[alundy]

My dog, Scout, is a 5 month old spayed female shepherd mix. She was found as a stray around 11 weeks and kept at a foster home with many other dogs until 14 weeks, when we adopted her.

To the point: when we meet new dogs, she usually sniffs their face for 5 seconds, and then suddenly barks in their face. Her tail is wagging, I think she is just trying to get them to play (and perhaps establish dominance too?), but obviously it startles the other dog as well as the owner. What can I do to discourage this and teach her to meet new dogs without barking in their face?

We are in a puppy class right now, which is where I've been seeing the behaviour, and I'm not sure if the trainer's advice is making a difference. She told us to use a treat in front of Scout's nose to distract her away from the other dog.... but I feel like by doing that I am rewarding the behaviour? I dont' know...

[Alpha]

It does sound as though she's initiating play. The more she's around other dogs, puppy class is a great idea, she'll learn better manners.

Puppies are usually very vocal. In Hades first set of obedience classes that's all a poodle mix did, bark!

By the 6th lesson, he had calmed down, and understood that this place was a place to work and have fun! To settle and listen to his owner.

It can be scary for the other owners, but if you are confident that she is not agressive, (in the classic playful position, with front legs down, and bum in the air, tail wagging) it sounds as though she will be ok.

Remember as well, meetings on leash are very frusterating for dogs.

They can't move, and display the normal body language that they would normally. If they feel uncomfortable they cannot move away.

If both dogs are stable, no signs of dog aggression, off leash meetings are the way to go.

There are many benefits to off leash meetings, as long as you are in an enclosed area:

- there is no forced eye contact: on leash dogs are forced to meet face to face, eye contact. Eye contact is a sign of dominance. So, therefore, a normally submissive dog, will appear dominant.

- on leash the dog is forced to stay in a very close vicinity to other animal. If they feel uncomfortable around the other dog, they cannot move away. Therefore that message, is not passed to the other dog, so the other dog may pursue the scared, uncomfortable dog even more.

- the leash skews a lot of dogs body language. A highly active dog, tail wagging, jumping around, high pitched barking, is a sign of initiating play. On leash this *could be* interpereted as an attempt at dominance

So as you can see, there are many benefits to off leash meetings, that are clearly explained in "dog's language".

Continue socializing at your puppy classes. She is still very young, and full of energy!

IMO, the more socializing you do the better. The older she gets the better. She should eventually calm, and dog meetings will not be so exciting. LOL

The more she interacts with other dogs, the better she'll get at expressing her wants in doggy body language.

[eley]

There's a GREAT book called "Click to Calm" by Emma Parsons. It's mostly written as step by step recipies. It has a bit of theory behind it, but it's mostly a practical guide. It has an entire chapter on canine interaction.

[4-Her]

i had almost the same problem with my dog so i took her into dog classes doing obeidience, showmanship, and agility and she is around other dogs all the time.... i felt like when i started she wasnt making to much progress but now looking at her she still gets excited but she actually get along with the dog or doesnt even care about being around them it just takes time.