Greetings all,

I was walking Nikki, my loveable
Shih-Tzu, the other day around our
apartment complex and we came across a
neighbor who has a full size Chihuahua.
Nikki is normally pretty mellow, very
friendly and wants to visit with
everyone (people) but really hasn't been
around other dogs very often. At first,
she was excited to see another dog and
the Chihuahua, who's name is Rosco, is a
very friendly fella, full of energy, and
loves to run and jump around. Nikki was
happy to meet him until he started to
prance and jump around. She didn't know
what to think about all this and got
scared. Whenever I take her out now,
she, eagerly, wants to go over by where
he lives but gets scared when he's out
and starts jumping around her.
Naturally, I pick her up and reassure
her that she is ok and that I am here to
take care of her.
It occurred to me that I've never
had her socialized around other dogs,
really because I've never had a need to.
We live in an apartment complex that
doesn't actually allow dogs/pets but
since I am disabled, I have a medical
reason to have one, so I'm allowed but
up until now, Nikki has been the only
dog around. She is excellent with kids
and other adults and my son works/plays
with her as much as I do but we've never
had the need to be concerned about her
around other dogs. I was wondering if
anyone has any simple tips for
socializing her with other dogs so she
can play with her friend Rosco and not
be afraid of him?

"bigdadd39" wrote in
:

Greetings all,

I was walking Nikki, my loveable
Shih-Tzu, the other day around our
apartment complex and we came across a
neighbor who has a full size Chihuahua.
Nikki is normally pretty mellow, very
friendly and wants to visit with
everyone (people) but really hasn't been
around other dogs very often. At first,
she was excited to see another dog and
the Chihuahua, who's name is Rosco, is a
very friendly fella, full of energy, and
loves to run and jump around. Nikki was
happy to meet him until he started to
prance and jump around. She didn't know
what to think about all this and got
scared. Whenever I take her out now,
she, eagerly, wants to go over by where
he lives but gets scared when he's out
and starts jumping around her.
Naturally, I pick her up and reassure
her that she is ok and that I am here to
take care of her.

Keeping in mind that I am not trainer, here is what I have been told
numerous times for this situation: Don't pick her up, don't reassure her.
Remember that beyond commands they have been exposed to, dogs just hear
blahblahblah when we talk. What they do pick up on is our tone, pusture and
body language. And by you picking her up and reassuring her you may,
inadverdantly be telling her that she is right to be afraid.



--
Marcel and Moogli

"bigdadd39" wrote in
:

Greetings all,

I was walking Nikki, my loveable
Shih-Tzu, the other day around our
apartment complex and we came across a
neighbor who has a full size Chihuahua.
Nikki is normally pretty mellow, very
friendly and wants to visit with
everyone (people) but really hasn't been
around other dogs very often. At first,
she was excited to see another dog and
the Chihuahua, who's name is Rosco, is a
very friendly fella, full of energy, and
loves to run and jump around. Nikki was
happy to meet him until he started to
prance and jump around. She didn't know
what to think about all this and got
scared. Whenever I take her out now,
she, eagerly, wants to go over by where
he lives but gets scared when he's out
and starts jumping around her.
Naturally, I pick her up and reassure
her that she is ok and that I am here to
take care of her.

Keeping in mind that I am not trainer, here is what I have been told
numerous times for this situation: Don't pick her up, don't reassure her.
Remember that beyond commands they have been exposed to, dogs just hear
blahblahblah when we talk. What they do pick up on is our tone, pusture and
body language. And by you picking her up and reassuring her you may,
inadverdantly be telling her that she is right to be afraid.



--
Marcel and Moogli

"bigdadd39" wrote in
:

Greetings all,

I was walking Nikki, my loveable
Shih-Tzu, the other day around our
apartment complex and we came across a
neighbor who has a full size Chihuahua.
Nikki is normally pretty mellow, very
friendly and wants to visit with
everyone (people) but really hasn't been
around other dogs very often. At first,
she was excited to see another dog and
the Chihuahua, who's name is Rosco, is a
very friendly fella, full of energy, and
loves to run and jump around. Nikki was
happy to meet him until he started to
prance and jump around. She didn't know
what to think about all this and got
scared. Whenever I take her out now,
she, eagerly, wants to go over by where
he lives but gets scared when he's out
and starts jumping around her.
Naturally, I pick her up and reassure
her that she is ok and that I am here to
take care of her.

Keeping in mind that I am not trainer, here is what I have been told
numerous times for this situation: Don't pick her up, don't reassure her.
Remember that beyond commands they have been exposed to, dogs just hear
blahblahblah when we talk. What they do pick up on is our tone, pusture and
body language. And by you picking her up and reassuring her you may,
inadverdantly be telling her that she is right to be afraid.



--
Marcel and Moogli

"bigdadd39" wrote in
:

Greetings all,

I was walking Nikki, my loveable
Shih-Tzu, the other day around our
apartment complex and we came across a
neighbor who has a full size Chihuahua.
Nikki is normally pretty mellow, very
friendly and wants to visit with
everyone (people) but really hasn't been
around other dogs very often. At first,
she was excited to see another dog and
the Chihuahua, who's name is Rosco, is a
very friendly fella, full of energy, and
loves to run and jump around. Nikki was
happy to meet him until he started to
prance and jump around. She didn't know
what to think about all this and got
scared. Whenever I take her out now,
she, eagerly, wants to go over by where
he lives but gets scared when he's out
and starts jumping around her.
Naturally, I pick her up and reassure
her that she is ok and that I am here to
take care of her.

Keeping in mind that I am not trainer, here is what I have been told
numerous times for this situation: Don't pick her up, don't reassure her.
Remember that beyond commands they have been exposed to, dogs just hear
blahblahblah when we talk. What they do pick up on is our tone, pusture and
body language. And by you picking her up and reassuring her you may,
inadverdantly be telling her that she is right to be afraid.



--
Marcel and Moogli

And by you picking her up and reassuring her you may,
inadverdantly be telling her that she is right to be afraid.

Marcel and Moogli

You're absolutely right here Marcel - "reassuring" is praising for the fearful
behavior. The dog needs to stay on the ground, be told "everything is fine" in
an upbeat voice, and encouraged to engage in play. A solid sit stay is a great
thing for shy or fearful dogs. Ideally, a spacious fenced area is best for
initial social encounters, where the dogs feel that they have enough physical
space to avoid the other dog if they want to, and explore at their own pace.
leashes can be anti-social, and owners transmit so many emotions right down
them.



Janet Boss
http://bestfriendsdogobedience.com/
http://photos.yahoo.com/bestfriendsobedience

And by you picking her up and reassuring her you may,
inadverdantly be telling her that she is right to be afraid.

Marcel and Moogli

You're absolutely right here Marcel - "reassuring" is praising for the fearful
behavior. The dog needs to stay on the ground, be told "everything is fine" in
an upbeat voice, and encouraged to engage in play. A solid sit stay is a great
thing for shy or fearful dogs. Ideally, a spacious fenced area is best for
initial social encounters, where the dogs feel that they have enough physical
space to avoid the other dog if they want to, and explore at their own pace.
leashes can be anti-social, and owners transmit so many emotions right down
them.



Janet Boss
http://bestfriendsdogobedience.com/
http://photos.yahoo.com/bestfriendsobedience

And by you picking her up and reassuring her you may,
inadverdantly be telling her that she is right to be afraid.

Marcel and Moogli

You're absolutely right here Marcel - "reassuring" is praising for the fearful
behavior. The dog needs to stay on the ground, be told "everything is fine" in
an upbeat voice, and encouraged to engage in play. A solid sit stay is a great
thing for shy or fearful dogs. Ideally, a spacious fenced area is best for
initial social encounters, where the dogs feel that they have enough physical
space to avoid the other dog if they want to, and explore at their own pace.
leashes can be anti-social, and owners transmit so many emotions right down
them.



Janet Boss
http://bestfriendsdogobedience.com/
http://photos.yahoo.com/bestfriendsobedience

And by you picking her up and reassuring her you may,
inadverdantly be telling her that she is right to be afraid.

Marcel and Moogli

You're absolutely right here Marcel - "reassuring" is praising for the fearful
behavior. The dog needs to stay on the ground, be told "everything is fine" in
an upbeat voice, and encouraged to engage in play. A solid sit stay is a great
thing for shy or fearful dogs. Ideally, a spacious fenced area is best for
initial social encounters, where the dogs feel that they have enough physical
space to avoid the other dog if they want to, and explore at their own pace.
leashes can be anti-social, and owners transmit so many emotions right down
them.



Janet Boss
http://bestfriendsdogobedience.com/
http://photos.yahoo.com/bestfriendsobedience

(J1Boss) wrote in
:

And by you picking her up and reassuring her you may,
inadverdantly be telling her that she is right to be afraid.

Marcel and Moogli

You're absolutely right here Marcel - "reassuring" is praising for the
fearful behavior. The dog needs to stay on the ground, be told
"everything is fine" in an upbeat voice, and encouraged to engage in
play. A solid sit stay is a great thing for shy or fearful dogs.
Ideally, a spacious fenced area is best for initial social encounters,
where the dogs feel that they have enough physical space to avoid the
other dog if they want to, and explore at their own pace. leashes can
be anti-social, and owners transmit so many emotions right down them.


You might know this better than I, and now that you have answered, I feel
a bit more confident in suggesting this.

The OP would like his dog to learn to play with other dogs. What I found
with Moogli was that once he learned to play well with one dog, his fear
of other dogs lessened. Would it be a good idea for the OP to let his dog
play with the Chi (in a nice, safe place) until the OP's dog learns to
play. Then his dog might have more confidence in playing with other dogs.

To the OP: When the dogs start playing together, and I have confidence
that they will get to that point, try not to pay too much attention to
the sounds that they are making. When Moogli (shih-tzu/min schnauzer mix)
and his mom (same) play together, it sounds like they are ready to take
each other apart sometimes. But if you seperate them, they will run back
together to play.

Like Janet suggested, find a nice neutral area in which they can play.
Don't pick a backyard that belongs to either of them, a neutral one will
do. An advantage in your case is that, since both are small dogs, you
don't need as much room as you would if they were bigger dogs. Heck, a
decent sized basement with a bunch of obstacles will do. Let them play
together. Have a spot where your dog can go and hide (like under your
legs or something) but do not pick up your dog and comfort her. Let her
realize that that Rosco will not hurt her and actually wants to play. If
you do it regularly, she will come around eventually.

That is what we did with Moogli. Like I mentioned, when we started, he
was afraid of most other dogs, and would come and hide around us. After
he got all of his shots, we started taking him to a dog park (when there
was no-one else there) and would walk around with him. I think him
getting the chance to smell other dogs, without seeing them there, and
him having fun while surrounded by their smell, helped as well. After
about 6 months, he started playing with his mother. Now, about 1 1/2
years later, he can't wait to play with his mother or other dogs. He also
has vastly different play styles. With his mother, he likes chase, and
hard-core wrestling. With other dogs, he likes to chase them. If you have
ever seen a black lab chasing a yellow lab, both of them being chased by
a 10 lb fuzz ball, you haven't seen funny.

Another thing that helped is what we did at a friend's place. His parents
have a GR bitch, who is *very* well trained and friendly. She is alos
obsessed with *me*. When I am there, I am the center of her universe. I
would play with her, and at the same time, play with Moogli. He learned
that other dogs are associated with fun.

Again, I am not a trainer, and your milage may vary. The above is what
worked for my dog, and may not work with yours.




--
Marcel and Moogli