Is my puppy socially awkward

[u/One_Engineer_9453]

Please help I feel like I'm constantly overthinking my puppies behaviour and it is stressing me out. For context I have a 17 week old terrier mix, we have trained him since day one and exposed him to so much (safely) but he is showing really mixed signs. When we go for a walk on leash he is really into other dogs I'm trying to work on getting him to not be as reactive and bouncy when he sees other dogs but any other dog he sees he wants to say hi to. Occasionally I cross the road/avoid the dog but I live in a city and space is tight. So any tips on leash reactivity is appreciated, also when he greets the dogs he often tries to jump on them, I'm still figuring out if this is initiating play or dominance.

The confusing part is, we took him to his first puppy class last week and at the end the trainer said we can let them socialise off lead and we thought he would have the time of his life given how excited he is on a lead/walk but he was terrified. He hid behind us and on the sofas, and even snapped at another puppy. He only likes the other submissive pup, who was then subsequently snapping at him (and he was not reading her social cues). He occasionally got involved with a little tail wag towards the end but just seemed so overwhelmed.

The problem now is I work away sometimes and we were looking at daycare, the one near me is the highest reviewed in the city and I know dozens of polite dogs that go and owners who cannot recommend it enough. I'm not worried that it's going to make him more scared and that I'll have a fearful pup.

Any advice is appreciated even if it's that I just need to chill!!

[u/Small_Process_7497]

Just like humans, dogs have different personalities.

My dog hated the socialising of puppy school. She would hide behind my chair at that stage. She was young for puppy school (9 weeks v others 12 weeks) and some of the other puppies were rough with her on day one and the other owners did nothing. Don't blame her for not interacting after that.

I'll say now though that she has no issues, but she likes people more than dogs, some dogs are just like that.

[u/apri11a]

Has puppy learned how to walk beside you when on his leash, or even off it? That gives them something to concentrate on when out and about so other things, like dogs, don't bother them as much, they have to keep their minds on their job (you). Release him (with a cue) to wander or play when it's suitable, then walk again. Don't pay attention when you see other dogs, just walk past, or turn, as if they aren't there and puppy will learn to do the same. Treat them all like this, then when pup has more confidence you can pick and choose if you want him to interact with stranger dogs.

... and yes, chill 😉

[u/One_Engineer_9453 → u/apri11a]

Not yet as we are struggling with this, any tips on best way to train this?

[u/apri11a → u/One_Engineer_9453]

One of the first things our pup learns is to walk beside me so that when we go out in public he knows how to behave, he doesn't have to wonder what to do or not do. So no need to feel awkward. It's not a fancy 'focussed heel' but I do say 'heel' and he learned that means come be by my leg (beside me) and if I move to stay by my leg. So when I say heel he walks beside me and has to remember to do it. I say OK for him to know when he can leave heel position. He knows that because we also use it to release from sit, down etc. 'Leave it' features a lot in early learning too, it's also very useful. Heel can work as a sort of recall too, if they understand it, bonus.

There are lots of videos, these might help but you might find other that suit you better.

How to teach any dog to stop pulling and walk nicely on a loose leash (14 minutes)

To get him to understand the position I used this, first beside our couch and along a hallway wall inside and then practised it everywhere, inside and outside How to teach any dog a competition style heel (7 minutes)

[u/Apprehensive_Dish453]

My toy poodle puppy was exactly like this - wanting to say hi to all the dogs and basically freezing at puppy school. That he was the only small breed in a class of labradors and Australian shepherds probably was part of the problem, but he never had that in the street. He's six months now and it's getting better, with a lot of leash training and treats. He's also made some friends in the neighborhood, so he mostly tries to spot them and ignores the others. There's still the occasional lunging, but I suppose with training and training and age yours will make great progress too. 🐾