A good friend of mine got a patterdale on Saturday.  This was a very whim decision and not the wisest one I think but only time will tell how they get on. He is 5-6 months old and according to the previous owner he does not like other dogs at all; something I feel is a shame at this very young age. I do not know how he has been socialised prior to them getting him or what environments he has been used to and I doubt they will have asked this when they got him. I would liken him to a rescue of unknown past other than not liking dogs.

I haven't met this dog yet and don't know a great deal about dog behaviour so how would I know if it was a genuine dislike, fear or aggression? Apparently when he sees another dog he just freezes and stares.

What would be the best, if any, way to introduce him to new dogs?  They would not be able to afford a behaviourist so that is definitely not an option sadly.

These are both novice dog owners. I have warned them about the chewing, potential separation issues, feeding. etc and they will listen. We all think it was a daft decision to get him but they have him now so there's not much that can be done about that so we are hoping that with a bit of work they end up with a lovely well socialised dog (fingers very crossed).

I'd probably take him for an off lead walk in a fenced in place such as a tennis court with another dog that won't pester or annoy him. I'd reward for any good, relaxed behaviour and increase their distance if he is unnerved.

I'd want it to be a very controlled environment for the first few interactions as if they're not positive experiences it could soon turn into a nervous-aggressive dog. I'm sure at this young age that it won't take long for the dog to be playing nicely.

I'd recommend letting them meet on neutral ground too but I would advise having the new 'unknown' dog on a lead just in case he did attack.  At least you have a means of preventing any fight.  If that goes well, walk the 2 together back home and then let them have time together in the garden, again keeping the 'new' pup on lead.  If all seems friendly then and only then let them mix off-lead.  I'd just leave the back door open and allow them to come in of their own accord. I'd most certainly buy or borrow a crate to leave the pup in when the owners can't supervise.

I'll mention the tennis court idea to them. They don't have another dog so crating wouldn't be necessary and at present they've been restricting him to the kitchen if they have to pop out.

My dogs quite calm so I'm happy for new dog to meet him at his own pace with no pressure and I did suggest going for a short walk as mentioned here.

Apparently he's wild on the lead and when out so I think he's probably had little training and not much outdoor activity. I hope he is okay as I don't want him stressed out but I can't help think they should have thought this through a little more thoroughly.

have both dogs on lead and meet on neutral ground.perhaps have your friend waiting at a certain point, meet up and walk together but keep the dogs furthest away from each other. get walking without them 'greeting' each other and when they arent paying much attention to each other you can start walking them closer together. if that goes well you could perhaps go to an enclosed area and let them off lead to explore. may be an idea to keep the patterdale on a long lead so could be pulled away if needs be.
these introductions could be staggered over several meetings. once your dog becomes familiar it will be less threatening,and probably in a quiet calm area where there are not too many other distractions.

This is what we did when we introduced our nervous dog to a new one we wanted to rescue. Rather than letting the dogs greet each other, which is what always scares our dog, we met up for the dogs to ignore each other :-) and when they didnt pay each other much attention we were able to bring them closer together. it definitely took a lot of the pressure off our nervous dog and made a very successful introduction which allowed our dogs to get on.

Great, thanks.

Has anyone any advice for what to do about strangers dogs or are they best avoiding them at present? This may be tricky if they walk him on the park.

My other main concern is this is a rented house that doesn't allow pets....I don't think they realise they could potentially be made homeless or have to give pup up. They are however plenty old enough to have made this decision so on their heads be it if the above happens; unsympathetic I know but they knew the rules.

>My other main concern is this is a rented house that doesn't allow pets....I don't think they realise they could potentially be made homeless or have to give pup up. They are however plenty old enough to have made this decision so on their heads be it if the above happens; unsympathetic I know but they knew the rules.

You're not the only one. My son and his wife bought a dog after they moved into their rented houses they are permitted cats, but not dogs. Son says, well it's only a chihuahua. I just sigh and roll my eyes. He's 32 and I thought had some common sense. Appears not.

We could write reams of training advice, but from 8yrs experience on this forum I'd say this can often be too much for the novice owner to digest or even start to relate to. So, I've linked to a great training video from Dr.Sophia Yin
Podees aggressive to other dogs
Get them to have a look at this and also advise them that given they do not want to experience the heart stopping sickening skirmish when their dogs bites another or is bitten, they really must enlist professional help to evaluate the dog in the first instance and then to assist with retraining him to make positive associations. They have taken on a responsibility now to their dog and also to other dogs that may encounter theirs on walks.
  You will probably have to guide them on choosing the correct positive method trainer.

Hope this helps.Let us know how they get on, good luck! They will have a lovely little dog I'm sure with a bit of good work.

Thanks.  It doesn't help that all the information they have is 'he doesn't like other dogs.'  I don't know if he backs off, stands (although at present apparently he freezes), or would go for a full blown attack. 

I will hopefully meet him this weekend and can pass the advice on.

Well they brought him round today and we went down the road for a walk. No aggression apparent at all; just an excitable, wiggly terrier.

We plan to repeat this a few times and if there are no issues they can go offlead (that's if terrier has any recall!!!!)