Hi I'm relatively new to the dog world.  We have a 4 month old male Lhasa Apso.  He is very wary of other dogs when we are out walking.  We noticed this new behaviour following his weekly attendance at training classes (basic).  We are now on week 4 and are unable to join in the practice sessions because he gets to upset.  We are distracting him with titbits and lots of hugs for reassurance.  Trying to make it a positive experience and ignoring the growling.  I understand this is going to be a long haul and its a case of desensitisation in a controlled environment (as you can make it).  I'm sure there must be other dogs who can gone through this and wonder if any one has any tips/things that worked for them.  Many thanks.

My dog was the same a couple of weeks ago, and Emily on here said take her but dont join her in the classes, the change around was unbelieveable, also it's a case of the more you go the less it will bother them.  Just let your dog take it's own time to venture out and when he does make sure you praise him for his curiosity, then his confidence will build up. Dont force him to do anything he doesn't wont to and certainly dont modicodle him when he is being timid.  Only do what he is comfortable with and if he gets overwhelmed stop.   Good luck.

Warm regards Susan

You say 'lots of hugs for reassurance'..... it is entirely possible that your hugs are reassuring that there IS something to be scared of and this IS the correct way to deal with it.

By all means, do NOT push him into scary situations, but similarly, do NOT reward him for being scared or reacting aggressively.

Instead, reward him when he is being calm, and ignore when he is not.

Start off slowly, at a distance to other dogs where he can see them but doesnt feel the need to react, and work your way back to being able to attend training classes.

It is important to do thsi NOW though, and sitck to it, as without, the end result is a dog who may even approach other dogs to tell them to 'get lost' -- and sadly all too often i see little dogs doing thsi to big dogs iwth the result that the big dog fights back!

Em

Thank you all.  At the moment we are continuing to attend the training classes - but just watching.  Practicing at home rather than in classes.  Stuart is certainly better than he was last week.  We are also being careful on our walks not to let other dogs approach too closely.  He is getting food rewards when he is calm with other dogs.  Many thanks. Pam.

I agree with both posts.  Ignore the bad behaviour and reward the good.  It is important to know too that puppies around this age go through a second "fear" stage and it is important to make sure that his fear is not rewarded as it will result in a dog that has issues later in life.  Don't force him and it is a great idea to go along and sit and watch.  Hope this helps.

Annie

I wouldnt personally give him hugs as reassurance, put on a silly voice and act as if theres nothing to fear.
Find dogs on his level that are quiet and not in his face and use them to good advantage and this gives you a good basis to work from. Any dog put in at the deep end will shy away, you just need to know his boundaries and work from that.

Good luck Pam, he will get there in the end.

Warm regards Susan