Am I being over protective ??

[occy]

I have a six month old little guy who acts like most puppies do. He loves everyone and everything he meets. I walk in "leashed areas" and when he tries to dash up to another dog on a leash, I try to control him and hold him back and if I feel comfortable, slowly let them sniff each other etc. So many times people say "oh he won't hurt him", "oh he's friendly with all little dogs" etc.etc. and they seem almost offended when I pull him away.

Today I met a neighbour and I cld see her dog was agitated with my playful puppy, so I picked him up and she picked hers up (a shih tzu)telling me all the while I was worrying for nothing that he had to learn to socialize and that her dog wld never snap at a puppy. Words were hardly out of her mouth than his lip went up and he lunged. My poor puppy didn't know what hit him and cowarded back. Her reply was "he's never done that before, maybe its because your holding him".

Over the last few weeks I've heard of so many dogs being attacked and also read a few accounts on Yorkie Talk. My question, am I being over protective. I've started to take him every couple of weeks for a 'play date' at a doggie minder's place who has an acerage and a dog friendly set up. She only takes small dogs. He seems to be fine there. I'm just confused and worried that I'm being over protective when he's with me.

Any advice wld be well appreciated.

[trin7]

Many, many people have mentioned those same words to me - I believed that their dogs really wouldn't bite my dogs - after all they said they would never bite. After the second time in a couple of days of a 'friendly dog' lunging after my little ones I don't trust other dogs anymore (or their owners!!). If the dog is a similar size then I find it's usually okay, but I would never trust a big dog, other then our own. You're not overly protective, just cautious, nothing wrong with that!

[yorkieusa]

You're being smart. You have plenty of time to socialize him. Perhaps you could enroll him in a puppy training class for socialization. It's much safer.

[TigerLily84]

I honestly don't think you are being over protective. Yorkies are very small and fragile and therefore, if a bigger dog was to snap at them it could be fatal. Better safe than sorry. If your puppy is friendly that is a good sign that it will not be hard for him to socialize with smaller dogs his size.

Maybe exposing him to dogs that would snap and bark at him will cause him to become less friendly in the future thus his social skills with other dogs will decline. I am thinking that early exposure to snappy dogs could also cause your puppy to become timid and nervous.

[AbbyMax]

You are not being over protective - you are being a good Yorkie mom!

I don't think a lot of people think their big dogs (or even small dogs) would go after another dog. We all love our dogs and think they are the sweetest things on the planet. But dogs do not always act the same around other dogs as they do with their humans. It is always better to be safe then sorry. I would much rather offend my neighbor than have to take one of my babies to the vet with injuries.

You are doing everything you should be doing. I have had play dates with my friends Yorkies and the first five minutes the first time was a little tense - for the dogs and the humans. 5 minutes later, they were playing like they were best buds and we were taking photos like crazy.

[LuvTaycieGirl]

I think your being very smart! I do the same for Taycie. Yes, she gets along great with dogs but it doesn't mean I trust them... or their "parents". I would just rather be safe then sorry.

Many times, I have picked Taycie up when some big dog comes bouncing over.. Of course, like you I get the typical response, Don't worry she/he is friendly.. but I am not so trusting. They sometimes will roll their eyes at me or walk away staring at me funny.. but I don't really care. I just roll my eyes at them

And... not all dogs get along. I find Taycie will love everyone but the love isn't always reciprocated back to her. I find that is when I become very overprotective because I don't want something to happen to her.

[DvlshAngel985]

I think you're being smart, but don't pull him back. Teach him to approach dogs nicely without pulling towards them. Easier said then done. Mine LOVES to say "hi" to every dog he meets. I allow it, as long as he approaches the other dogs in a calm fashion. An overexcited small dog, could be hurt when a big dog gets excited as well. It happens, and Kaji has met some very, VERY large breeds. Most people understand if you simply reply, "I want him to learn how to approach calmly."

[Lovetodream88]

Even if a dog seems great with other dogs you can never really know 100% how they are going to act. I kinda watch a dog a for a minute before letting Callie check them out but Callie approaches slowly and cautiously. I dont think your being to protective just safe. Most of the time if we go to the petstore I keep Callie in the cart because not that I dislike dig dogs I dont and Callie loves them its just it seems most people who come into the petstore with them cannot control them so I just like to keep Callie in a some what safety zone. She loves the cart though she will walk right to the cart when we walk in and stand up on her back legs doing the pick me up and put me in there stand and if you dont she will climb on the bottom thing of the cart.

[SWHouston]

It is a very rare situation, where I don't have both of mine together.

My Male Sneakers, doesn't like 80% of the dogs he meets, and is suspicious of the other 20%.

My Female Becca is just the opposite, save she likes ALL the other dogs, and meets them with vigorous tail wagging and friendly posture.

If I see a situation coming, when mine are going to have to "meet" another/others, I shorten up my Male's leash, and let the Female take the point. I can tell my Male doesn't like that, first I think because it puts "HIS" little puppy beyond his immediate protection, and that position is supposed to be his anyway.

I rarely allow either of mine to get close enough to another dog, save to maybe touch noses, and always evaluate the ability of the other person to control their animal. I've seen some rather diminutive people, attempting to handle rather large dogs, and I frequently just avoid them if possible.

I am highly protective of my two, don't approach socialization as most others here do, and don't mind it at all if I see someone scoop up theirs as we approach. I often thank that person for that, and have gotten many curious looks.

[Molly Maguire]

My 3 lb Molly is 4 months and wants to play with everyone/dog. We live in a large over 55 community with a lot of dogs all of which are on leashes. Both dogs/owners are all friendly, but I am still very careful; a large friendly dog can also injure unintentionally just by a large paw. Also we are in puppy class the pups are the same age, but not all are small. Again, have to keep a watchful eye. This is our first yorkie and we just love her. Enjoy

Molly's Mom

[occy]

Thx. so much for your replies. I feel so much better now about the whole situation and the way I'm handling it. Maybe a good night's sleep helped put things in their proper prospective as well !!

I'm going to make inquiries to see if I can find puppy classes that we cld attend. As someone mentioned, I think his excitable approach to other dogs cld create a situation where the other dogs wld get excited seeing this little gopher hopping towards them and his 2 back legs !!!!

I really appreciated all your replies and I'm happy to know that I'm not the only one who has had people "roll their eyes" at them. I just wish I cld think of a 'clever' verbal retort ..........

Thx. again.

[Britster]

Originally Posted by DvlshAngel985

I think you're being smart, but don't pull him back. Teach him to approach dogs nicely without pulling towards them. Easier said then done. Mine LOVES to say "hi" to every dog he meets. I allow it, as long as he approaches the other dogs in a calm fashion. An overexcited small dog, could be hurt when a big dog gets excited as well. It happens, and Kaji has met some very, VERY large breeds. Most people understand if you simply reply, "I want him to learn how to approach calmly."

This.

Also, sometimes puppies can benefit from being corrected in a nice way. But not on leash... leashes often cause tension and I don't really like puppies meeting other dogs on leash, unless they are puppies themselves, etc. It spells disaster for me.

I see so many people come into the dog park and keep their dog on a leash and it just makes things worse. The dog on leash feels vulnerable, the other dogs look at it as weaker than they are, the leash gets all tangled from the pup on leash doing circles not knowing what to do, etc. The same thing happens when people pick up their dogs -- however, with that said, if a dog is in harms way, of course picking it up is okay. It's just something that, in general, I'd advise against unless necessary.

Basically, just learn doggy body language. I can tell when a dog is focused in on mine, or doesn't really seem friendly, or is lunging, etc, and I won't let them meet. Jackson had to learn that he does not have to meet every single dog we walk by and he's fine with it. He can easily walk right by a barking, lunging, uncontrollable dog and be fine. But I've seen owners who clearly have no control of their dogs saying "Oh, he's so friendly!" but I will just politely walk by lol.

[Ringo1]

Originally Posted by SWHouston

It is a very rare situation, where I don't have both of mine together.

My Male Sneakers, doesn't like 80% of the dogs he meets, and is suspicious of the other 20%.

My Female Becca is just the opposite, save she likes ALL the other dogs, and meets them with vigorous tail wagging and friendly posture.

If I see a situation coming, when mine are going to have to "meet" another/others, I shorten up my Male's leash, and let the Female take the point. I can tell my Male doesn't like that, first I think because it puts "HIS" little puppy beyond his immediate protection, and that position is supposed to be his anyway.

I rarely allow either of mine to get close enough to another dog, save to maybe touch noses, and always evaluate the ability of the other person to control their animal. I've seen some rather diminutive people, attempting to handle rather large dogs, and I frequently just avoid them if possible.

I am highly protective of my two, don't approach socialization as most others here do, and don't mind it at all if I see someone scoop up theirs as we approach. I often thank that person for that, and have gotten many curious looks.

This is pretty much me as well. I learned my lesson early with Ringo as a puppy.

I allowed him to approach many strange dogs (thinking I was socializing him) on our walks. Well, several weren't all that friendly and he got snapped at a few times. A few rounds of that - and Ringo quickly decided that the 'best defense was a good offense'.

Later, we went to a trainer who advised that he rarely allowed his dogs to meet/greet other dogs willy nilly. It had to be a controlled situation. His advise was 'they simply don't need to meet every strange dog they see.' You never know what the other dogs reaction is going to be and it may or may not be friendly or helpful to YOUR dog.

Ringo is good with small females and if I see someone is allowing their dog to get close to him, I quickly ask if it is female. If yes, I ask if they are friendly. If yes - THEN I let Ringo and the stranger have a 2 second sniff. If that goes well, then I may allow more interaction.

Usually, when I see someone with an 'extend a leash' allowing their dog to veer too closely to mine- I just say 'they don't like strange dogs getting too close' and keep on going.

Lucy has no desire to meet/greet other dogs. She does veer toward every PERSON walking by - no doubt assuming that they all want to fawn all over and pet her. Which they usually do. She is great with kids too.

[Ringo1]

Originally Posted by Lovetodream88

Even if a dog seems great with other dogs you can never really know 100% how they are going to act. I kinda watch a dog a for a minute before letting Callie check them out but Callie approaches slowly and cautiously. I dont think your being to protective just safe. Most of the time if we go to the petstore I keep Callie in the cart because not that I dislike dig dogs I dont and Callie loves them its just it seems most people who come into the petstore with them cannot control them so I just like to keep Callie in a some what safety zone. She loves the cart though she will walk right to the cart when we walk in and stand up on her back legs doing the pick me up and put me in there stand and if you dont she will climb on the bottom thing of the cart.

I'm gonna try that because Lucy is not crazy about the pet-store. Also, too many people here seem to consider that a 'leash free' zone. Which makes me mad.

Question - do you put a blanket down or something on the bottom of the cart? I just couldn't figure out how to keep her paws from falling through the bottom.

[Ringo1]

Originally Posted by TigerLily84

I honestly don't think you are being over protective. Yorkies are very small and fragile and therefore, if a bigger dog was to snap at them it could be fatal. Better safe than sorry. If your puppy is friendly that is a good sign that it will not be hard for him to socialize with smaller dogs his size.

Maybe exposing him to dogs that would snap and bark at him will cause him to become less friendly in the future thus his social skills with other dogs will decline. I am thinking that early exposure to snappy dogs could also cause your puppy to become timid and nervous.

Oh my gosh ~ that's what I just said! That's what happened to Ringo because I was too dumb to know better.

How I wish I would have been smarter about which dogs I allowed him to approach as a pup.

If only I had found YT sooner!