Franklin was mauled at the dog park a few years ago and ended up with a broken leg. Since the incident he has been fearful of other dogs and takes a while to warm up to other dogs. He can get nippy and barky at strange dogs but with time he tends to warm up and likes to play. My work has a doggie daycare and I'm starting to consider bringing Franklin. They have various playgroups, like hyper dogs, calm dogs, old dogs etc and I am wondering if maybe getting him in a calm dog group might be a way to build his confidence and have him learn that dogs are fun. He used to LOOOOOOOOOOVE the dog park and has always been very social with other dogs and will approach and wag his nub with new dogs but then gets fearful. What do you guys think? There are one or two people always monitoring the playgroups so I was considering trying hiim out and seeing if that doesn't help with his confidence issues.....
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Oh, absolutely! That's such an awesome set-up they have to group dogs by disposition. I think he could be off to a smashing start with a group of chill dogs. Have you tried one-on-one meetups between Frank and a calm dog? If so, how did they go?
Franklin does great with one on one interactions if he is allowed time to adjust. He will start off a bit snappy and growly but after around 5 minutes he is initiating play. I can tell he wants to play and he loves other dogs once he has met them once, but he does have that fear initially that's why I was thinking maybe in a controlled group setting he may learn that groups of dogs aren't scary. He hasn't been in a big group since the accident and gets nervous in small groups but after a bit he will play and be happy
I would definitely put him in the group with the calm dogs, if they're all well behaved and there is always people watching them:)
I would only put him with calm dogs if HE is calm. You don't want to upset the group dynamic. If he'll be mellow when they are, I think it would be a great way to build confidence. If he's going to try to herd them (as Maddie would) or hump them (as unfortunately Jack would) then maybe not!
he would def go along with the vibe of the group. He would herd if dogs are running crazy but I wouldn't see that happening in a mellow group! And he's never humped another dog, usually he's the target lol
With all he's been through, I would let him enjoy his peace and quiet at home. He probably needs that more than increased confidence :-D at least for now.
Do you have an option of letting him try it while you peek through a window for a short time? Whether he enjoys it or not, easing into it seems like it would be easier than just leaving the dog somewhere new for the whole workday.
Well I'd be there at work so I could check in on him. I could (and probably would) only do a half day at first so he'd be there for 4 hours and see how he does. We also have video cameras where we can pull up and watch the playgroups and see the dogs.
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