign id pull her away but she says no lol

Why does Shay have a muzzle ? Is it something that has beed advised, just curious??

When taking her to school i wouldn't have her on the muzzle alot of people will suddenly have a bad energy towards her and may predict/cause a problem, learn her body language and what it means and leave the muzzle off when out and about because people automatically assume the worse, at the school if she shows signs of aggressive the instructor/teacher may even ask you to put a muzzle on her but if not leave it off.

to socialise mine i take him to my local car boot every week and he loves it
planty of dogs and people to met and it has worked for me and buster

she has a muzzle because the day after we got her we took her for a walk and she went to nip a jack russel so it was just to be safe but to be honest i think it was becuase she didnt no us as her owners and it was new to her if you get me hence why i asked about socilizing her as i am bit unsure how she is

I would loose the muzzle for now and see how Shay is, as long as you have her firmly on lead and your in control. I agree with MissR that people will automatically think the worst. Has she ever gone for another dog after that incident and was it an aggresive snap??
Taking her to a car boot is a really good idea, lots of dogs there x

we did take her to a carboot the weekend after we got her she was just pulling and trying to slip her lead i thnk there was a bit to many dogs for her first time however once i get her used to dogs gradually i=and i no she is calm round them i will then start takiing her , i have not yet been that close to another dog to find out again.well i think it was more fright as it was when we were walking past a shop and the women come out the door with out us noticing before we could react and she turned and snapped at its bum but i cant recall or remember there being any growling of sort xxxx

if i was to get a video of her over the field when she sees another dog would that be more help to see if she is only playing

I really would try without the muzzle. What sort of lead do you use?? There are so many out there that help with the pulling, I think a halti lead may be good for Shay, I've not used one but there talked about a lot on here, it might give you some extra control and confidence whilst walking her x

If you can yes x

She was probabilly very stressed those first few dyas with you she didn't know what was going on and neither did you, when you say snap was it a snap or a lunge and snap, snapping is not acceptable but if the jackrussell wouldn't leave her along she may snap to say back off but no contact will be made, if it was a lunge then thats more of an issue but again she was probabilly quite stressed and if she hasn't done it since ditch the muzzle and learn her behaviours and body language so you can intervene before she snaps if she does it again.

A video would be great.

at the minute we are back to the lead she came with as she has chewed through her second lead its a very short chain one that she came with and she has a harness she walks with x
The jack russel didnt do anything to her it just walked out the door and past her to be honest i cant remeber if she lunged or not all i can remember is she turned her head and went to bite but my husband pulled her away once he noticed what she did

i know what buster is thinking by his tail most of time if its waging he is ok but he is un sore of small dogs big dogs he loves

i hope everything goes ok

it may of been more of a surprised nip or did she try to sniff the other dog, if her mouth was open from say panting at the time when she spun and sniff the other dog it may of looked like she was snapping at it,
Also i would suggest perhaps a longer leash giving her a little freedom (the you have the short kind of chain i am thinking about anyways)
When it comes to my boy Taz and his dog aggression. I have him on the head halti and a longish chain lead, i'll allowing him to sniff/introduce himself to others but if i see any signs of him being aggressive i pull on the lead and the halti head collar will close his mouth so he can not bite, then i pull him away and into a sitting a position while the other dogs pass.
P.s i love the head halti and i'v found its work on taz to be fantastic, as sometimes he can be great with other dogs and other times he can not.

you heard her teeth snap together thats all i can remeber xx