# Nervous around other dogs



## Heart O'Gold (Jul 31, 2012)

Bentley is 21 months old now and he is great around all kinds of people, he even greets them fairly calmly, he is even sitting for pets, when we are out at pet stores etc. He loves going to pet stores and being the official greeter!  He also loves meeting other dogs but these meeting are brief on-leash greetings. We have not had the opportunity to play off-leash with other dogs since he was very young and attended puppy kindergarten. He had one bad experience last Thanksgiving where my SILs dog bullied him around. He is a teenie Maltese, but he kept charging Bentley, running underneath him and snapping at him.  Anyway, we are taking an Intermediate class now and he is nervous the whole time, I think because he is unsure of the other dogs there. I want to provide him with some more positive dog interaction so he will feel more secure and not develop this fear further. Yesterday I learned of a small dog park near me and we stopped by there for a bit. There were two very nice balanced dogs who were already friends there and Bentley was nervous at 1st and tried to hide behind me. He growled and barked a bit when they got too "up in his face" and they gave him some space and their owners were very helpful too. Bentley relaxed a bit and did some exploring.  I am hoping that with some more positive experiences like this he will feel more comfortable and even relax more in class. 

Basically I want to make sure I proceed correctly helping him interact with good dogs and build positive associations. I know dog parks can be risky but I have few options to get together with other dogs. Hopefully this snow will melt soon and the local GR MeetUp group will resume gatherings that we can attend. Any advice and suggestions would really help. Thanks!


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## Heart O'Gold (Jul 31, 2012)

Well yesterday's class was much better. Bentley had the best stand stay.  He was more excited than nervous and even though the poodle growled and barked at him on our way in, he didn't let it bother him. I made sure he had a walk, and he had some pet store/sidewalk time after his vet appt. (flu shot), so he was probably more calm from his active day. I took him back to the dog park today and he was more relaxed, still cautious, and submissive as is his nature. There were 2 pitbulls and a dachshund playing and he had a good time. When the pits started playing a bit rough with each other, we left. Hopefully we will find some Goldens that go there and he can have some playdates.


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## Heart O'Gold (Jul 31, 2012)

Well, I guess I will just keep updating this thread as a way to keep track of Bentley's progress. Last night was our 4th class of the session and he was pretty wound up the whole time. Maybe because we were the last ones to arrive. He had a good long walk yesterday but maybe he is just still overly excited by all the dogs in the room and the humans he can't greet at will. 
We practiced an exercise where we kept the dogs focus away from other dogs while stopping to talk with other dog owners. This went fairly well, we need to work a lot on it to get to a calmer state. 
Then the trainer brought out her toys that move and make noise and set them off in the center of the room while we tried to walk the dogs around them. Yikes! That was really tough for Bentley. He was so excited to play with them and also tried to pop out and meet the people who were on the outside of the room as we passed them. It will take a lot of work to get him to be able to calmly pass such high distractions. 
So last week was much better as far as calm and focus. Last night he was really wired and had a lot of trouble focusing. I will try to get him more exercise and socialization before next weeks class. 
We have been visiting pet stores at least every other day, and have gotten out to some shopping center sidewalks, too. 
Hopefully the weather will improve soon and these things will be easier to do more often. 
Right now I don't know if he will just eventually calm down more with age, maturity and exposure or if I need to take specific steps to guide him towards being calm in a dog class setting. Do most of you have dogs that are calm in class? I feel like Bentley is the only one that is over stimulated in that environment.


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

I"m sorry your thread didn't get the responses you hoped for. To be honest, I don't think there's much new advice to give, you're on the right track. My best suggestion is to keep on it, keep on it, keep on it. And you could also pop into your training center on nights when you do not have class just for 10 minutes of training if you can schedule it. You don't have to have a class to 'use' the other dogs there for training. I wish you luck and patience, it's hard to work on it. Have you tried reaching out to acquaintances in your neighborhood or your kids' friends who have nice dogs? You'd be surprised if you start talking to people how much they are willing to help out if you tell them it won't take more than 15 minutes etc. Drive over and visit, make it a quick visit. Just an idea. Hang in there


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## solinvictus (Oct 23, 2008)

My Helie who is 5 now had a really hard time calming down in classes. We worked really hard from puppy classes all the way up through competition obedience classes. By the first year Helie was doing really well. At about 18 months we started to struggle as he became anxious around other dogs. It took us a few months to get through this continuely going to classes and going out and about but making sure he was always at a distance that kept him just under threshold working all the things in class but mostly the focus on me. A few times after that really hard time he had a relapse. He has some sound sensitivity and when other dogs would bark sometimes it was to much for him. I still need to have a little space for him but after those few breakdowns he has been wonderful. Don't get discouraged each dog works at their own pace. You guys can work through this. The more you do not getting him over threshold the more confidence he will have.  
Many people keep doing the exact thing over and over even if the dog is not showing improvement. If you do not see some improvement you have to evaluate exactly what you are doing and exactly when the pup/dog is losing his focus on the work and change up your training. Usually it is you are just to close to the distractions but sometimes we just are not consistent or clear enough in what we are asking our dogs and confuse them. So always make sure you are clear and consistent in what you ask of your dog and continuely evaluate make a journal of your training at home out and about and at school this will help you see where you need to make adjustments.


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## Heart O'Gold (Jul 31, 2012)

Thank you for the suggestions and encouragement! I will try to be more consistent and keep Bentley farther from distractions so he can be more focused. I will reach out to the GR MeetUp group to try to get him some playdates. The people I know with dogs just don't do things with them. My friend who has a GR won't even walk him, I had to stop meeting for walks with her because I couldn't bring Maddie along. What's the point of walking without your dog? I need to meet more dog people.


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## GinnyinPA (Oct 31, 2010)

You aren't the only one with a dog that is distracted in class. We really had to work with Ben to keep his attention on us rather than the other dogs, and had trouble when trying to listen to the teacher with him wanting to interact with the other dogs. Our intermediate obedience class was a bit weird in that there were three reactive dogs in the class. Ben soon learned that it was not a good idea to go up and greet every dog he saw. On our walks around the neighborhood we ran into other aggressive dogs. He became pretty reactive himself. Whenever we would meet another large male, the two dogs would sniff and then lunge. For a while he was really wary of all other dogs. But then we started having some good experiences, meeting mellow or submissive dogs, and a lot of his fear has lessened. We also learned to let him sniff very briefly and then back off, before either dog gets nervous. If they want to play later, we'll let them, but mostly we keep initial greetings brief. 

A general meetup might not be the best thing, as you'll have some friendly dogs and some that may not be as friendly. One on one interactions are less threatening. If you can find someone to walk with, so the dogs are side by side, or where you can sit with the dogs at your feet while you talk, it is a lot less threatening than a free for all.


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## Heart O'Gold (Jul 31, 2012)

Last night's class was really good! Bentley was overexcited at first with some barking, but he calmed down and focused on me very well. He still is excited the whole class but not panting like he was in the first few classes. He did well leaving the distraction alone and stayed in his settle most of the time. Our class is held in a church hall basement, so it's not a training facility that we can visit at other times. I am not sure if there are any places like that near me. There is this place Port Chester Obedience Training Club - White Plains, NY about 1 hr away but I don't know if it would be worth joining unless we were going to do some agility or something. I will just keep trying to get Bentley more socialization, training, and exercise and hopeful we will advance to the next class level. I am going to focus on getting his CGC.


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## Heart O'Gold (Jul 31, 2012)

Well, since my last update Bentley graduated from his Intermediate Class and began the Advanced class last night.  We have gone to 2 big dog events in between. The first was a dog parade over the Hudson, and he was so good, relaxed and happy to be there. I think he finally got all the attention he craves, lol. While other dog's had nervous diarrhea everywhere, Bentley proudly walked around and soaked up the love.  He was amazing! 

The second event was a Bark For Life. Here he started out over-excited (barking from the parking lot because he wasn't in the action yet.) I stopped every time he barked and waited for him to be calmer. Once we were in the mix he was fine. He did bark a few times on the walk, but then calmed down when we were mingling amongst the group. 
All in all it was a really fun day.  

Last nights class went well in the sense that he did all the tasks well even the practice CGC walk-by.  But he did bark a few times, one of which while the trainer was working with him, perhaps he wanted me to be holding the leash. In general he was more relaxed than he was at the start of the intermediate class, but not calm. For whatever reason, the classroom environment is the most stressful situation for him. 

So we will continue to work on everything in and out of class and I hope that he will also calm down some as he matures.  We'll see.


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