Trouble at the Dog Park

[mydognorton]

Hello,

I just adopted a 3 year old yorkie who apparently had a bad puppyhood, and we tried to go to the dog park today to get him socialized. Before this, he did well 1 on 1 with a mini schnauzer about his size, but at the dog park he was very aggressive at the dogs with growling and would of bitten them, had I not been between them. He has just been neutered a few weeks ago.

I was wondering if anyone else has had serious problems with dogs that are larger than theirs and what, if anything, I can do to help Norton become comfortable in that type of environment.

Any advice is appreciated,

Thanks!
Grace

[romeos mommy]

Romeo used to "protect" me by growling. Now we stand on the outside of the fence and smell the dogs in the dog park before we go in. That seems to tame him. By heading straight in is too much stimulation for him.

[iluvchewy]

My Chloe gets very overwhelmed at the dog park, and even though we go to the smaller dog area, she still gets mean w/ the other dogs. I think it's helped to have her only be around 1 or 2 dogs at a time, and dogs that are smaller. I just got a new tiny Yorkie puppy Peanut, and Chloe is fine w/ her! Maybe it'd be better to try and get your dog accustomed to 1 or 2 dogs at a time, and that would be less overwhelming than seeing a ton of dogs running around him?

[SamiNFurbabies]

I was wondering if anyone else has had serious problems with dogs that are larger than theirs and what, if anything, I can do to help Norton become comfortable in that type of environment.

Any advice is appreciated,

I have come to the conclusion that Izze, Molly, and Chachi are perfect...
I'm sorry to talk so much about my poodle Suzie but she has many issues... She HATES big dogs. She tries to go after my neighbor's brit's through the fence.
What I do, I learned this from Victoria from It's me or the dog, is I keep her on a leash when I know they will be out...when she goes to lunge at them, I squeak a toy to get her attention, tell her NO, turn her around. I do this over and over until she gets the picture. She has calmed down considerably, although there is much work to do. She is good with other small dogs, but not larger ones.
I hope that helped.

[Ashley V]

I would consult a professional trainer. Maybe try to use a gentle leader with him... I've found that it has given me more control over Smokey and he is better behaved with it on.