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Very cute Lee! Abby never goes on her back at the dog park.

My dog's a wimp when the cards are down LOL! j/k lol...

KeymoFrisby:

Thanks much - that seems to be the way it goes. I just feel bad when she's got her tail tucked between her legs, is kind of curled in and tries to hide in the tall grass

Thanks for the suggestion! I try to catch Brad's program on tv, but don't think I've seen that one. I will see if I can locate it somewhere.

Jessie is so cute There are other dogs that she doesn't mind having around. We have a lady in the neighbourhood who has three dogs and one is a chocolate lab about the same age as Emma and she just LOVES them. Whenever we go by their house, she has to check under the gate to see if they're a) still there and b) if they're outside Unfortunately, I think for the lady trying to walk the three dogs at the same time, it's a bit much for her and I don't think I've ever seen her have them off leash. Also for some reason, we don't see them too much on our walks either. Another neighbour has an Australian Shepherd who is a real sweetie, so we're going to try to make friends with him when he's at the front of his house and then maybe once Emma feels a bit more comfortable, we can arrange some play dates.

Bayley doesn't like those dogs who come leaping up and get right in her face. She pretty much tells them off, she much prefers a polite greeting. She also seems to get a bit po'd at those dogs who won't stand still for a butt sniff, the ones who run around in a circle trying to avoid a proper introduction. She'll usually chase them away and won't let them come near her or me. Also if a strange dog comes up to me without her meeting it first, that dog gets really told off!! She's getting better with that one, but sometimes I don't mind the fact that she'd get in there. Ya I know that I'm supposed to be the one protecting her, I think that's the shepherd coming out.

LeeLee wrote:

QUOTE:
EmmasMom, are there dogs that Emma DOES get along with well? Or is it only just the dogs with high-energy and greet 'in your face' style? Dogs, although dogs, are similar to people in many ways - they have their own little personalities, preferences, interactive and social tastes, etc. For example, there might be people or personalities that I love that you'd find yucky lol... Imagine - would you like it if some hyper, high-strung person came over to you, jumping all over the place, yelling, 'Hi! Hi! Hi! How are you? Hi! Look at me! Aren't I cute?!? Hi! Hi! Let's go play now!'? I'd probably nip and growl at them too LOL! Jessie, my Lab, will be 6 mos. this Monday, and is still a boisterous 'in your face' greeter. She's been nipped at a couple times by dogs who don't like this style. And you know what? I'm glad they nip and growl at her - that way she'll learn how to read dog body language better, and read the signs of dogs who want to play and like her energy, and the dogs who do not...

Here's a couple vids of Jessie being a goof at the dog park lol...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOl12OSF7vg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5pXZHVCEM4

oh my goodness! my lab does the same as yours she'll roll over on her back like that all the time. Sometimes I find that some dogs will take advantage of that. I almost want to tell her to get up and run!!!

I think mine has learned not to run full speed in another dog's face. She'll run towards a dog and I guess she'll gage their reaction. Sometimes she'll get there full speed, sometimes, she'll slow down and crouch down with her tail between her legs

EmmasMom wrote:

QUOTE:
KeymoFrisby:

Thanks much - that seems to be the way it goes. I just feel bad when she\\\'s got her tail tucked between her legs, is kind of curled in and tries to hide in the tall grass :(

I felt sorry for my puppy too when we first started taking her to the off-leash park. She would be kind of hesitant when we got near another dog and she would stay glued to our legs. Sometimes a group of bigger dogs that were playing would come along and try to sweep her into the playgroup and she would cower and yelp and tuck her tail in. A few times I tried to gather her up and protect her, but I realized quickly that she wasn\\\'t being hurt and she needed to learn to deal with other dogs. At that time we took holidays and were staying home with her, but with doggy daycare looming, we knew that she would need to have social skills to be able to interact with all shapes, sizes and ages of dogs at daycare. By allowing her to get used to being approached and greeted at the park, she\\\'s now become a very outgoing and friendly dog who seldom gets scared of other dogs (unless of course they don\\\'t want anything to do with her and make it known!). Now, she is a ball of craziness and is the one doing the greeting in most cases. She will approach anything from a little toy dog to a great dane with confidence. Now and again her confidence is met with a warning, but she will eventually figure out how to read other dogs and she is getting better and better behaved with each visit. We\\\'re starting to see progress in that she doesn\\\'t have to greet every single dog now. Some dogs she just sort of judges from afar and decides they are not worth saying \\\"hi\\\" to and walks right by them. I\\\'m glad now though that we didn\\\'t shelter her from contact with other dogs. I feel totally comfortable with her around other dogs and people alike.