i never thought i'd be asking this question....

(i did a search, but no luck)

i think you guys all know that luc had real issues with being fearful of dogs when i first got him - small dogs, big dogs - it didn't matter.

i've addressed this by handling all dog interactions, greeting them, luc sits back, i protect luc from aggressive dogs etc. we don't go to the off-leash area at all. our obedience (part of the aggression control classes) is private. luc has stopped trying to run/act fearful when he sees a dog know to staying calm/confident, and sometimes even wagging his tail.

yesterday on our morning walk we met two owners who apparently can't go past another dog without their dog greeting it. one lady with a standard poodle stood about 2M off in the park while luc peed, waiting for her dog to say hi (we didn't). then we met some people out on the sidewalk - the dog was well-behaved and so after i greeted i decided to let luc say hello. he did decent, but was clearly a bit nervous.

the only dog luc is allowed to interact with is spike, a tiny little terrier who lives across from the park. she's laid back, luc thinks she's great, they'll wander around sniffing stuff together etc. spike's dad has been really great and supportive and will come and make a fuss over luc even if he doesn't have spike with him.

spike is turning 15 in november. and they're going to have a birthday party for her. leaving aside whether or not it's strange to have a birthday party for a dog - b/c of how great they've been, i'd like to be able to take luc. but he'll need work to be comfortable at a party with a bunch of dogs.

what should i do to increase his comfort level?
or,
is it silly for me to even take him to this?

Leave Luc at home.

Unless you want to undo all the hard work you did getting him to be around other dogs.

You know what will happen if you take him to the dog park. Now imagine all those dogs in a cramped back yard. I guarantee that, at any given time, no less than 5 dogs will be trying to sniff his butt at once.

I have fearful dogs and I can tell you, you will do more harm than good.

If Spike's owner is understanding of Luc's "issues", then he will understand when you show up to the "party" unaccompanied.

Given all the great progress you've made I would not take Luc to a gathering with a bunch of dogs. Think dog park :wink:

Have a private celebration with Spike

Jennifer, for me it would be an easy call. I'd say thank you to the guy, but express that you feel it may not end up too well with several dogs off leash, that it's too early for Luc to be exposed to several dogs at a time (all basically doing whatever their owners allow them to do). You didn't mention that you know the owners of these other dogs and if you don't, you won't know how they will handle their dogs.

I'd be concerned Luc would go backwards in all the excellent work you've done with him to bring him to where he is now. I understand it may be a bit difficult telling the guy this, but it would be rather like a dog park, only in close quarters and Luc may start getting nervous. People will be talking to each other and may not be watching their dogs very well. You on the other hand will be constantly stressing, and having to watch Luc AND the other dogs.

thanks.

you're all right, it would be like a cramped dog park. and all i visualize myself doing is dancing around blocking dogs from luc. which would be a fun time for neither of us.

i don't really know any of the other dogs/owners. i've seen some of them, i'm sure (one lady with 2 aggressive yorkshire terriers that would be scary if they weren't so small....but her dogs are really poorly behaved).

i guess i was just hoping. but luc's not there yet, and who knows if he ever will be (though i doubt dog birthday parties will be a big part of our social agenda, so why i'm worrying about this i don't know). i had to ask just incase there was some magic solution

Don't we all wish for a magic wand from time to time.

The only "magic" solution is time, patience, hard work, and the knowledge that it may never happen.

This happened to me with my "agility prospect". I thought she would love agility so we did two levels, then I had to admit that she was bored out of her skull, so we had to quit. You can't force your dog to love something. I just accepted that this dog would rather do something else, so now I'm adopting a puppy who might be an agility dog when he grows up. If not, that's OK too.

Luc may NEVER really love other dogs. You just have to take him as he is and love him for it. Sorry, no magic solution

yeah. generally i could care less whether luc likes other dogs - i'm fine with him being standoffish to them.

when we got our invite i thought 'oh how nice! (if weird to have a birthday party for a dog)', plus spike's dad has mentioned it several times to me (and luc), but luc is who he is, and that's a pretty great dog, even if he's not birthday-party going material.

Hey, 15 is a grand old age and that's worth celebrating. Sort of sweet and a bit silly to throw a party but why not? Spike's owner sounds like a nice guy.

you'd never know she's about to turn 15 either.

spike's dad is a nice guy. to the point that last night, luc and i stopped in the park on our run for him to do his business. when it came time to leave, luc planted and yelped at me. i turned around and - spike and her dad! luc was so excited, and after he'd been fussed over for 5 minutes he was happy to continue on our run. sometimes he's such a brat

and actually, saturday i ran an in-city event for the outdoor club (a tour with an advocacy group for the urban forest) and there were two other dogs on the event (black lab and am staff, both older). we didn't really do much socializing with them, but there was some greeting, and luc did really well - but they were both laid-back dogs. and people commented on how well-behaved luc was