When your dog meets new dogs

Misha had an interesting experience this weekend. She got to meet two dogs at a family get together--two very different dogs!

The first was named Spencer. I forget what breed he is. He's some sort of really furry terrier, a pure breed, and weighs about 25 lbs. Spencer is about a year old and still very rambunctious. He and Misha did okay when they first met, but when Spencer got a bit too much in her face she let him know it. She was also very protective when he got to rough with her dog cousin, the one she spends the most time with.

Then, their was Elly. Elly is a rescue who was not abused, but owned by someone who could no longer afford to take care of her. She is 9 months old, underweight, and reluctant around people. We think she is a Wire Haired Chihuahua. She sat on my niece's lap for the entire party. Misha and Elly may got along well. Elly didn't give Misha any trouble and I wonder if Misha recognized another shy soul.

I don't think it is a male/female thing because she has been around males without a problem. I'm betting it was more of an energy thing. Elly may didn't jump around or roughhouse and that seemed just fine with Misha.

I was kind of happy with the reactions. Misha rarely gets to meet dogs on her own terms (on leash and secure). Usually, it is a strange dog running towards us while we take our walk.

How does your dog do when meeting strange dogs? Is your dog good with new dogs?

 

It's really cute that Misha has made some new friends
My Homer is quite aggressive and he rarely gets along well with other dogs. He tolerates them if they're smaller than him but he often attacks bigger dogs. I guess he wants to let them know that he isn't scared of them

 

My dog is quite calm when she meets other dogs. When she was a pup our family read a lot of articles that suggested we had to regularly expose her to different people as well as other dogs so she would not bark at strangers or new dogs when we take our walks. Our efforts seem to be successful since she does not bark or get overly excited when she meets new people or dogs. She does however have issues with new cats. The ones in our home she has no problems with but those strays we see on the street she barks at and tries to chase. I usually need to keep an eye out for cats and try to cross to the other side of the street around 20 or so meters before we encounter the cat so my dog does not notice it. I also speed up a bit so my dog is focused on running rather than noticing the cat.

 

Claudine, I have to worry about the same thing because Misha is protective. It may seem cute to see a 10 lb. dog protect its owner, but it's not so cute when they are doing it against a German Shepherd or other large breed dog! Or when they do it against a human who means no harm.

Trish, I do the same with my dogs--introduce them to new people and animals when they are puppies. Misha is naturally shy and then a situation in our life (my Dad dying and us moving) caused her some emotional problems. She stopped trusting people for awhile. I've worked on it a lot in the 3 years since all this happened. She's doing so much better. In fact, at the party, she met a person she has only seen once before. She was reluctant at first. At one point I was sitting next to this person. I was surprised to find that Misha was allowing her to scratch her ears--and she was enjoying it! Misha had a new friend!

So much of this goes better when others respect that your dog is shy, uneasy, afraid, etc. When I warn people that she is afraid of people, they need to respect that. She usually comes around, but if you try to make her like you, it won't work.

The same with dogs. I do not think Misha would be so bad with dogs if we hadn't been charged on our walks so many times. Where I live there are leash laws. But, almost weekly we are approached by a loose dog and usually the owner is right there. It's so much easier to introduce dogs on leash and let them do their whole sniffing thing and meet on their own terms--but with the protection of the leash.

On the same token, when we walk there is an elderly woman with a dog that is shorter than Misha. I think it's a Shih Tzu. That dog makes Misha look like the friendliest dog on the planet. LOL It always barks and nips at her. The woman tries to prevent it and I walk in the street so as not to have a tiny dog fight.

 

Mishka rarely sees other dogs but is generally well behaved when she does. She'll do her checking out routine and then often ignores the dog. This is handy when we take her to an off-lead dog beach. So far we haven't encountered any really nasty situations but I guess it's the frequency of the visits which will eventually put her in an awkward situation. We've put her behaviour down to being spayed and some part to her border collie temperament.

 

I know, it's often a problem. Homer not only protects me, but he also protects his things, things that he considers his and in general anything that other dogs might find interesting. He is an egoist and he hates sharing.

 

Our dog barks a lot when seeing dogs passing our gate so I think he will not like meeting new dogs especially male dogs. But he have a friend male dog which grows with him and also live in the compound.