Millie (5 mth Scottie) is due to start puppy classes next week.  Late I know, but when I rang the vets about their puppy parties when she was 16 weeks, they told me she was one week to old, they wouldn't take puppies over 15 weeks.  All very well, but bearing in mind with injections, and waiting time after, she couldn't go out until 13 and a half weeks so they don't actually give you a lot of scope, especially as they only run two a month!

Anyway, I have managed to find a puppy class for her, but due to timings, the next course doesn't start until next Thursday so that's the way it has worked out.  However, I am now a bit worried about attending.

Millie has met quite a few other dogs, but she is so in your face with them.  She's a right aggravation to my sister's Westie, but thats because she is so in love with him its sickening!  She spends the whole time they are together following him around, trying to get her head as quietly close to him as she can, and then trying to lick his tongue.  He's very grumpy with her and snaps and growls etc and warns her off (then tries to find somewhere to hide to get away lol), so I'm not too worried about the two of them, they spend a lot of time together and he is getting generally more tolerant, and at least he is doing the right thing but telling her when she's out of line.  I think as she grows up and stops being so in your face, he will settle down around her.  Fingers crossed anyway.

However, with other dogs its a bit different.  My father-in-law has a cross breed (of no obvious origin!) who is medium sized, and has always been a bolshy, barky, slightly angry dog.  When we take Millie round, she is jumping up at his face the whole time and he is just taking it from her.  Her paws are all over his face as she's leaping up constantly, it doesn't stop until we leave. 

The window cleaners dog came to collect money the other day, this is a tiny little thing, I don't know what breed this is either, and again, she spent the whole time jumping up (bearing in mind she's already bigger than him) and towering over him, trying to stand on his face I think!  This poor little thing was unsure what was going on, and he didn't look too upset by it, but it was a bit embarrasing for me!

Then half an hour ago, we were just coming back from a walk, when I spotted a neighbour with his Westie.  Millie has met him before, but at the time was having a mad half hour round the front garden with my sister's Westie and I don't think she took much notice.  Anyway, I took her over to say hello, and she started jumping up and climbing on his face, and this poor little Westie was cowering and running away.  She just wouldn't give up either, like her mission in life was to play with this dog's face and when I stepped back, she was straining on the lead and jumping up in the air trying to get to him.

I eventually brought her back in and whilst I sat pondering it, she sat by the front door crying to go back out and play with the dog (who was now long gone).  I then remembered the last time I picked her up from the Dog Salon, they had her on the floor playing with a GSD (supervised) and she was doing the same thing to this GSD too!  Only this time, she REALLY had to jump to get anywhere near his face lol!

Now obviously I can the obvious problems that I have to work on - she doesn't behave when we're out for a walk, gets far too excited by everyone and everything (including poor little westies) and she obviously needs more interaction with dogs to learn correct behaviour, hence I have been really looking forward to the puppy classes starting next week!

However, what I am worried about, is the fact that the place where she is going normally takes puppies of around 3/4 months, sometimes older puppies dependant on their size, and is happy to take Millie at five and a half months because she is a Scottie.  I already know that the classes start with a socialisation period (in other words, free for all!) and now I have noticed a pattern in Millie's behaviour with other dogs, I am concerned that she's going to go steaming in there and knock all these other puppies, who are likely to be much younger than her, flying.  She is going to spend the whole time jumping up on their faces/heads, arms flailing, terrifying them, and earn herself the reputation of being the big bully with the owners tutting at me as I walk past!!! I don't want to be tutted at!!

Am I over-panicking?  I feel slightly guilty going ahead with attending next week knowing full well my puppy is far too boisterous with other dogs, and putting her in a room of 3 month olds who she is just going to steam-roller!

I don't think she intends to bite them - its possible she's trying to lick their tongues like she tries to do with Max, I don't know, because the dogs she's tried it with have either been so small/terrified they crumble/run off or so high she can't reach.  But she's using her front legs as well, which means there are uncontrolled claws flying towards dogs eyes and its only a matter of time!

Tips/Thoughts appreciated.  I'm not sure I will get to try any solutions with her before next Thursday as we don't always meet other dogs on walks - not dogs that stop and say hello anyway, but things to be thinking of for the future would be great, and especially for next week. 

Ta muchly. :-D

Sorry I was having a quiet laugh reading your post not at you but what you wrote. She sounds like a typical bitch puppy to me. My cavaliers were very in your face with other dogs at that age & they are dogs. She is simply being a puppy & as such will be allowed to take liberties that as an adult would be stopped by the older/higher ranked dog.

She isn't being aggressive & if you saw the way the cavaliers still get away with things with my GSD youwould realize there is nothing to worry about. When my GSD has had enough she gives the little ones the look & a quiet grump & they behave.

There are few adult dogs that will harm a puppy & will allow them lots of leaway before putting them down.  Females are usually better with puppies for the obvious reasons. My BCs(bith Males)run away from puppies when they are young & avoid them at all costs until they are 8-9 months & can join in the ball & toy play

Don't worry she sounds ok to me Nice to hear she is bold, the last two scottie puppies i have seen have been just the opposite sadly

Phew!  I was sitting here thinking "please let someone say its just puppy behaviour" - I think the owners of the dogs she has met have forgotten what puppies are like, as I repeatedly get asked "will you be taking her to puppy socialisation" with a strange look on their face, as if they are really thinking "your dog is unruly, sort her out!", particularly the salon who have mentioned it a couple of times to my embarrassment (just what exactly does she get up to in that hour and a half!), and I was starting to get a complex about it.

Do you think it will be okay at puppy classes next week then when they have their loose mad half hour?  Yeah course she will, what am I worrying about!  Its just because she's quite big, and I'm imagining that because the other puppies will be 3-4 months she is going to terrorise them!

The only dog that puts her in her place, is my sister's Westie.  I think this is because when they are together it is for several hours at a time, and I can quite understand why he finds it such an ordeal, especially as she tries to snog him constantly the whole time.  Unfortunately she takes no notice whatsoever - rolls over still for a few seconds and is then up on her feet jumping at him again. keeping this up for hours on end. Poor thing, I keep telling my sister she is evil for bringing him round/inviting us round when its such hard work for her dog, but she thinks its hilarious, lol. 

I actually think she's only met males so far, you know.  But when we were in Pets at Home last week, we saw a couple with two dogs, one of which was a yorkie and as soon as we approached their aisle, the yorkie started squealing and backing away.  Millie started growling, which was most unlike her, normally its "dog!dog!play!play!" so I'm wondering whether the yorkie was a bitch and a sudden realisation hit Millie that she wasn't the only girl in the world and she actually has to share all these males!

I shall tell the OH what you said about it being good that she's bold (and boy is she bold!).  There were two left when we went to visit and I could already tell from emails/phonecalls that the breeder was leaning us towards Millie (I didn't care, I just wanted a ball of fluff to love!) and on visiting day (5 weeks), one sat quietly chewing fingers without moving, whilst Millie was everywhere, up on the table, full speed ahead, jumping across laps, chewing, climbing, walking backwards, rolling over for belly tickles.  The breeder said that the other person interested had indicated she wanted the quieter one, so I happily said we'll take the nutcase then! OH told me off afterwards, and a few times during her first weeks when she had taken control of the household, saying we should have got the quiet one but I insisted that it was best to take the bolder puppy, on the advice from my sister, and having read Scottie books since it seems to be the general view, so your comment reaffirms that I did make the right decision!

That sounds like I would change my mind, or am having doubts!  Absolutely not, I knew from the minute we met that I secretly wanted her, I just like being able to say "see, I told you so" as often as possible, as we all like to do to our OH's, naturally ;-)

I wouldn't worry too much, even a group of puppies all 3-4 months may differ in size, a 3 month old GSD/ Lab e.t.c. is always going to be bigger than a scottie so i'm certain she will be fine. I met a 4 month old Boerboel recently, he already weighs about 4-5 stone, and he was attending puppy classes and his owners seemed to have no problems, despite the fact that he must be massive compared to the others.

She'll be meeting others who are like her & others who are not so forward That's what is so lovely about puppies everyone is different. Don't wlorry she'll be fine

Just been talking to my friend who has Scotties & is a Ch Sh judge. Hers are always bolshy when puppies & then settle down but never lose their terrier outlook on life. She knows Mrs Miller whose dog was Res BIS at Crufts(well bitch ;)) & like me I thinks the bitch is lovely & Mrs M a really lovely true dog person & that there's no way her little girl will be shipped off to the states at the first opportunity like some other terriers that have done well at Crufts.