My son's girlfriend has a springer spaniel who is wonderful with people, but not other dogs. We have tried introducing our TT Coco to him on neutral ground i.e When out for a walk in the park, but even though we have done it a few times, he still goes for Coco. He tends to do this with most other dogs. He was castrated in february after a problem with his prostate, which we thought might improve things. He was never socialised as a puppy, as she had two young children & didn't have the time, he is 6 now, is it too late to try & socialise him? How should we try & get the 2 dogs to be friends? Any help would be welcome

Like people some dogs do not like each other. I would gradually introduce him to various situations in a calm and controlled manner. Walk him in the park on a lead, if you see other dogs, don't panic as the fear will relay to your dog, carry on as normal and do not make a big fuss of things or force an issue with him. Try to expose him to all types of situations gradually, going to shops, traffic, people, dogs at a distance etc. You could visit a dog training club, sit on the sidelines with him watching at first, getting him used to other dogs at a distance where they pose no threat to him, gradually introduce him to other dogs but do not force an issue with him as his reaction to fight or flight may be to fight. Ask around in your area to see if there is a good behaviourist/trainer that you can see. There are also a lot of natrual calming remedies on the market, have a look at the Dorwest website. Good luck with your boy.

Thank you flora, I have forwarded your email on to my son, as he & his girlfriend get upset when Ben appears not to like other dogs, only people.

Is he very motivated by food or toys?  In addition to Floradora's suggestions, she could try feeding him really tasty things or playing with him with the best toy in the world (to him!).  That'll up the positive associations with other dogs.

If he does go to a training club, make sure it's a calm one - i.e. don't take him to an agility club as the movement might be too much for him.  Also be careful with shops - places like Pets at Home at the weekend are not a good environment for this sort of training as there simply isn't room for maneuvre if he does see another dog, and weekends are the time when most people go shopping with their dogs.

Remedial socialisation can be done, but it does take time - I'm doing exactly the same thing with my dobermann bitch, and she's just shy of 6 yrs old; she flies at almost all dogs, but with time, patience and not pushing her - you must always take this at the dog's pace, and never punish (or give any attention for) undesirable behaviour (basically anything that isn't non-reactive, or friendly, further down the training road) - she is improving.  Personally I've also found that a headcollar has really boosted her progress - initially she wasn't reacting as much because she physically couldn't throw herself around to frighten dogs away, but that gave me a window to reward better behaviour.  As a result she's now reacting less even without the headcollar - I'm not 100% sure why, but I suspect that prevention of lunging showed her that other dogs still move on even if she's not going bananas so she doesn't need to.

Diane, you are most welcome, I do hope that they are able to sort out this problem. With time, love and patience I am sure they will.

My friend has a golden retriever that she got at a year old.  when I first met her she was 3 years old and hated other dogs, but was fascinated by my new puppy.

We introduced her to the pup, and then carefully to the mother who she did have a pop at a few times, but my girl just shrugged her shoulders.

I started taking her out with my two and off lead she was fine unless a dog sniffed her, but her general obedience was good, so it was easy to avoid such situations by advising the other dogs owners not to let their dog sniff at her.

She became very fast friends with my puppy and enjoyed rough housing with her and then the Mum, so learnt that dogs were fun.

Gradually I was able to encourage her to stay calm when greeting other dogs, I made the greetings short enough for her not to have time to get uncomfortable, so that she could be rewarded with praise and treats.

Eventually she became very dog savvy,a and didn't over react when she met dogs, got to play and enjoy their company, but could still tell off in a controlled and reasonable way any rude dog.

In other words she became a well adjusted canine.

It is important that during these socialisation times that the dogs they interact with are absolutely bomb proof and are the kind that will not react to his negative behaviour and will ignore it.  the dog also learns to trust your judgement.

Thank you for all your help & we will try gradually to have them to be friends. Our dog is bomb proof & doesn't react. He is only a year old & not frightened of any size or shape, as he has been socialised since an early age. He is now learning to avoid  dogs that have previously warned him off, so hopefully is becoming more sensible. Unfortunately we can only walk him & Ben together at weekends. I am sure if our son 7 his girlfriend persist with the training, that they will become firm friends (hopefully!!)