How to socialize my dog with other dogs?

emillielyy: How to socialize my dog with other dogs?
I have a male maltese mixed, 1 1/2 years old at home and recently adopted a new dog, a 3 years old male shih tzu. The problem is, the shih tzu basically does not get along with all dogs, not just my current maltese mixed. He’ll growl whenever a dog comes near him and even attempt to attack and bite other dogs. Since he is a rescued dog, I do not have any information of his past. He marks very often though I’ve tried to correct him many times.

How do teach him to be calmed and submissive when he’s around with other dogs?

Answers and Views:

Answer by Wolfie Wifie
Whenever other dogs are about, give the shih tzu treats and praise to show that dogs are good things.

Answer by bellelvsbeast
Is he neutered? If not, get him neutered and that should lessen the marking…but once that becomes a habit you can’t train him not to mark areas in the house…
As for socializing, you just have to work with him. My mix also hated other dogs, but I would just take her to dog parks or an area with dogs, keep her on leash and gauge her reaction. Even with the dogs far away she would often growl and I would tell her “no”. After a few times doing this, she would not growl in the dog park, so I would treat her. We began moving closer and closer to the dogs, waiting until she wouldn’t growl and then getting closer. Over time I would allow her to go up to other dogs, always being careful to be aware of her reactions (i.e. hackles raised, tail in between legs, ears back, teeth bared, etc.) and over time she would get used to the other dogs and eventually she was perfectly fine. Now she LOVES to run around with other dogs, but I will tell you it took awhile to get where she is now.
Good luck!
And thanks for adopting!

Answer by antshed
I would take him to a dog instructor (obedience training) Make the first lesson private and get some special instructions from the trainer. They might try and help you socialize your new dog .They should have told you he did not get along with other dogs when you adopted him. He is what they call the alpha dog. Means he is in charge and no one gets in his territory.

Answer by 420Linda
You can see if there is an obedience training program in your area. These programs start with basics of dog training, including socializing your dog with other dogs. You could check with your ASPCA to see if there are any dog training programs going on in your area. It is a really good way to get your dog to socialize with other dogs in a large, controlled dog training program. It worked well for me and my aggressive female German Shepherd, the first time she was confronted with obedience training being done with numerous other dogs. She ended up liking it and the other dogs.

Answer by FairlyErica
There’s no short answer for this, but this is something that you can indeed get results for if you put in the time, and here a few resources I highly recommend:

Books:
“Click to Calm: Healing for the Reactive Dog”, Emma Parsons

“Dogs are from Neptune”, Jean Donaldson