Advice for Ada needed:

On Ada’s walk today, we met a German Pinscher that got very in her face. Friendly, but boisterous. I wasn’t paying proper attention and didn’t pick up on her body language quickly enough to realize she was uncomfortable, so she snapped at him. Other dog wasn’t hurt and the owner was understanding (she realized her dog is over-exuberant), but I don’t want things to escalate like that again. The moment it happened, she calmed down. There was no freaking out beyond that.

At the Petco, she met a bunch of tiny dogs and was perfectly comfortable with them. Other dogs on walks, she’s been fine with. But they were all her size or smaller.

I might have to watch out for bigger dogs in case she just feels threatened by them. She has a mark on her head that might be a bite received in her past, which would explain her apprehensiveness to big dogs.

It might also be related to the fact that she’s only recently spayed and this dog she met was an intact male. Not sure if that matters.

7 months ago · 3 notes

  1. catoncoals said: Puppy classes. This is about socialization and teaching her that larger dogs aren’t all bad. It’s really important that you do this with her now, while she’s young, in a monitered environment.
  2. cuttlefishdoctors said: It was probably just a defensive response from the lunge from the big dog. Next time it’d be best to gently introduce her to the other dog, or give her plenty of space to scramble away.
  3. esdafable posted this