I am working hard with my rescue GSP to help her with socialising that she seems to have missed out on.
I understood that dogs learn a lot about approaching dogs from watching them from quite far away and that this is necessary for them to make a decision about whether the other dog is a threat or not. At the moment I am being very vigilant when outside so that she doesn't come across dogs without much warning. When I see another dog or dog walker I call her close to me and move out of the path of the other dog so it doesn't have to walk right next to us. I then let her watch other dogs when they are in the far distance and judge her reaction. As long as she is completely relaxed I let her continue looking or not looking at the other dog as she wants. She usually glances at the other dog now and again but doesn't stare and I reassure her. When I have noticed she started to look a little nervous I have made her 'watch me' with her back to the other dog and kept her attention with treats until they have walked past. Obviously there is lots of praise and treats everytime.
Is this the right thing to be doing or should I make her watch me as soon as I see another dog, however far away it is. Sometimes it takes ages for other dogs to cover the distance and get past and she gets bored of the treats and keeps wanting to look at the dog. She seems more interested in looking at the other dog when I am asking her not to than the times when I let her make her own mind up.
What is the best way of doing this so that she has positive experiences of meeting other dogs.

Sounds to me like you are doing ok. You don't want her to pick up on your concern so I would let her decide for herself. Just make sure you catch a reaction before it happens, so that you can distract her. Sounds like doggie has landed on her paws with you. Keep up the good work.

Just one thought once she is a bit more used to the other dogs; see if you can find one to follow from a distance. That is less scary than meeting face to face and will get her used to being closer without worrying about whether she will snap.

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When you say you move out of the other dogs path do you mean you carry on walking or you stop and wait?

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I stop and wait. I have a 50ft training lead so that she can get some of the exercise she needs. I only use it at full length in places where I can see dogs approaching all around me. When I see another dog I call her to me gathering the lead up until it is a normal length. If she has already spotted the other dog too she still usually comes back but if she ignores me and just stands watching them I walk towards her gathering the lead up, just doing that usually distracts her and she comes back. I then watch to see what the other dog is doing and if it is on the lead I make it obvious to the owner that we are moving out of it's path. If it is off lead I usually call to the owner and tell them that she is a rescue and that I am trying to socialise her so could they call their dog back before they make her nervous. Most are good about it. Some just say 'oh mine is fine with other dogs' and let them carry on coming. If mine is relaxed I let them meet but keep a vigilant watch. If mine isn't relaxed I get between them to block eye contact when they get too close.
This is working really well and their haven't been any bad experiences for the last 11 days but I have changed the area that I walk her because there were too many uncontrolled dogs where we used to go.
I might try keeping her close to me and carrying on walking past if the advice on here is that she is ready for it.
I think I just need to assess every situation as it happens.
One thing I know, I must be the only person within a twenty mile radius that carries treats because I find so many dogs head straight for me and put their nose in my pocket or try to get the treats out of my hand. Several times I have had to throw treats to get other peoples dogs away from mine. They are not being aggressive but it has made mine nervous when she wasn't when they were a few paces away and puts her back a bit in her confidence. Again, most of the time she has been fine when this has happened but a couple of times she hasn't liked it.

If the other dog is on lead and under control and if she is calm and relaxed I would carry on walking. Obviously giving her enough space between them to feel comfortable. I would also follow other dogs as already mentioned and if the area is big enough walk along side other dogs again with enough space between them for her to feel comfortable

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Thank you. I just didn't know whether letting her look was potentially setting up 'eyeballing' or whether to let her do it as long as she is calm because it is a normal thing they do.

It's natural for dogs to look at each other as it is for us. As long as they are not staring I wouldn't worry about it

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If it looks like she is calm and ready to take the plunge at times, it might be time to think about setting up some good experiences with other good natured calm non reactive dogs. I would keep a look out for wellbehaved dogs over a few days and watch how they react to certain situations with other dogs, and maybe you can strike up a conversation with some owners you see regularly and explain the situation and ask if they would mind you, walking along with them but keeping a pretty wide margin in between you at first and as she walks and if she remains calm,seems happy and if confident then slowly decreasing the margin and walking them nearer. Then if that goes ok letting them be introduced properly. At least this way she will get used to some and as she becomes more at ease, then let them interact fully if the previous stages go OK.

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Sorry if this appears twice my keyboard and I are not getting on tonight. I have just joined this site because I am trying to re-socialise my 3 1/2 year old Kerry Blue Terrier. Everything was going quite well until a series of bad experiences during her teenage years put her off strangers and other dogs.


The main thing I wanted to say was I think you are doing a brilliant job. I am doing the same sort of thing as you but it took me months/years to understand what I should be doing and you seem to have got straight there.

I walk past unless my dog is very nervous. In these circumstances I put her into a sit, Preferably with her back to something so she is protected and me in front of her, facing the oncoming dog (me facing the dog seems to be quite important to her).

Experts please feel free to comment if you think I am doing something wrong. Sorry I am not close enough to help but please keep posting about your progress.

I think it sounds like emma's doing great, I am fairly often walking my well socialised young dog, with nervous rescues who's owners have their dog under control, but aren't confident about close social contact. These dogs tend to get described as "aggro" by the owners, but aren't full on lunging or straining to attack, just really are about maintaining a personal distance.

When I walked my pup's unsocialised litter mate, the key problem was not meeting anyone with the confidence or patience to let the dogs unwind at their natural pace; basically everyone is used to hurrying

I find taking it slowly, not trying to be too close too quick, walking along at little distance with mine off leash (or in some cases a more controlled on leash approach tends to work). If you aren't going to hang about, passing to side if you can, and rewarding calm behaviour as soon as the bandit is past re-programs the association to be more positive.

In wide areas, I should try veering off, and if the other owner is sociable and both of you are confident, try changing direction and see if you can manage the situation in close proximity. With aim of walking loosely together, keeping the dogs calm and relaxed.

A problem if you try food treating at that point, is other dog's scent the food and may be over keen to approach too quickly, and your dog may wish to guard the resource, so I like to carry a toy in my back pack (out of sight) to provide distraction should I need to distract and move away quickly. Once locked on to that, my dog will pretty much ignore the other dog completely unless it's right in his face.

Observing the general public, all too often they are letting their "unpredictable" dogs face off directly, too close, and then getting pulled even closer by lead lunging, or taking drastic action, when they are surprised by a growl or other sudden sign of having got too close.

Think all this is pretty much common sense, and staying calm and confident; I'm sure emma will find what works best with her dog and vary things accordingly. One owner got her dog right by her using "Close!" command, and was very assertive with him for a while, whilst we started walking in a loose group. Soon enough comfort was achieved and we could all relax, soon enough, and now our dogs are quite happy to see each other and greet off leash. All because we both made sure, nothing negative would happen, but that the dogs enjoyed themselves.