Puppy goes crazy around other dogs
My 4 month old little guy goes crazy around other dogs, and is WAY too playful. Even when the older dogs will snap and signal for him to back off, he continues to try to jump on them, nip their ears/tails and lick their face.
The video below is just one minute of what he does for 90+ minutes straight. He's met that dog three times and now and he literally chases him and barks NON-STOP.
I've been taking him to weekly puppy classes and he gets very excited but nothing too crazy. But when he's one on one with another dog he seems to be out of control and will not back down even when challenged.
Any tips? Is this normal?
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IMG_1234.MOV, 5.1 MB
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Yuki & Ellie on
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To me, it looks like a combination of both overexcited play and herding. He doesn't seem to know his boundaries and when other dogs have had enough. Did you get him at a young age?
Personally, I would recommend leashing him in situations such as this. Attaching the leash to a belt or belt loops on your jeans would be even better. That way you don't have to chase him and make it another game. :) If you see your little guy getting too far out of hand, you need to correct him (not harshly, of course - he's just a puppy!) to let him know that what he is doing is wrong. If that means you have to remove him from the room or put him in his crate, then so be it. But, like with all else, be consistent with whatever you choose. To me, it looked like things started out as fun and games, but by the end the larger dog was clearly trying to get your pup to back off a bit. The bark from the larger dog was different in tone and frequency.
Was this at your home? If so, that could be contributing to the issue. Dog class is an unfamiliar environment and there are multiple dogs, so he is more likely to feel out of his element and to behave there. Your home, however, is his territory and he is likely much more confident.
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Permalink Reply by Anna Morelli on
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I don't think he was playing, I think he was afraid. I would have him on leash and tell him to be quiet and let him know he is safe with me. Have the other dog keep his distance ( I know the other dog was not creating any problem) until the pup realizes he's not a potential threat. Taking both on a walk together, where both are on leash, is a good way to introduce two dogs who do not live together.
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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I see a bad combination of an overexcited puppy and an adult dog who is totally ineffective at giving corrections. Remember, not all adult dogs are equally good at controlling their own space, just like some teachers have excellent classroom control and other teachers have trouble with the same kids. Of my two adult Corgis, Jack is excellent at telling other dogs to back off, while no one listens to Maddie. A puppy will be pestering Maddie to play and she will tell them to back off 5 times with no impact. The same puppy will turn to Jack and he will give one forceful bark and 90% of the time the puppy will instantly behave. The other 10% of the time, he will put the pup on the ground (if the puppy is too big we will intervene). Once the pup behaves, Jack instantly goes back to playing or greeting. If the puppy continues to be a brat, Jack will just turn around and walk away and ignore the pup completely. We always are quick to step in if a puppy is running roughshod over Maddie, because we know that almost no one listens to her (only very young puppies, and submissive ones).
So in the above video, the adult dog is like my Maddie. He starts out wanting to play. When the puppy gets too rough, he looks away (a clear signal in dog body language to defuse a tense situation). The puppy, however, does NOT break off contact and instead of escalating the correction, the adult goes back to playing. Then at some point the adult dog tries to leave. The puppy follows him. Again, instead of escalating by either leaving the area completely or giving a strong correction (such as using front paws to put the pup on the ground, or using an air-snap), the adult dog goes back to engaging the puppy. Then they play again briefly, and then the adult tries giving a verbal correction to the pup, but the verbal correction is so mixed in with excitement that it's hard to differentiate it from a play bark.
So what happens is he tells the pup "quit that, I don't like it" and the puppy continues to try to force a game and the adult says "Well, maybe I WILL play again" and then says "no, never mind, stop it, I REALLY mean it this time.... oh heck, maybe I WILL play."
This adult dog means well, but he's teaching the puppy that if the puppy pushes the situation hard enough, the adult will eventually cave.I would NOT let these two play together for long. It's bothering the adult, who is not capable of fixing the situation, and not teaching the puppy anything good.
You can let them play together for short times. The instant the adult dog gives a correction, back it up by removing the puppy from play. When the puppy settles down, you can try again. You can also let them interact in more controlled ways. Take them walking together and let the puppy and the adult greet and bounce a bit and then walk some more.
Ideally, you should try to find a well-socialized adult dog who gives well-controlled and well-timed corrections to pushy puppies that this puppy will respect. That way, your pup will learn more appropriate ways to interact with other dogs.
You also might have more luck if you tire your puppy out before letting him play with the adult. Take a walk, play some ball and burn off some energy. You want the edge off, but don't get him so tired that he's cranky.
Good luck!
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Permalink Reply by Jane on
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I agree with Beth's assessment. I'd also agree with Anna that there is maybe a touch of fear barking when the adult dog finally gets in his face. I'd keep him on leash and correct and/or remove him from the situation when he gets too excited. Walking them together is a great suggestion.
Again as Beth said, some dogs are just not good at correcting other dogs, and this dog is one of them. My cardi Luke is terribly submissive and will just try to run away with his tail tucked when a dog is bothering him. My pem Henry on the other hand is pretty perfect at corrections. It can look nasty, but it is all bluff and noise. The lady who runs our playgroup loves him for unruly puppies, lol.
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Permalink Reply by Murphy on
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Thanks for the reply. I forgot to mention that a relative brought over their Boston Terrier for Christmas and my corgi tried doing the same thing. The big difference is that the Boston Terrier air snapped and wouldn't take the puppy's nonsense. Within 15 minutes my puppy knew his place and stopped barking/chasing.
Later on in the day, he occasionally tried to lick the Boston Terrier's face, which was met with more air snapping. Guess he didn't make a pleasant first impression. :)
When the Boston Terrier air snapped and growled, my puppy did bark in response and it was most definitely a fearful response (kind of like "what the heck is wrong with you?!?")
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Your pup is a bit on the pushy side, but if the Boston was able to put him in his place, that means he's perfectly capable of being polite when he is around dogs who are good with dealing with puppies.
My own opinion is that puppies become well socialized adults by dealing with increasingly challenging social situations as they mature. That means the youngest pups should mostly be meeting friendly, patient dogs, but as they mature and get full of themselves they should be interacting with some less-tolerant adults who expect and enforce good manners. Pups should never have to deal with unstable dogs or dogs who lack self-control or bite inhibition. They SHOULD deal with adult dogs who don't put up with any nonsense. Learning to deal with different dogs gives them good lessons in their "native language" and also gives them confidence by teaching them that they can handle different situations. Sort of like raising children. :-)
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At puppy class, he tries to jump on the other dogs and barks, but he's no worse than any other the other puppies there.
He does jump a lot on people too (especially strangers) and will tug a lot on his leash to greet others.
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That's good to hear. Unfortunately he still goes crazy other other dogs and strangers, even on a leash.
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Permalink Reply by Vicky Hay on
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O My Goodness! Couldn't say what's going on there, but you should have seen Cassie when that little dog started to bark out of the computer. She got almost as agitated as the puppy -- thought she was going to jump off the bed. Eventually she figured out...apparently...that the yipping was coming out of the laptop, but then evidently decided that was not possible and wanted to get off the bed again. When I lifted her down, she started searching all over the bedroom and under the bed!
The humans don't seem to be intervening. If the older dog doesn't have what it takes to get the message across, maybe one of the humans should try to discourage Pup from pestering. It may be that at 4 months Pup is too young for older dogs to get serious. Cassie didn't start training the Charley the Golden Retriever until he was about 7 months old. Until then she put up with quite a few pesky shenanigans. Then all of a sudden, within a day she had him convinced that she was bigger than him.
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