Control 1st Greeting Between Dogs

In our previous article, we discussed what to do to prepare your puppy for dog-to-dog greetings later on in life.

Now, we’ll discuss the things you need to be mindful of during greeting. Remember to follow tips from previous blog and that Fido is used to being around other dogs.

With all of that out of the way, let’s get to the tips you need to remember.

Leashes Are Essential

When looking for a dog your pet can meet, you immediately think of a dog park. When you arrive, you may be tempted to just let go of the leash and allow your dog to look for a friend on his/her own, but that’s not a good idea. Remember, no matter how well behaved your dog is, others may not be.

By keeping your dog on a leash throughout the greeting, you are always in control and can pull your pet away if something starts to go wrong. When things go well, you can ease up on the leash a bit and give the dogs some leeway to get to know one another.

Watch Out for Signs of Aggression

You can’t stop paying attention to your dog even after the initial meet-up has taken place. Sometimes, dogs will look fine at first, but then you see their teeth starting to flash, and hear that low rumble of their growling and realize that something’s wrong.

No one knows your dog better than you do. As soon as you recognize those signs of your dog becoming aggressive, pull him/her away and put an end to the greeting.

Things can only go downhill if you allow that to continue.

Don’t Let Playtime Get Out of Hand

Hopefully, the greeting goes well and the two dogs are now interacting and playing together. Even if this happens though, you can’t stop watching over your dog.

You can never really be sure exactly how your pet will react to playing with another dog. What happens if the other dog gets a little too giddy and does something your pet doesn’t like?

Supervision is always needed for these introductions, so stay on standby as they unfold.

No matter how well you have trained your pet, dog-to-dog introductions are still unpredictable because there’s another pet involved and you don’t know him/her very well.

To ensure that these introductions work out as well as they possibly can, be there for your dog and keep watch over the interaction. Steps mentioned above work at an off-leash park. For tips to walk both dogs together during an introduction, read Neil Sattin’s blog.

A dog-to-dog introduction can be intimidating but we at TAILored Pet Services can help make them more manageable. We can tag along and help your pet remain under control so that the interaction goes smoothly. If you’re interested in our assistance, please give us a call at 425-923-7791 or browse our website.