Ridgy Needs To Socialise

[QUEENY]

I have an 8 month old Rhodeshian Ridgeback who is/has outgrown his regular playmates

which we meet up with every saturday and have done so for the last 4 months or so.

We have anywhere from 5-15 dogs that all meet up for a couple of hours Saturday mornings and he gets on really well with them all, have had no problems so far. They are mostly Labs, a few smaller breeds and (2 German Shepherds - which he is fine with but they dont come every week). He also goes to obiedience school and is in the begginners grade, so still learning basics but is pretty well behaved. However the dogs aren't allowed off leash there and not sure why but no one really lets there dogs even sniff each other and they are quite strict about dogs getting too close to each other as well.

The problem is that because he's already a large dog and outgrown most of the other

dogs in the play group i am starting to notice a few of the dog owners getting a bit worried about their dogs getting hurt (which i can understand). With a few of the dogs when he walks towards them a few owners are now shooing him away from them and usually he will just turn around and walk off to look for another dog to play with. He's not aggressive towards them at all but plays with them as if they are the same size or just as strong.

Wondering if anyone knows anywhere in Sydney where other large breed

dog groups meet up, or even where any other Ridgeback owners take there dogs to socialise.

If not, besides getting another dog for a playmate do i have

any other options for socialising him with other dogs?? I live in the Parramatta area in Sydney,

and don't mind driving a bit to get there, however the closer to home the better.

Edited January 27, 2010 by QUEENY

[suen]

Hi Queeny

I don't actually have an answer to your question, but I'm interested to know more about the "playgroup" you've been taking your pup to. Can anyone go along? I have a 7 month old lab who I feel could benefit from more socialisation. Like you I have attended puppy pre-school and a six week group "beginners" course with Caesar where I had the same experience with keeping the pups at a distance from each other. My little fellow is quite timid and stayed close to my side, not showing much interest in any of the other pups although there was not really any opportunity for "play" so I don't know how he would have reacted.

If the "playgroup" is open to anyone could you please let me know where you go and at what time? I live in the Regents Park area so Parramatta is not too far away for us.

I am also continuing training, enrolling Caesar in another group training class which commences on 7th February at Yagoona. If you are interested I can let you know how it goes and if there is better socialisation.

[pie]

Maybe contact the Rhodesian Ridgeback Club of NSW, a lot of breed clubs have fun days and meets.

http://www.therhodesianridgebackclubinc.com/

Otherwise there are regular DOL meets - check the DOL Social Events subforum.

ETA:

It's good practice to not let dogs in each others personal space at training, you should never let your dog into another's space unless their owner has said it's okay, this is for the safety of your dog, as the other dog may bite. The club probably have this rule in place to prevent dog fights and bites.

Sometimes I wish our club had a strict rule about personal space! I go there to train my dog, not socialise him, sometimes other people don't understand that and let their dogs lunge all over him. Most are good though.

I hope you find a nice big playmate for your boy

Edited January 28, 2010 by amypie

[huski]

I agree with Amps. I don't go to obedience school for play time, we go there to work.

When Daisy was a pup we went to teach her how behave nicely around other dogs, socialisation isn't just about playing.

[QUEENY]

Thanks heaps, totally on track with you guys now it seems so obvious i feel as if my question was a bit silly now.

This is the first dog i've had thats been to obedience school and even been able to be around other dogs and people in public,

and im still trying to get the gist of the way things go.

My last dog was from a friend who moved away and couldn't take him, and he didnt do well with other dogs as he was trained but as a guard dog for a truck yard,

however he got on alright with my cats and people who came to our home.

So we're all trying hard to get our dog to be well behaved out in public with people and other dogs. But your comments make alot of sense.lol.

From your replies i think maybe ill try to teach him not to play so rough with them and like you said Huski to behave nicely around other dogs. It seems so obvious now

that there are times for socialising and times for training. I was actually thinking socialisation was pretty much having fun and playing with other dogs, but training him too has been a big thing for us as well.

Hopefully we get it right, because i'd really like to keep taking him to the playgroup as he's pretty much grown up around them, and its pretty cool watching him play.

I think i'll look into the Ridgeback Club of NSW as well just to find out if theres things going on around my area.

Thanks again.

[huski]

No worries Queenie. I used to think of obed club as way to socialise Daisy around other dogs in a controlled manner - teaching her to focus around other dogs, to ignore them when necessary, that every time we walked past another dog did not mean we were always going to stop and say hello or play with them etc. Remembering too that socialisation isn't just about playing with other dogs, but exposing your pup to lots of new and positive experiences

Edited January 29, 2010 by huski

[TwinSpirits]

I would like Taite to have more playtime with other dogs, he can be too boisterous for most dogs. Would be happy to meetup for that. I am interested in what the playgroup is too?

I don't let Taite play with dogs at obedience training because he gets worked up and does not focus on me so I move him away and try and keep him away from other dogs, if only everyone else would see the reason why and not think my boy was aggressive when he is well socialised and friendly.

[ridgiemum]

I have a 18 month old Rhodesian Ridgeback & we are near Blacktown if you want to meet up for a playtime.

[EISHUND]

I have a 18 month old Rhodesian Ridgeback & we are near Blacktown if you want to meet up for a playtime.

I have 2, almost 6 month old White Swiss Shepherds, I'm at Leppington, would be happy to meet up for playtime too! Not as big as your dogs, but they can hold their own

eta: I love going to Cafe Bones at Leichardt, maybe we could have playdate there!

Edited January 29, 2010 by LuvMyWhiteShep

[sandgrubber]

In my experience, Ridgies and Labs are fine together . . . I breed Labs and board a lot of them . . . get quite a few ridgys as well . . . some of the mates in your current play group may still be good.

[luvsdogs]

In my experience, Ridgies and Labs are fine together . . . I breed Labs and board a lot of them . . . get quite a few ridgys as well . . . some of the mates in your current play group may still be good.

That's what I was thinking. Labs play pretty rough that I've seen. I would also like to know where the playgroup is & what obedience club you go to. Tilba doesn't get much socialisation with other dogs, only our other 9 y/o & that doesn't count.

[corvus]

For all that it's great to let big, boisterous dogs play with other boisterous dogs, it's important they learn to be gentle with smaller dogs as well. My Lapphund seems to think little dogs are great because he can make them play with him. Getting Erik has helped change his mind about that, and we keep his recall really well maintained so we can call him away the instant a smaller dog becomes uncomfortable with him. We also give him a massage to help him calm down if he gets too rough around small dogs. He has some bigger dogs he can play rough with.

Look up Dee Ganley's Chill Out game for teaching dogs to chill out on cue during a rough game.

[QUEENY]

So we went to playgroup on Saturday and it was pretty good, im going to try and stay with the group

and hopefully he will learn to not be so rough with them, a few people actually told me he is starting to calm down a bit

now which i was happy to hear.

We go to Werriwa All Breeds Dog Training Club in Warwick Farm and the playgroup we go to is at

Chipping Norton Lake. I think the part of the park we go to is Angle Park. We meet there every Saturday

at 8:30am and as far as i know its open to anyone interested.

[luvsdogs]

So we went to playgroup on Saturday and it was pretty good, im going to try and stay with the group

and hopefully he will learn to not be so rough with them, a few people actually told me he is starting to calm down a bit

now which i was happy to hear.

We go to Werriwa All Breeds Dog Training Club in Warwick Farm and the playgroup we go to is at

Chipping Norton Lake. I think the part of the park we go to is Angle Park. We meet there every Saturday

at 8:30am and as far as i know its open to anyone interested.

Thanks for that info. I used to belong to Werriwa dog club many years ago with April. At that time they didn't have a playgroup. Is it attached to Werriwa? I don't know if you know, but don't let your dog swim in or drink the water at C N lake. A dog died a few years ago after swimming there. I don't know if it's been cleaned up?

[QUEENY]

The Playgroup isnt part of the obedience school, but some of the people from the playgroup take there

dogs to Werriwa Obedience as well. That was how i found out about the obedience classes.

On hot days most of the dogs go swimming in the lake and have been for years now, and they've had no problems so far.

I use to let my dog swim there too, but a few wks ago we noticed that he's getting scabby so he's on antibiotics from the vet,

for a skin allergy or something - the vet wasn't sure what it was or how he got it, so we dont let him swim there anymore. But she did say it could be from the lake.

Not sure whether it was from the lake or not though because the other dogs are fine.

We take him to swim at Kernell Beach now, which i've been told is the only offleash beach for dogs.