[yorkietalkjilly]

Mia is terribly undersocialized so she's fearful and anxious around other dogs, which a lot of dogs are that haven't spent any quality time around other dogs all of their lives. It's a pretty normal reaction in today's lifestyles.

If she were my dog, I would expose her briefly(only two minutes or so per session) daily to dogs at a large pet store where there are apt to be lots of dog, by just carrying her in for very brief periods of time, walking her past a dog at a good distance while in your arms at first, giving her treats as you pass by(if she's not too stressed to take them) and then right back out again for a fast walk up and down the sidewalk on the leash to bleed off her tension.

Lots of praise once she's outside, but not inside, not as long as she's acting tense, because that will imply to her that any comforting & petting of her and soothing words you say to her while she's nervous, like "it's okay, baby", will reinforce in her mind that being tense and uptight is what's okay and is being praised by you, further reinforcing that type of bad reaction to dogs being nearby. Only praise the behavior you like.

Several trips inside a day will be stressful and make her anxious so keep them very short, don't take her very near any dog at first - keep your distance of at least 6 feet or more if you can, as distance at first will help her feel less anxiety while being around strange dogs. After she quits acting so tense and anxious, you can walk nearer other dogs for short periods of time but not up close until she begins to stretch out her head and try to sniff other dogs. Once she's involved her nose and wants to sniff, leans toward another dog, that shows she's feeling comfortable enough to get her closer to other dogs.

When she's ready, I'd ask another owner for help with your socialization and ask them if they would allow you to bring your dog briefly up to their dog's rear end to sniff it for a few seconds while she's leashed and under your control. I'd approach the other dog from its rear if the other owner will cooperate and just allow her to sniff its butt and then walk her away so she doesn't have time to get anxious or scared and then outside for a fast walk, praise and a play session before you take her back in for another "close encounter" for another sniffing session.

With enough patience, and very short, frequent visits to pet stores and places where dogs are leashed, she should begin to feel less fear of other dogs and become curious, want to sniff and become familiar with others of her species. The more interest she shows, the closer you can get. Just keep the sessions very short and then outside for a good walk, play session. Watch her body language like a hawk once she's allowed near another dog on the floor and should she begin to alert to the dog, bring her ears up or flatten them back, tense her mouth and body, lower her head, bring her tail up high or out straight behind her and her whole body language says "I'm watching you, buddy!" to the other dog, immediately act. Say "No!" or "Leave it!", speaking in a firm but not scary voice, lean down and touch her suddenly on her flank with your outstretched fingers to distract her or quickly step between her and the other dog, turn and begin to walk her away. She's not yet ready for that close an encounter right then.

Go back a few steps and keep desensitizing her to other dogs by just the short, frequent walk-by sessions at distances that don't cause her to go into pre-attack mode and gradually work closer over many different sessions as long as she's staying interested and playful. But the moment she alerts to/focuses in on/locks-in on another dog, say "No!", distract her/cut her to prevent a bite or attack and get her out of there.

Go online and Google "dog body language" and read and learn all you can about what dogs look like just before they bite or attack. Google-Image "dogs ready to attack" and look at pictures of dogs that are about to go ballistic so you know what to look for and can stop it before hand. That's the time you want to act to distract her with a touch, a "no!" or stepping between her and another dog and walking her away. Don't wait until she's tense enough to bite - if she's not relaxed and acting "soft", friendly, don't allow her to be near enough to another dog to bite it. Only allow her to approach another dog when her body language says "interested", "curious", "want to get to know you", not "bite".