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Permalink Reply by MagnoliaFly on March 24, 2009 at 10:08pm

Find a good local trainer and join their puppy kindergarten ASAP. Ages 4 to 14 weeks are your puppies most important socialization period and you are already closing in to the end of that time.. Download and read this pamphlet about socialization.

I would find friendly, social, small dogs and let your puppies play with them. Encourage confidence. A good puppy class will have a knowledgeable trainer that knows what is ok and what is not and can help you encourage your dogs to go play with others.

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Permalink Reply by Emma on March 24, 2009 at 10:54pm

I tried to download and it does not work for me. I am going to put them in classes as soon as i can. I am waiting for my new schedule to come in at work. I work shift work at the local police dept. Also we weren't going to put them in classes until they had all their puppy shots, but we decided recently to change that. thanks for your advice

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Permalink Reply by MagnoliaFly on March 25, 2009 at 7:17am

Most schools require proof of shots and bordatella. This ensures all dogs are on a shot schedule. I would call the dog schools you plan on going to and see if they host a puppy playgroup or something like that in the meantime. A puppy playgroup is where puppies are divided by size and playstyle and play under trainer supervision. It is vital for socialization.

I attached the socialization handout.

Attachments:

• The Puppy Socialization Checklist.pdf, 1.9 MB

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Permalink Reply by Susan Stanton on March 25, 2009 at 7:30am

MagnoliaFly is far more experienced than I am, but the two obedience schools I used -- one in NY city and one in Goshen, CT, both offered puppy classes/socialization meetups one could attend before they had all of their shots, so you should call around.

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Permalink Reply by Sam on March 24, 2009 at 10:27pm

Sadly two fearful pups are going to create a real problem if you are trying to help them gain confidence. It is imperative that you spend one on one time with each puppy away from the other. Not sure if they came from fearful parents or were raised primarily in isolation but fear in a pup this young is challenging. They should have the ability to be "around" other dogs but not in a situation where other dogs can actually get to them. Many pups of this tender age do not know how to interact well with other dogs. Fearful dogs even less. I would start taking them many places though not necessarily places where dogs have physical access. May I also suggest that you take your puppy classes separately. This guys are going to be bonded quite strongly and react to each others fears. Good luck.

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Permalink Reply by Emma on March 24, 2009 at 10:47pm

They came from a large litter and were raised until 8 weeks with another littler ( 14 puppies total). They were also handled every day and have no problems with humans. I think the fear has more to do that we have a large pit bull on one side of our yard and a Rottweiler on the other who have both attacked the fence to get to them (the rottweiler actually made it through and i had to stop the big dog!) We now have a wooden privacy fence that you cannot see through. I will try to do more one on one stuff with them. We can already see that they are bonded to each other. The only thing is me and my boyfriend work opposite shifts and normally its only one of us to both puppies and feel bad to crate one and take one with me. thanks for your advice.

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Permalink Reply by GoGoRainbow on March 24, 2009 at 10:32pm

Pooka has always been good with meeting dogs one on one in a house environment (a little stand offish to big dogs, but not for long), but when we went to the dog park for the first time (she's 5.5 months now) she wet herself the moment any dog came up to her (she's not a submissive pee-er! at least not with humans) until she ran out of pee. Even when it was small dogs, and puppies who just want to play (the way she normally does) that first day was rough for a while. Eventually, she just warmed up and got better after an hour or so. Only time she'd get upset is if a big dog got rowdy and pawed/tumbled her.

I think the big deal was that it was this huge open expanse and she didn't know what to expect and there were lots of dogs around, and I think they can tell, if they yelp and run, the other dogs will come running. So, I would try socializing indoors, maybe in a small room? with chairs to hide under for security. I bet it can make a difference.

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Permalink Reply by Susan Stanton on March 25, 2009 at 7:28am

Definitely keep working with them individually and in puppy school. My first Corgi was Mr. Affability, but my #2 Corgi was also very fearful. She wanted to play with other dogs, but when they approached her, she would flatten herself and cry like they'd attacked her (so Corgi #1, being a good boy, would run over and put himself between her and the other dog)! So we went to puppy kindergarten and another student and I would meet beforehand so the two puppies could play. I also took her with me to visit with friends who have dogs I know are gentle. I would say somewhere between age 5 months and a year, she became braver and braver. She now is quite happy to meet other dogs (she is now 16 months), but still goes into submissive mode if the dog is really big or runs at her very quickly -- and that's fine, because after a few sniffs, she leaps up and tries to get them to wrestle (which is very amusing with a Ridgeback we know!).

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Permalink Reply by Corgibyassociation on March 25, 2009 at 8:50am

Freya came from a litter of 6 I believe. She had her mom, grandparents and aunt plus 3 rescue dogs that she grew up with and constant string of people at the house (the breeder's kids and their bf/gf) who handled them. We have a Weimaraner (who is full grown) and he plays with her all the time. I also took her to my mom's house and she has 2 Chugs (Chihuahua Pugs) a Chihuahua, and a cat that she has played with periodically. I took her to both jobs (I work two one at the police department and the other at the movie theatre) and she was socialized with people there. She also interacted with two older corgis that wouldn't give her the time of day either.

I knew it would be very important to socialize her. I had to meet as many people and dogs that I could. I took her to the dog park not that long ago (she's 4 months) and she did ok but she was still a bit scared. Even though she's been around big dogs all her life, she hasn't been around more than 1 at a time and that was what scared her. She would chase after them and end up between my legs barking. She is also socialized by the pitt mix female that's in the yard behind us. Also the obedience class that we took kind of socialized her, though all she did was look at them (which kind of sucked.)

Despite liking the idea of the dog park, after our Weimaraner was bitten there we won't be going back. We'll stick with our trails.

But yes, you should totally look to going to petsmart where your pups can meet people and some dogs in a controlled environment. I did this a lot. It was a lot easier when she finally got all of her shots and I made her walk, which made her more of a target with workers, people, and their dogs.

Best of luck to you.

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