Socializing with small dogs?

[Cessena]

So my husky Vlad has some issues with smaller dogs. Based on his behaviors at daycare, and walking around, he seems to view them, not as dogs, but as toys. Is there a safe way to socialize him with smaller dogs as an adult dog?

He has been rejected from a nearby daycare because of this behavior. He has attended other daycares that have reported "strange but not aggressive" behavior towards smaller dogs. On leash he becomes much more reactive to smaller dogs than to a big dogs. Off leash he tends to follow them around obsessively and apparently to snap at them.

He comes from a rural area and a multi dog home, so it seems likely to me that he had never met a chihuahua or until he moved up here. (And promptly got bit on the ear by one. How his ear got near a chi's mouth is beyond me. )

Anyway, I would like to be able to take him to local dog parks, and possibly get him into the local doggy daycare that has smaller dogs. Any suggestions would be welcome.

(He also has sight issues, which may be contributing to his weirdness. He is good with my 2 cats, last night he was play bowing at one, she was, shockingly, not interested.)

 

[Tazwell]

Kenna, also a husky, acts the same way. Very strange, like she wants to play with them, but doesn't treat them like dogs... I just attributed the behavior to my dogs reacting badly to her (I would too, she stomps and shakes her head at them!).

I'd like to hear an answer to this one, as well...

 

[Cessena]

I wonder if it is just a breed trait? I have heard that most husky rescues wont adopt out to homes with small dogs because Huskies tend to "play rough." Alas, no convenient doggy daycare for Vlad.

 

[MyHorseMyRules]

Raja did the same for a while. I don't really have any helpful advice. I just took her to my mom's house a lot and supervised her interaction with my mom's little Shih-Tzu(sp?). She's a lot better now, but she still seems to view her as a toy that she has to be easy with rather than a dog.

 

[Kela]

Huskys have a strong prey drive...I would imagine that's why they're doing it. I don't know how to train it honestly..but on the plus side, dogs with a high prey drive are supposed to be good at things like agility and chasing objects!

 

[Romy]

Husky's do have strong prey drive, and personally I wouldn't trust a dog with such a strong drive to hunt and eat small animals alone around any small animal unless it maybe had been raised with them (even then some individuals can't be trusted). I own a dog with strong prey drive. He was raised with cats and small dogs and is safe around them. He was introduced to rabbits and other small animals later in life. He acts the way you describe with those animals. He won't eat them while I am there because I tell him not to, but I do not and will not ever trust him 100%. If he hadn't had a lot of exposure to small dogs and cats when he was little, he would probably be the same way with them too. For dogs with strong prey drive it's not a matter of teaching them that it's another dog. What happens is they see a small animal moving, and they completely get sucked into the movement. They forget everything else. They can't hear anything else, it's like they are in a trance and if they knew that animal before it becomes a complete stranger to them while they are in that state. That is when something you don't want to happen can/will happen.

Some dogs can learn that small dogs are still dogs and interact with them appropriately. For some it just never "clicks" and they will always see the smaller dogs as some interesting possibly tasty animal. Ex racing greyhounds run across the spectrum this way. Some after meeting small dogs a few times decide they are dogs. Some never figure it out and think they need to be chased and eaten.

The only way I know of to deal with prey drive and small animals is to desensitize your dog to their presence and teach a good "leave it". If they know and respect that you don't want them hunting that animal their way of dealing with it is to completely avoid interacting with it. Usually even avoiding looking at it if they have enough self control.

If you are trying to get him to recognize the small dogs for what they are, I would try to set up some controlled meetings with smaller dogs on leash. Have them both on leash for safety sake. I'm not sure if there are any specific doggie things to do beyond letting him be in their presence and observe them, hopefully some the pros on this board will have some ideas.

The last note, I would be very leery of leaving my dog in a daycare that mixes large and small breeds. Small breed dogs can be seriously injured or killed by complete accident by larger dogs, especially if two larger dogs got really into a game together and weren't paying attention to where their feet were. It makes me question the responsibility of the people running it.

 

[Romy]

I just realized you said he has poor eyesight too. That combined with a chihuahua biting his ear for one of his first experiences, could definitely be contributing to his behavior. Personally, I would take the approach for reactive dogs in this thread:

http://www.chazhound.com/forums/showthread.php?t=83881

Just to get him so he doesn't react to them on leash. That will make going for walks safer and also get you to where he can be close enough on leash to spend some time around small friendly dogs without having a negative reaction just because there is a leash on him. Good luck!