Comments on: Tips for Greeting Other Dogs on Leash

By: Christine Hibbard

Christine Hibbard — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 23:41:38 +0000

The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior recommends that puppies start Puppy Kindergarten beginning at eight weeks old: http://www.avsabonline.org/avsabonline/images/stories/Position_Statements/puppy%20socialization.pdf. If you wait until the dog has had ALL shots, the socialization window is closed and it’s too late. Here’s our article on finding a good Puppy Kindergarten, good luck! http://companionanimalsolutions.com/blogs/what-to-look-for-in-a-puppy-class/

By: Michelle

Michelle — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 21:48:52 +0000

Thank you Christine! We have let them have very little time together so far, sniffing and that’s about it. I hold Sayde (the pit) and tell her settle and let the puppy come to her but no play so far as Sayde is just too hyper lol NEVER unsupervised anything so we are safe there!
I will look for classes soon, once she has all her shots and get her in. Zarry (Dane puppy) is a smart, sweet girl and want to keep her that way
Again thanks for the info and advice

By: Christine Hibbard

Christine Hibbard — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 20:54:37 +0000

The bully breeds are called “bullies” for a reason. The most important thing to address now is the new puppy. Do not give the puppy and dog continuous access to one another. Their interactions should be supervised heavily so that the puppy doesn’t learn a bullying play style. Make sure that you find a good Puppy Kindergarten in your area that includes off leash play with other puppies his/her own age. Puppies that play continuously with adult dogs during their socialization window (the window is closing when their puppy teeth start falling out at 16 to 18 weeks) tend to learn to play too roughly.

By: Michelle

Michelle — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 21:29:03 +0000

Our daughter has recently moved back home and she has a 1 yr old pit bull names Sayde. Sayde is a wonderful dog! She is sweet and loving and full of energy. The problem we are having (and our daughter has noticed) is that when she goes to meet dogs whether off leash or on she full on barrels over to them tail wagging and ready to play. She has never been aggressive towards another dog but has been growled at because she is overly excited and doesn’t know the proper etiquette for greeting another dog. She was rescued so we aren’t sure of her background other than there were 8 other dogs with her.
How do we teach her to greet properly? On leash we have made her sit or stand and let the other dog approach her and sniff etc. She will do this for about 1/2 a second and then will spin around to play.
Any help would be greatly appreciated, we have a Dane puppy coming soon and we don’t want her to pick up Sayde’s bad habits lol
Thanks in advance!

By: Christine Hibbard

Christine Hibbard — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 16:42:53 +0000

You have a leash reactive dog Kathryn. This article might help you understand your dog’s leash reactivity: . Many trainers hold classes. They are usually titled Growly Dog, Feisty Fido or Reactive Rover. You can always contact us privately via email: info at companionanimalsolutions.com (using the word “at” instead of the @ symbol to discourage spammers) with your location and we can try to refer you to someone in your area. Thanks for reading Behind the Behavior!

By: Kathryn

Kathryn — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 16:20:50 +0000

I have a different problem with walking my year old english lab. She gets overly excited when meeting dogs, jumping and pulling, so I walk right on by with her. We used to try to greet them, but she gets too excited and disobedient. When we walk by, she then starts pulling and biting and jumping at the leash and at me. I continue to walk holding the leash firmly and not paying attention to her, and it takes her a little bit to settle down. She has even nipped at my jacket and hands trying to nip the leash. Her eyes are not focusing. I am not sure if she is playing or being aggressive. I would really like some help.

By: Tara

Tara — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 00:08:44 +0000

I like to think Gordy’s exceptional but that’s just me!..LOL! But I must admit I am fascinated by the realization that a scuffle could ensue or that leash frustration exists. I never thought of it! I can manage his leash so it doesn’t restrict the free flowingness of a non leash encounter…esp if the other dog is off leash so maybe that mitigates some of the leash frustration he could otherwise feel… and even if both dogs are on leash I can still manage the leash so its not restrictive. If I don’t resist Gordy’s desire to greet the other dog and walk Gordy towards the other dog he approaches the dog in a calm and friendly dog like manner and sometimes even with a bit cautious trepidation – his frustration level is non existent if I m not resisting his desire to butt sniff I do notice that at times he wants to play and if he’s on leash THAT becomes difficult. I am at the point now where if I m in my park and away from the street – I may try dropping his retractable leash and let him play freely with the other dog. But I have to admit I never would have thought twice about leash to leash encounter. They have all been so positive except for his fear of Matty which results in CRAZY Gordy.

I think it’s going to be hard to stop all leash to leash encounters, but I will minimize moving forward. But I always feel like I m a b*tch (excuse the pun ) if I deny him his butt sniffing pleasure. I’ll have to work on that.

Again thanks for your insight and your online presence!

By: Christine Hibbard

Christine Hibbard — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 23:35:57 +0000

“Please help me to understand why.” The reason why is that most dogs aren’t as polite as Gordy when they get to the other dog. Usually, once a dog has gotten so aroused/excited that it’s dragging the human towards the other dog, a scuffle ensues. Clearly, Gordy is a gentleman, despite being worked up on leash. Perhaps your Gordy is the exception to the rule?

By: Tara

Tara — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 23:31:52 +0000

Thanks Christine, that’s very sweet of you.

I do have to admit I am abit confused about this statement ” Is your dog, the other dog, or both dogs dragging their humans toward one another? Some owners think this is a sign that their dogs will love meeting one another. This is a circumstance in which I always say “no.” Please help me to understand why.

As a background: Gordy loves being around other dogs but because he’s on a leash most times, he will try to drag me or perhaps its better to say he will tug me towards another dog and once he’s engaged in butt sniffing he moves on. If I say NO, and don’t move towards the other dog especially if its across the street or not organically crossing Gordy’s path — then Gordy will move on..he doesn’t put up a fight 9 out of 10 times, but sometimes he get stubborn & just SITS himself down and won’t budge until the other dog has crossed this path and then he gets up to butt sniff. He just loves being around other dogs and he walks once a day with a dogwalker in a fabulous park off leash with other dogs – so he’s socialized. I always figured If he was not on a leash he would just walk up to the dog and sniff and only tugs/drags because he’s on a leash.
Clearly.. my thinking seems a bit off in light of what you’ve said.

Thanks in advance for

By: Christine Hibbard

Christine Hibbard — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 19:55:23 +0000

Thank you for taking time to leave your comment Tara. The highest compliment anyone can pay me is to say they learned something from what I’ve written. Gordy is lucky to have you!!