jesiirene

Hi everyone! I've been reading a lot about puppy socialization and I am prepared for puppy classes and introducing my pup to lots of people and other dogs! I am, however, worried about having the puppy with certain dogs. I've talk to a couple friends about having puppy play dates. But, then I found out that their dogs are large and not trained very well (jumps all over me, ouch!) or aggressive breeds.

What are your thoughts on these situations?

I thought maybe when the puppy is older it could play with the larger dogs?

What do I need to look out for when I'm socializing my new puppy?

(We'll adopt a puppy anywhere from 8wks - 6mo. sometime after November)

Mikey T

by that time by not being exposed to larger dog it may have a life long fear of them that said it is also important that the encounters be positive. It is why I recommend puppy kinergartens because in general they are controlled unlike a dog park etc.

IMHO there are not agressive breed there are indiviual aggressive dogs but labeling breeds does a disservice to a dog. There are certainly basset hound and other small dogs that I would avoid with a puppy just as their are individual larger dogs as well you need to make judgements based on the individual dog not the breed.

Secondly how a dog gets on with people has very little to no bearing on how it behaves with dogs and vice versa. Most dog aggressive dog are good with people and most dogs aggressive toward humans are good with other dogs.

Kirska

Statistically speaking small breed dogs are much more likely to be aggressive, most likely because their aggression isn't as dangerous so they can get away with it.

When I took Anabelle to day care, they placed her with the large dogs. One nice thing about bassets is they don't have far to fall if they do get knocked over.

Puppies are a bit tougher than, for example, human babies and generally can take a tumble or get knocked over without hurting themselves. My concern would be that you don't want your dog to learn those behaviors like jumping and think they are acceptable. I've been around badly behaved bassets and they can be difficult. Your puppy will imitate the behavior of dogs it sees as superiors.

You will have better luck socializing in a puppy kindergarten class where at least there is a trainer there to help supervise. I'd recommend finding a small class. My trainer has no more than 6 dogs per class. It is worth the extra cost in my opinion.

As far as introducing your puppy to people from day to day, there are many places you can take your dog with you, like parks and Petsmart type stores. I'm not sure where you live but in big cities there are almost always dog meetup groups you can find online.

__________________
Mom to Anabelle and Lila, rescued ladies and Harley, Corgi/Beagle/Basset/?? mutt

"Saving just one dog won't change the world, but it surely will change the world for that one dog." - Richard C. Call

Nitrosmom

The pastor at my church got a German Shepherd puppy the week before I got Nitro. They have "played" a few times, I know they are on the same shot schedule, and she does not play with "stranger" dogs either. While she is about three times Nitro's size, they have a blast together. When he has had enough, he just lays down. She will try to get him to move, but in typical basset style, he becomes a two ton brick and will not budge. It is hilarious!

MollyMcFrecklesMom

Nitrosmom, that's a riot. Molly goes to "puppy parties" at her vet and she plays with big puppies - there's a mastiff, a couple of labs. She'll play with them for a while, but when she's finished...forget it. She becomes a 2 ton brick as well...then she takes a nap. The big puppies give up on her and wrestle with each other