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Originally Posted by Mike_and_Me  Thank you so much. The problem is, where we leave there's nothing like Petsmart or Petco and for a 3 million citizens city there's only one large shopping mall where i'm allowed with a dog if a dog stays in the carrier/backpack.. so you can see our options were quite limited when Mike was growing up. Our vet suggested a pet hotel with a huge garden and we went there a few times. They've selected the calmest dogs for Mike to get to know but unfortunately the trainer's strategy is - throw the dog with the others, ignore the snapping, barking, don't let him come to you and eventually it will work out. To be honest I didn't believe such strategy can be successful with my Mike so after a few times we decided to not go anymore. I will continue setting up walks with the neighbor's dog and will see how it goes. Also, will be on the look out for a dog behaviourist. However, you have given me a wonderful advice and a piece of mind regarding my approach. Thank you again. Hoping that the walks you mentioned will help Cody to have less stress around other dogs. |
If you're really that serious about introducing Mike off lead to other dogs, are worried about injuries in fights, get a buddy to soft-muzzle train his female toy dog, you soft-muzzle train Mike and at the first after-training session, have each muzzled dog sit for a while with each on lead 10 - 15 feet from the other, very calm, very laid back, serene body attitudes by the humans. Don't introduce treats, chewies or toys(could start a fight over resources), maintain easy banter back & forth between you two. Of course a scared dog on a lead feels great tension in that he knows he's totally vulnerable to others' actions against him, cannot escape, so keep the dogs far enough apart neither is stressed from the other dog while on lead. Move further apart should you need to.
After 20 - 30 mins., remove the leads, keep talking amongst yourselves, seemingly ignoring the dogs and let your dogs sniff, probe, try each other for 2 - 3 mins., re-leash, un-muzzle and end the session. Repeat muzzling, leashing, waiting period and introduction session in 30 mins. for couple to three 3-5 min. sessions as often as you can if no real issues. Keep them short and sweet off lead together for now. In my experience, if each dog is a toy dog and soft-muzzled, they can't do any real damage until you can get to them should they begin to seriously TRY to fight wearing the muzzles with you nearby. And as you know, if you've been around enough dogs, fight-like tussles, lots of vicious growling, snapping, threatening, attempted mounting are pretty common as they try to work things out, particularly same-sex dogs. Eventually, one should play-bow and show some submissiveness to the other. This breaks the ice, the other dog imitates, they play, still wary but having fun. Watch for one dog locking in on, alerting to the other dog with highly-focused, intensely staring threats, stop that. And most dogs, given enough non-threatening chances, gradually, over time, succumb to the lure and fun of other dogs society unless they are my Jilly.
My little 3 lb. Jilly was a runt, always kept from other dogs in the breeders' home up to age 4 1/2 mos. when I got her, was so ill quite a lot, not socialized her first couple of years and never did accept other dogs wanting to be near her. She was totally self-protective of her tiny body and just barely tolerated other dogs. Given her history, medical problems, I felt she likely never missed that much in life as we did everything together and as long as the neighbor's dogs in each yard gave her all the dog interplay she wanted, knowing she was safe behind the Cox fence. She'd romp up and down with them with that fence there but let one of them or another dog try to approach her without it, she'd stiffen and gnash at it should it get too close, eyes walled, ears back, tiny fangs bared, a caricature of a vicious dog! Fierce, she was! She'd drive off Dobermans, other terriers, whatever, with her tude.
Tried bringing another Yorkie into the house, she loved it as a baby, until it outgrew her and then she got ill, lost coat, starved herself, grew too thin, chewed her ankles incessantly while staying up on the back of the couch for most of the 9 weeks we kept the poor puppy. My baby Jilly was wasting away, checked out on her life! Nothing worked between the two dogs. She basically resented little Teddy, hated when Teddy and I interacted and I think missed her old life. Finally had to break my heart and rehome Teddy for Jilly's sake, and really, for Teddy's too. She deserved far better.
Teddy went on to lead a fabulous life with a small family with preteen daughter, they did everything with Teddy, sent pictures, letters, lived 12 more years before we lost contact. And Jilly, the moment Teddy left in the arms of her new mother, my heart broken, tears still streaming, jumped down off the couch to resume her old life, health/weight/coat and lifestyle with me. When I said Teddy's name, she always looked totally blank, never once, whined, sniffed or looked for Teddy. Jilly lived to the age of 13 1/2 and truly enjoyed her latter years once her health problems got better settled. Nobody better have said a word to me about Jilly's little ways or they'd have had a lecture from me!