Suddenly became afraid

Hi all of you staffie lovers!
I came to you for a kind word of advice regarding my 14 months male staffy; he is a well balanced dog (emotionally stable, socialized and well trained) but yesterday we had a normal dog park run where he met a small dog (aprox my dog’s size) that barked and snapped at him (no bite);
My dog’s reaction was “oh well, I’ll play you anyways” and then after another 1-2 snaps from the other dog, Ozzy (my staffie) suddenly ducked and became extremely afraid of him. I tried to get my dog to play fetch but when he realized that the other dog was still around, Ozzy was ducking and looking very afraid.

Can we consider this a normal reaction for its age? I ask this because other dogs snapped at him but my dog had a different reaction, other than "fearfully ducking" (sometimes he snaps back, most of the times he ignores them)

Sorry for the long message and sorry for my English (it's not my native/primary language)

Thank you for the replies in advance!
Gyeah!

To be honest they all react differently and at that age it might have been a bit of a shock. Only time will tell if it's had a lasting affect but I would imagine it will be forgotten very quickly.

Welcome to the forum from Flo and me

Welcome from me too!

As Ian says, they are all different. Some will remember one incident, most will put it behind them.

Just make sure you keep relaxed and happy when you're around other dogs and keep up the socialisation with as many others as you can. If you see that one dog again, maybe just take Ozzy away quietly so you can't have another incident to reinforce it.

It's good to keep your eyes open and keep asking questions.

My advice is to avoid these sort of experiences at all costs,and don't wait around to let the other dog the chance to have the second bite of the cherry so to speak.Ozzy is only a youngster yet and what happened might have taken him by surprise,in another 12 months when he is near maturity it could well be another story and his reaction will not please you.
If you can let Ozzy mix with the nice dogs and try to avoid the nasty's.
Years ago I had a young pied staff,and when he met with a nasty one his reaction was to lie on his back and submit,but that all changed when he was an adult.The change in his reaction was really aggressive and not nice to watch.Staffies that are well socialized get on well with other dogs but when pushed will not always turn the other cheek.

Reading the above post, I would agree and add one more thing. If possible, find other socialisation/exercise areas other than free-for-all doggy parks. They are a recipe for disaster, with over-excited dogs without control all over the place. It's much better for dogs to have that high excitement interaction with dogs they know, so they know where their limits are, and keep meetings with unknown dogs quieter and more restrained.

Thank you for your feedback! i appreciate it!
We encountered the same dog, who had the same attitude towardz Ozzy again and my dog reacted calm and stayed out of trouble; we played fetch and Ozzy totally ignored the other dog.

I think it was a "teenager" phase the other days when he got afraid.

Ah bless