When I got Zane, he was fearful of dogs. He would hide and lip curl or snarl at dogs who came near. We've done a lot of work - I don't need him to play with dogs, but I do need him to accept dogs.
Today our kennel club had a Pack Walk. Zane was a bit worried about dogs walking behind him and passing him, but he handled it and settled in and didn't freak out about it. A couple of dogs even gave him a quick sniff in the face and he didn't react. At the end, we were all in the shade of a tree. Zane was surrounded by dogs. He just sat there. No reactions! Two months ago, he would have freaked!
The only time he got worried was when an Anatolian Shepherd wouldn't get out of his face. He didn't react, but his body language wasn't happy. I called him out of there and he did fine.
One thing I am noticing is that when he was a baby puppy, he didn't act like a baby puppy around other dogs. He was too scared. Now it's like he's reverting back to that phase and wanting to act like a baby puppy around other dogs. Unfortunately, he's not of an age for most adult dogs to accept that. So now he needs to learn some self-control around other dogs.
Look at the dog sniffing his butt! That would have definitely been a reaction moment in the past.
Look at him surrounded by other dogs.
You can see the concern here. His body is curved, head turned away, ears back, mouth closed. He's not comfortable, but he doesn't react.
Go Zaney!
ReplyDelete