Very playful and excited around other dogs
Oliver (male, still intact) is almost 10 months old now, and a big puppy. He weighs about 42 kilos which is pushing 95 lbs and is well proportioned. Vet is very happy with him and no health issues. Around people he is absolutely charming, usually sitting immediately and offering his paw! He is gentle with children. One huge advantage of living in the Netherlands is that dogs are welcomed everywhere so Ollie has spent most of his young life being socalised in cafes and restaurants and shops and as you all know, OES puppies tend to get a lot of attention, which he loves! We did puppy training, mostly one-to-one, and have had no problems. At home he likes to play a little but mostly he likes sleeping in his favourite place. My difficulty is managing his excitement around other dogs. He is just too excitable and immediately initiates play with anything from a Rottweiler to a Chihauha, bouncing around and running about. He has no agression in him at all, it's all about running around and chasing, and we have never seen him play-fight, but other dogs, especially small ones, seem to misinterpret his intentions and they have attacked him. Jack Russells seem to be particularly bad. In the part of the Netherlands where we live there are many forests and even beaches and loads of opportunities for off lead exercise, but there are also very many dogs wherever you go! How do I get him to calm down around them, so that in turn the other dogs don't feel threatened. Is it relevant that he is beginning to get a bit "humpy" with blankets and cushions and has begun to mark territory with his pee? Is this a phase that will pass in adulthood? And someone told me that OES tend to get attacked by other dogs as their eyes are shielded with hair and lack of eye contact bothers other dogs and makes them fearful. Is that true? Any advice welcome! Thank you! Also, how do I put a little picture of him next to my user name? |
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| At this point it is probably his bouncy self that is drawing negative attention. The key is to keep having him play with other well-socialized, dog-savvy dogs who will give him an ongoing education into how to best engage other dogs in play. And he's still very much at a stage where he's still learning, so take advantage of that and set him up as much as you can to do so in a useful manner. It will pay huge dividends later. Plus, though OES remain playful throughout their lives (typically), they do normally naturally calm down a bit and become less obnoxious about it over time.
Sybil learned that to not overwhelm little dogs (whom she loves), she'd drop to the ground and belly crawl to get them to engage. How did she learn this? I'm not sure, but she loves to play and it must have dawned on her that being big and hairy was intimidating and defeated that purpose. OES do play too rough for many breeds and you have to watch them around little dogs as they can inadvertently stomp them even in play. Jack Russells aren't know for their dog friendliness to begin with, so that's not a shocker...While you're working on teaching him good dog manners, work on teaching him a "leave it" command and a solid "come" command so you can call him away from dogs you can tell he is annoying/intimidating anywhere, anyplace. You're really lucky to be able to take him everywhere. Dogs are becoming pariahs in the US. Probably because most of us don't do a very good job of training/socializing them. As for the humping and marking? Do you want this behavior? No, I'm guessing not.  Interrupt him and redirect him to more acceptable behavior. Plenty of intact males live their entire life that way with perfect manners - it is not a fixed behavior you have to live with. Plenty of neutered male display similar annoyance behavior. Mine for instance gets all worked up and whiny when my girls are in season and spent the last couple of weeks trying to hump one of his sisters. He's been neutered since he was a year old. A simple "get off" works, or sometimes just the evil eye as he knows I don't care for the behavior. I also had to teach him to not mark. I thought neutering would help him, but no dice. Training him, however, did.
Good luck! Kristine |
| It sounds like you are describing Archie to the tee!
He is a day short of one year old, bouncy playful, getting snarled and bitten at by some dogs, others are as playful as he is. If a river is nearby selective obedience kicks in! We just make sure he is on the lead when near dogs that have previously reacted negatively. Jack Russells can be a reactive snarly breed at the best of times, probably a case of small dog syndrome, yet some wire haired terriers (similar size as JRs) can be a playfull and as daft as Archie with no aggression whatsoever. |
| No surprise when I say that describes Rufus too. He is exactly the same. I think they just start to learn to approach more gently over time, Ru is beginning to be more careful now. It's very cute that when Rufus sees another dog he will first turn to me and wait for me to say either "OK boy go on" or "No, leave it". I have no idea how long this will last but I'm always prepared for him to ignore my calls. |
| And Sunny too....
She [mostly] learned that group training class was no time to play with dogs, but outside of the class environment it seems as though there is nothing more important in the whole world to her than playing with another dog. Quite frustrating, but since she figured it out in class, I do still have some semblance of hope. I don't believe she had any interaction with other dogs as a young puppy, which is probably exacerbating the problem. |
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