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Progress Being Made!

1K views 13 replies 11 participants last post by  HavaneseSoon 
#1 ·
Dexter actually played with another dog at the dog park today! Dexter chased a friendly Miniature Schnauzer. I was so excited!

Dexter watched the Schnauzer running around (I mean running all over the place and around us)...they are fast! Dexter and the Schnauzer were the only dogs at the dog park (this makes a difference). When more dogs were present and playing, Dexter was not interested today.

There was a little Jack Russell terrier that loves to climb all over Dexter, this is when I have to pick Dexter up and separate and go to another area of the park.

Dexter is great with the quiet dogs that are not overly friendly. Dexter is actually smelling the other dogs now.

Being at the dog park is the only contact that Dexter has with dogs for now....
 
#2 ·
That's great news, Linda!! You must be so excited! Its so exciting when our "high-maintenance" havs make progress :) I'm still waiting for Lola to make progress with her fear of people - if only we could give Dexter some of Lola's love for dogs and give Lola some of Dexter's love for people ;)
 
#7 ·
I tend to agree. Sometimes this happens to Sophie. Usually she will get in their face and tell the other dog "enough" by snapping at them. Other times I would have to touch the other dog and say "hey", then create some space between her and her tormentor. If the other dog calmed down, I would then allow them to sniff and greet, otherwise I would just ask Sophie to follow me and we would walk away.
 
#6 ·
Good going Linda. You've got the right idea. Just keep the greetings with other dogs low key. If you like the dog park just make sure there aren't too many dogs and get to know the dogs one by one to see whether Dexter will like them. Keep up the great work with Dexter.
 
#10 ·
Linda, Do you have any dog training facilities near you? If so, they often offer "free play" periods, that are supervised by the owners AND one of the trainers from the facility. At the one I belong to, they are great at making sure that no dog is terrorized by others, and that they learn to play well together.

Kodi was very shy with the other dogs when we started going there, and they made sure that he had plenty of play time with very gentle, quieter dogs until he became more confident. Obviously, he's a little dog, and will never be able to hold his own with a rambunctious sub-adult Husky or German Shepherd, but he will now happily play with even big dogs as long as they aren't too wild, and he can hold his own even with scrappy little terriers. His play skills are so good that the trainer often invites Kodi to stay and socialize with the puppies in the class after ours on Sat. mornings if there aren't enough small puppies to play with each other. (it's a drop-in class, and it sometimes happens that there is a horde of large-breed puppies, and one or two little ones)

I don't know whether I would have had the skill to be able to pair Kodi with the RIGHT playmates to develop his confidence and social skills with other dogs, and I'm _sure_ I couldn't have done it in the context of a dog park, where you don't know whether the other dogs are an appropriate match, or whether their owners can/will control them.

One other thing... Kodi often gets "rolled" by bigger dogs. In the beginning, this scared him, even if it was obvious to us that the dog meant no harm. He would run back to me for protection, and we would let him stay there until he felt brave enough to venture out again. Now, he can tell when the bigger dog is just playing, even if he ends up on his back. Once they let him up (which is quickly, or we would intervene) he is right back in the mix, chasing the big dog. He sure wouldn't do that if he wasn't having fun. One thing he DOESN'T like (and it sounds like this is what you were saying Dexter dislikes too) is when a bigger dog paws at him with their front feet. Now, though, he's learned to TELL them he doesn't like it, and if they are nice dogs, they back off. One big Golden that he plays with frequently will even roll belly-up for him, which is pretty funny to see!<g>

If you could get Dexter into an environment where there was some control of the OTHER dogs, you might make faster progress with his dog-socialization skills.
 
#11 ·
Thank you so much for the suggestion....I had forgotten about the training facilities. Now, that Dexter is older, I might try it. I believe the training facility did say they have 4 hour sessions...I will call and see what I can find out.

Thanks again for the suggestion!
 
#12 ·
Good job Linda. I am having the same trouble with MIYA she is very timid when it comes to playing with other dogs KASHI is always curious and will go up to the other dog and sniff him or her. They are enrolled in a PetSmart obedience class. They do however keep barking when we go for walks at strangers and small dogs. Any suggestions?
 
#14 ·
Dexter barks also...he is just telling you to be on alert. Once you acknowledge the barking, tell him it is "Ok" and if they keep barking, if they know what the word enough means, then say it.
 
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