Pup unsure of other dogs

[animalvr32]

Hi, I have a yellow lab pup that we resuced 4 weeks ago from the pound.
She is now 12 weeks old. She raises her hair every time she sees another dog. She barks as well. She spent the night at my mother in laws with her dog and my sister in laws dog and did just fine.
My girlfriend tried to watch her but supposedly she nipped at their mini dauschund. When the mini met her the first time he was not NICE to her at all. I was wondering if this is something she might have remembered?
Anyway, is this something that I can work on? I want to make her confident and have her around other dogs and not be afraid. I am signing her up for doggy daycare 1-2 times a week now that she has gotten her rabies and kennel cough.
Any suggestions or thoughts would be great.
Thanks so much.

 

[sam]

It sounds like she hasn't been well socialised to this point, she may also be just a bit of a shy pup too - you have approx 4 weeks til that window for socialisation is closed, so I would make it a priority to socialise her like crazy now. You need to expose her to as many dogs and people and places and things as you can but do so in such a way that it's a pleasant, good experience for her that builds confidence. The worst thing would be for her to be bullied and scared right now. However you need to make sure you don't coddle her or reinforce scaredly behavior either. Start small and build on successes. Have you found a good puppy class? That's a handy place to socialise. Look for a place with positive / modern / dog friendly methods. If you have friends with friendly, stable dogs she could meet that would be great too.
If you don't have a puppy book yet you could order or pick up a copy of "after you get your puppy" by Ian Dunbar it covers all this stuff and might come in handy.

 

[otch1]

I strongly advise against daycare for a 12 week old puppy and am suprised they would allow her in at this age. One nip to the face from a more mature puppy can make a lasting impression with one like yours. Things like that are unavoidable in a daycare environment. She needs to be in a controled atmosphere, a class (asap) would be ideal. On leash trips to the petstore, friends homes and play with one other well behaved dog, in the meantime, will help a great deal. It's very hard on a puppy to be seperated from mom and litter mates and go to the shelter at 8 weeks verses a home. That was an important socialization period for her and you now have your work cut out for you, so giving this daily attention until you're in a class with her is important. She's a cutie!!

 

[Tinjz]

I would never leave my puppy in day care!!
Like other people suggested a puppy class would be the best thing right now asap.. and you could take her to dog shows just to watch and socialise.. A Labrador is usually very friendly towards other animals, so maybe she had a bad experience with another dog?

 

[Agility23]

Just give it time

 

[animalvr32]

Thanks for all the advice. She starts obedience the first week of Jan.
She is doing well with sit, down, stay and come.
Hopefully I can get her to overcome her fearfullness.