[Ringo1]

I honestly don't know what happened to Ringo. I took him to puppy class; to agility; and tried to socialize him with other dogs.

I actually think I went TOO far out of my way to let him meet and greet every dog that we encountered when he was a puppy. Some of those dogs were not so friendly and after a few skirmishes - I think Ringo decided the best Defense was a good Offense. I really learned a lesson here. He should not have been allowed to go up to every strange dog - my fault.

One day we had an incident in Agility that I think really scarred him (and me too). At the end of class, all the dogs were allowed to play. One time I looked over and all the dogs (most a lot bigger than he) were surrounding him in a circle; over top of him. Ringo had made himself as low to the ground as possible and you could only see the whites of his eyes. You could tell he was terrified and I was too terrified to step into the circle and 'rescue' him. I called the trainer over and she stepped in and picked him up. After that, playtime was broken into big dogs and then smaller dogs.

I was really afraid they were all going to attack him; that's what it looked like. Maybe he was sending off some bad vibes; I don't know. I know my heart was racing with fear.

Anyhoo, agility was never quite the same after that and I had to really work with him on walks to ignore approaching, large dogs. He's good on a walk now; as long as I stay focused when big dogs approach and keep him at a heel.

I've sheltered Lucy much more; rarely do I allow her to greet a strange dog - unless the owner says that they are friendly and both dogs are sending off play vibes. Then I will.

Anyway, I would caution anyone to not let their dogs get into a situation that they are not ready to handle. I'm pretty sure that's what I did with Ringo.

Thanks for your kind words; I do think Ringo has a happy life now. He loves his long walks, his playtime, Lucy chasing him round and round . . . life is good!