Rocky my boxer x staffy is going really well with his training even if his recall leaves alot to be desired but im sure in time, and im happy ot keep him on a long line until then.

But i have a problem with other dogs. He is desperate tog o over to any dog he sees but im not 100% sure on how he will react.

I dont think he will be agressive unless another dog is agressive first, but he is so over excitable that i end up almost dragging him in the opposite direction, as most of the dogs we meet on our walks are half his size or smaller and i fear he could hurt them not realising his size.

I am unable to afford classes etc at the moment but i really want to be able to socialse him so that once i can get his recall perfect i will be able to let him off the lead and have a good run around.

So my questions -

how should i approach this when we meet another dog?
what would be the signs to look for for me to say no more and walk away?

or is there anyone in the surrey area who would be willing to arrange a doggy meeting?

thanks in advance.

How good is your control of him? Does he lunge on you and pull you about, or is he "safe"?

My guy actually quite likes Boxers, it's after a play with one is only time I hear him blowing a bit

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For eager & reliable recall, be fun for the dog to come back to! Then often send them off right away to do what they wanted!
DT&B - Glossary of acronyms & jargon terms.
Encouraging good behaviours, whilst consistently avoiding practise of bad alternatives leads to extinction of the bad. So if dog sits 6/10 times it doesn't sit 4/10 times, encouraging with the right rewards (positively-reinforcing) enough for 9/10 times means it now fails to sit only 1/10 times, sit 10/10 means...

My friends have a boxer cross staffie. She looks a lot like your Rocky actually... He'll be picking up on you - if you start to fear what he will do - then he will go for what you want him not to do.

He's only what 8 months old? Maybe set up a dog walk - on here for fellow dog walkers to walk with you and get him used to different dogs, sizes etc and other dog owners will be able to tell you how he will be.

Try a training class - if not to brush up on basics - it is great socialisation and teaches the dog that it can't just run up to another dog, Louie had this problem but after 5 weeks at training class he has improved dramatically - I walked down the street the other day and managed to walk past two other dogs - on the other side of the street but this was our main problem - not a pull or anything - so it'll come - it's took me 9 months...

i can control him by physically pulling him away, this is one of those times that any command falls on deaf ears. He will try his hardest to pull me about but luckily i am still able to control him. i would like to say he is safe i was told he got on with other dogs when i took him on, its just the way he fights tooth and nail to get to any dog he can see.
I basically dont know the best way to go from here, do i allow him on lead to approach slowly and watch his reaction?
I can tell he is desperate to say hello and have a play with other dogs but i dont know if im being irrational and actually making him think there is a reason not to like other dogs or if im doing the best thing by not letting him to close.


This is what ive been thinking that he is picking up on my fear, but it not that easy to just relax im worried as he is quite boistrous when excited that he could harm another dog unintentionally (sp) and then be labled in the area as a "dangerous" dog.
He is about 13 months now, and i know all training takes time and am willing to put in all the effort, time and energy to get him there just dont want him to miss out on interacting with other dogs.

Ive been thinking of trying to set up a dog walk so that i can take him and also move away from the group if he gets does get agressive and slowly get him used to dogs and interecting better. i just dont know where to start in organising this.

thank you both for the advice i feel silly this should be the most natural thing for him to be able to do, but i dont want to put him or any other dog in a situation that could harm them physically or just mentally (if he gets boistrous with a timid dog)

You need a steady dog. My bitch is steady - sort of. She taught Louie respect but then my friends dogs have taught him more - the other day we were walking and we put some water down - her two males took a drink, Louie went to get one and her bitch got there first and unlike he would with Sadie - he didn't push he out of the way - he showed a lovely amount of respect.. It all depends on what dogs you expose him too. Louie has friends he can romp around with and have a good old tustle with. He also has friends that he walks calmly with and then he has other friends that will totally ignore him - he is exposed to all sorts of dogs - I have to be careful with smaller dogs. I had a situation once where he was playing with Echo - an akita. And they came across a westie - offlead. Of course him and Echo are puppies and when this bloomin' westie took off scared sh*tless - they thought it was a good game of chase.. of course the stupid owner who had this timid thing offlead that almost ran towards the road - ignored recall just blamed us his dog took off - we apologised - our dogs recalled - he was in the wrong for having a dog that is likely to take off, offlead - there is more to it though...but this is OT.

Make sure you find him doggy friends that aren't mollycoddled. That are allowed to be dogs. Louie got stuck underneath a randy lab - of which got stuck under a randy rottie - at the same time - I had to stand in seeing my dogs face full of terror - he was only 6 months at the time. If you look at Jean Donaldsons "Culture clash" you will understand your dog more.

My dogs are allowed to be dogs - Sadie is allowed to tell Louie off - but if it gets too far - I step in. In fact Louie gets beaten up by little dogs - because they know how to tell him off. I looked after a Shih Tzu the other weekend and she took on 5 staffie x mastiff pups - on her own - she wasn't getting bullied - I allowed it, the pups needed the telling and they learn't some respect.

Maybe just start a thread on here for a meet in your area and take it from there? Kilo has got himself a new friend (Sailor) from me doing that and I have got myself a new human friend into the bargain . If people know the issues that you have I am sure they will be very helpful and accommodating.

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I'm on another forum and I have been on walks with loads and I have made some really good friends.

ONLY socialise your dogs with friendly, tolerant dogs.
it's not worth taking the risk. anyway, even if your dog meets another dog their concept of 'friends' is unlike ours.

the pulling towards other dogs is a lack of focus on you. training with low level distractions, under controlled environments (get a friend to help if you can) is the recipe.

training = having your dog attentive to you and eyes on you.

use food or a toy.

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Cambridge Dog Training School | G3 Dogs
www.g3dogs.com

thanks for all the advice.

I am working on getting him to focus on me it just going slowly but i dont expect it to happen over night.

I will start another thread on here and see if anyone would be up for joining me on a walk and see how he goes, i think i would feel alot more comftable knowing the other owners are fully aware of what im trying to achieve and have the patience both myself and Rocky need.

Unfortunaltey dogs owned by friends/family wouldnt be suitable my friend has 3 dogs a boxer x staffy, JRT x something and a KC staffy but they are totally untrained unruley dogs and i really dont want Rocky picking up their bad habits! and my mum has a siberian husky who is funny with dogs at the best of times and a JRT x chiuawua (sp) who is far to small to play with Rocky. So im a bit stuck there, will def see if i can arrange a walk maybe i can find something locally aswell through a class or something.

Hey any dog that has a terrier in the mix is not too small to play with big dogs! Terriers can hold their own! And Chi's can sure put a fight in too - you'll be surprised. If you decide to let him play with the Chi x JRT - if he gets too much just take him out of the room, let him calm down then bring him back in - you'll often find the small dog is the boss! Louie is so rough that the Shih Tzu owner was scared of letting me take her - she even scared my Dog aggressive dog - who wouldn't go near her at all - they are tough! If you're ever up in Nottingham - I won't mind going for a walk.