At that age I don't even let them to sniff other dogs.
How do I know how far is too far? I don't so not until I know my dog a little better at around 6 mo. does he even get to get close. Then he is better at controlling himself and basically is learning to ignore other dogs or be neutral.

When I see another dog, I'd let your pup just walk by and smell from a distance, safe in your protective zone. No slowing down, touching, no getting close, no sniffing noses. By asking him to sit and wait is too much to ask from an pup this young. The anxiety will build his drive in wanting to see the other dog. It's too much of a distraction yet. Just keep him moving- confidently walk by. He can sense your anxiety also...
I tell the other owner if they want to play with my dog or let the dogs meet, "sorry, he's in training, maybe another time ". He'll learn not to make a big deal of dogs anymore.

If this was his first meeting, he might have been overwhelmed and that's why he was barking.You won't know how this imprinted him until the future around other dogs. Try to create a neutral environment around other dogs for him and he should forget any trauma.
Good Luck with your new pup!

Alison Voore

Thanks Allison. I am hoping I didn't do anything permanently bad for him. He is a great pup. This wasn't his first dog experience. He had seen a golden retriever while we were waiting for my son to finish a practice. They were kept at a distance - the goldie wanted to come see the puppy but his owner kept him far away - thankfully. Ranger started barking and straining to get to the dog but settled quickly although he was watchful without being fearful. I'm not one for having my dog get to know others and I don't want him to be overly interested in them either. Most of the dog owners in my neighborhood keep their dogs fenced or on a leash. Once we get to the distraction phase of training I will take him to a puppy class and see how that goes - any other suggestions?

People with more dog/dog aggression experience please chime in but would calming him with an "into my arms" confuse the dog into thinking he is being praised for barking and lead to more barking at other dogs in the future and potential future dog/dog aggression?

Yup!

Puppy rules to avoid dog/dog aggression (a la me!)

1. Puppy doesn't go anywhere there are too many dogs (health risk and just too many stupid owners)

2. Puppy doesn't go to an off leash dog park (well, that goes on forever!)

3. Puppy doesn't meet ANY strange adult dog (NONE - Nada - doesn't matter if the owner tells you he LOVES other dogs!)

4. Puppy ONLY meets other puppies (under 5 or 6 months) whose temperament you can assess prior to contact.

5. Puppy only has supervised contact with other members of his own pack (dog)

6. Puppy is NEVER allowed to see other dog/dog aggressive members of his own pack act aggressively towards another dog

7. All good behaviour is rewarded or praised

8. ANY aggression towards another puppy (remember they are only meeting puppies) is corrected immediately! Verbally would be my first choice depending on the age.

9. Other puppies are met but they are not allowed to play on leash.

10. Other puppies are sometimes not met but used as a distraction.

I could probably think of more but that's a start!

I am not a dog trainer by any means, but I am currently rehabilitating a fearful dog that had no socialising as a younger dog. If I were in your situation with your dog as you described, I would have crossed the street when I saw the other dog coming.

The reason is that YOU were anxious. The dog sensed your anxiety, and knew that his pack leader was unsure of the situation. This made the DOG anxious, hence his defensive reaction. I don't know about puppies but this kind of experience is detrimental to a dog like mine.

By crossing the street, you would remain confident about the situation and not had any reason to upset the dog.

Ed stresses in his Obedience video (and I've heard from other trainers on here) that your dog has no need to meet other people or dogs. Be around them, yes; see them, yes; socialise with them, no. the goal is to have a dog that can calmly ignore other people and dogs in public because he knows he will not allowed to be silly with strangers.

I actually was across the street - when I stopped walking because I was ready to cross the street, Ranger went into a sit - we have been working on that. The other dog owner came over when she saw my boy sitting.

Thanks for the input. He seemsm to be ok as we were out today and his ears perked up when he saw a dog come to the fence and he stopped to look but other than that, he came to me when I called so I am hoping there's been nothing permanently harmed. Any other input is appreciated.

 Quote: KatherineDurst

I actually was across the street - when I stopped walking because I was ready to cross the street, Ranger went into a sit - we have been working on that. The other dog owner came over when she saw my boy sitting.

Thanks for the input. He seemsm to be ok as we were out today and his ears perked up when he saw a dog come to the fence and he stopped to look but other than that, he came to me when I called so I am hoping there's been nothing permanently harmed. Any other input is appreciated.

It doesn't seem to me that the type of scenario you described would have been one that would cause trauma or lasting harm to your pup. He just seemed a little unsure of the situation.

I like Lee's list, good guidelines, as well as what the other posters said.

Dogs are really forgiving and flexible. Unless something happened that absolutely terrifies/panics your dog, such as being attacked, you have to worry more about his "collective" experiences rather than just one. What I mean is, even if you make a mistake, it won't cause any lasting harm to the dog. Dogs learn with repetition.

Unless you have a very weak-nerved dog or one with a bad history, it's not likely that anything will happen to make him terrified enough to cause issues with just everyday events.

I hope that makes sense. It's Friday. :-)

What I'm trying to say is, don't worry, your puppy will be just fine!!

Thanks everyone- I appreciate your responses. I will be careful with him - he's definitely not weak-nerved (my last GSD was) and I'm really trying to not to make the same mistakes I did with my first dog. We'll just keep to ourselves with a look but don't touch philosophy!