# Taking pup out in public, How do handle when....



## LuvourGSDs (Jan 14, 2007)

your pup sees other dogs & is interested, focused, & barks? Started taking new pup out, she is 12 wks & she did this Sat out in public to 2 smaller dogs. She sniffed & then starts to bark. I correct with a pop of lead saying, no & nothing so, I just walk away. Last night was first night of puppy class, she did meet & greet there without any barks. Just wondered how others have handled? I do not want dog issues & hope to have a pretty social pupper with dogs & people.


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## Cruiser (Mar 29, 2011)

We are going through the same issues...love this forum!! We just walk away too and last night at our class Cruiser was on his best behavior..nice. We are out and about every day walking through our town and he is getting well socialized, I think that is the key. And dont react..I am teaching myself this one as I get all panicked and make things worse. So far..so good...time well spent.


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## LuvourGSDs (Jan 14, 2007)

Well, I so want to do correct as I did an No, No with my last pup, now a 4 yr old 90 lb male big baby. I avoided dogs when he did this same thing as a pup, I went the other way & stayed far clear of dogs, thus making him reactive. I do not want to have this happen & know better now, must see & go by dogs. Just not sure if the barking is b/c new pups are unsure? Also, I want her to socialize, but can't if pulling at a dog & barking. Don't look good coming from a GSD pup. I would like to take her to the agility shows as this will be in her life, but feel I can't with her doing this.


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## Witz (Feb 28, 2011)

It can be a double edged sword and so you must pay attention to the pup and balance it out. I have a 14 week old who has been socialized to many dogs and he is very good with them. He thinks they all want to play/rumble, which can be a problem. So, since it appears that he is not showing any fear, I now limit who he interacts with, this includes people. I do not want to a dog that has to greet every person and dog for attention. We are working on this and he is starting to become more neutral. I need him to focus on me moving forward.


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## MicheleMarie (Mar 29, 2011)

my pup does the same thing-he is now 5 months and still does it. it's a manners issue with me. he doesn't know the proper way to approach dogs..he just wants to bark and bound on over. i correct him in public and when i actually want him to play an the situation is fine and i let the other person know he will bound on over (which some dogs will NOT like) then i let him do it. its getting better though


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## LuvourGSDs (Jan 14, 2007)

Guess it just has thrown me off to have my 2nd GSD bark at other breeds of dogs as a pup & put me back to that omg mode.  I know better now then before, do not avoid dogs ! She had gotta better, no barks lately & not one at puppy class.


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## robk (Jun 16, 2011)

I have a 10 week old that is extremely dog aggressive. We only have the one dog so i can't risk letting him near someone else's dog to "socialize". too much risk of a dog fight. We will begin going to a schutzhund club as soon as his next round of vaccinations are done. i am hopeful that there in a controlled environment I can get some guidance on how to train him to just ignore other dogs.


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

OH MY GOSH............ these puppies aren't dog aggressive.

They are either overly excited, which just needs to be MANAGED and you can redirect.

Or (and this is the bad one and the real problem) they are a fearful puppy that may grow into a fearful adult dog that will be a NIGHTMARE!

Chances are what people are seeing is NORMAL excited puppy wanting to play play play! So instead of correcting normal PLAYFUL behavior by overly correcting and teaching your puppy that new dogs are bad bad bad and mom/dad becomes crazy yelling so new dogs/puppies are bad bad bad KILL KILL KILL (look how well we teach our puppies to not play but kill  )

Before your puppy gets too out of control, use distance and treats to redirect and calm them for the meeting. We want them to meet new dogs/people in a calm manner. So we need to TEACH them to be calm. Not correct the heck out of them AFTER they get overly stimulated. Use distance, redirection. Frankly, most of the time the puppies figure it out if they are meeting alot of friendly dogs. Specially if the friendly dogs ignore them and turn out over and over an over to not be that exciting after all.

Hohum, just another day out with mom/dad.


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## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

You beat me to it! These are PUPPIES! They bark and bite and jump and play and miss their littermates and get excited when they see another dog or puppy. Puppies aren't aggressive and most adult dogs will let their behavior slide for a while. Like MRL said, you simply need to direct, control and supervise them but most of all let them be puppies for the few months it lasts.


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## tsteves (Jun 7, 2011)

Kona sort of does this but not all the time. When we are walking up to the dog park she barks until we are at the gate and then stops once the other dogs come to play with her, it seems like she is announcing her presence. She also does it if her and another dog are in the middle of playing and the other dog stops, she will lay on the floor and throw a few barks the other dogs way and if it doesn't start playing again she walks away. According to the trainer she is just being a normal boisterous GSD and if she starts barking at the wrong times or gets aggressive we just need to use redirection. Oh she also barks if she hears another dog barking, even if it is a dog on TV. LOL


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## Klamari (Aug 6, 2010)

MaggieRoseLee said:


> Before your puppy gets too out of control, use distance and treats to redirect and calm them for the meeting. We want them to meet new dogs/people in a calm manner. So we need to TEACH them to be calm. Not correct the heck out of them AFTER they get overly stimulated. *Use distance, redirection*.


Amen. Rayne had a couple socialization situations early on (maybe 11-12 weeks) when she got over-excited, and started barking like a crazy dog. One time was at a huge doggie event, hundreds of dog and people. She started barking the second we got out of the car, wayyyy excited. I didn't have food on me at that moment (BAD me!), so I just backed up, took her a short distance from everyone and sat in the grass. I didn't talk to her, or pet her, just waited. She just had to adjust, and after maybe 20 seconds, she was sitting beside me quietly, watching everyone. We were able to then walk up and greet a couple people and dogs, not exactly "calm" ( I don't know if she is ever calm) but she was able to interact with much less intensity. 

So in addition to distance and redirection, teaching her what she should do, like MLR suggested, I just use some good old-fashioned patience sometimes. Just wait her out, and when your pup is showing the behavior you want, then reward her with playtime.


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