Other Dog Distractions; Max totally failed - Page 3

Your dog is trying to tell you something: He needs the company of other dogs. Get him some friendly dog playmates to have play dates with. Stay away from dog parks--they are a disaster and he'll probably get the crap bit out of him.

He's like a starved dog that suddenly has food all around him.

Once he has canine pals, he can learn (with a prong collar if necessary) that he can't always play with other dogs.  Also if the class allows it and there are friendly dogs in class, allow some playtime before and after class.

We often underestimate how important other dogs are to some dogs.

Oh JonRob, he has got plenty of dog playmates at home.   I have 5; 4 GSDs and 1 lab/rotti mix.   I have a full 3 rings circus many days. 

Dogs are pack animals. Social by nature. He wasn't being bad, he was just being a dog. He is young. Let him explore and sniff this new world. He will eventually settle in.  TTT.   Things Take Time. 11 months is still young to expect a lot from a first lesson with other dogs.  I'll bet he had the time of his life, and you, just wanted to crawl under a rock.

"Oh JonRob, he has got plenty of dog playmates at home."

I understand that. But some dogs still want to make friends with dogs outside their homes. If you had five kids, would it surprise you if they wanted to play with kids that weren't their siblings?

It sounds to me like you have a real nice social boy who needs to make some new canine friends. Once he learns he can play with some new dogs part of the time, the excitement should wear off and he should settle down when it's time for training.

He's a real handsome boy, BTW.

I made a resolution when I got Maya that she would be well socialized.  We live on a farm and I wanted her to get to know and be comfortable around other dogs as she would get no exposure to other buddies where we live. When she was 3 months old, I took her to puppy daycare. I assumed there would be other puppies there, but it turns out she was the only puppy at the day care. The third time I picked her up, she had a bite mark on her face, and I was told she got bitten by the owners dog because she was too bossy. Believe it or not, this same lady runs dog obedience classes and I was told not to bring Maya back until she had been through obedience classes with her. Needless to say, I never went back, neither to her or the vet that told me Maya needed to be socialized and I should take her there.
When Maya was 6 months old I took her to a reputable trainer for puppy training. He had rings on the wall and we had to attach our puppies to a leash and tie them to the wall.  The arena had a gravel/dirt floor and this is when Maya discovered digging. She wouldn't stop digging. She would not stop barking. She would not stop jumping. After 4 weeks of digging, jumping and barking I decided it would be best for everyone if I didn't go back. You couldn't even hear the trainer because Maya was barking the whole time. There was never a time in the class that the puppies could play together and that is what they all wanted to do. It was insane.
Maya is now 2. She no longer digs, she still barks and loves to play with our neighbours dog.  She has boundless energy and not a mean bone in her body. Her life revolves around playing ball and going for walks. She comes immediately when called, sits and stays, when asked. I couldn't have asked for a better german shepherd.
She was a giant failure at puppy schools ( or I was ) but has turned out to be one heck of a lovely dog. I think she would do really well at agility but there is no way in hell I will ever take her to another dog class again in my life. It is simply too embarrassing.

Food for thought. Dogs are social animals and need a pack. We humans should be their main pack with a few other dogs mixed in for balanced. Would you take your child to ''play group'' with older children who knew little respect for social norms like not picking on smaller children or not using bad language? Pick your pups socialization for their benefit. An adult wild dog [ wolf] does not socialize with dogs out side of their pack as it could be suicide. Only immature dogs bond easily with other dogs. An older dog could be immature and very social with all other dogs but that is not the rule in dog psych. Know your dog!  Find people who can instruct you in recognizing traits in your dog which will help you train. I expect all of my adult dogs to behave well in all situations but I would not take my well adjusted well trained dog to ''scared straight'' prison show. we watch that on TV together.

Lol, Yes he did Eldee.  He had a ball.

Hmmm, food for thought JonRob.  I did not think about that.

Fawndallas, I love your dog's expression and I would love to see more pics of him. Do you have a good headshot?

He looks and sounds like a confident, smart, sassy, inquisitive, big-hearted guy, the kind of guy who would buy the beers at the bar and sit and shoot the bull with his new pals for hours. Not all dogs are hostile to any dog outside their home pack and there's nothing wrong or "immature" about a dog like that.

Just pick his new canine friends carefully since not all dogs are as confident and good-natured as he is. You also want new buddies that are close to him in age mentally so they will appreciate his rambunctious play style.

gsdstudent "An adult wolf does not socialize with (dogs) outside
their pack, as it could be suicide."   Hmmm - yet another piece
of canine lore based on assumed wolf behaviour, and transferred
to dogs. While true in some circumstances, NOT the whole story.
In the interests [mostly] of finding mates (and thereby extending the
gene pool), there are photographic records now of some wolves doing
exactly that.  Mainly from Yellowstone, where there have been many
increased opportunities for study and filming in recent years.