Puppy's first play session more stressful than fun?!

[Adriana + Copernicus]

Two weeks ago, my fiance and I brought home our first dog, an 8 week old F2B goldendoodle named Copernicus!  It took all of 2 seconds for us to fall madly in love with him.  I mean, just look at that face?


When we took him to his first vet visit last week, my vet urged me to find opportunities for him to socialize with other dogs and puppies daily.  I picked up a few brochures from her front desk, and was thrilled to see that a doggie day care center in my area offered Saturday morning unstructured puppy play groups for dogs under 6 months.  "Perfect!" I thought.

On Saturday morning, I packed up our little fluff ball and his favorite stuffed blue monkey into my car and headed over to the facility.  After checking in at the front desk, showing his vaccination chart, and paying the small fee, they opened to door to the play area.

It was pure chaos.  A whirlwind of fur and teeth.

There were at least 50 unleashed puppies of all shapes and sizes running amok in a large fenced-in area.  There was barking and nipping.  There were dogs (playfully?) attacking other dogs.  And there were a few dogs cowering in corners.

Against my best judgment, and at the urging of the staff, I added my sweet Copernicus to the mix.  He was immediately thrown on his back by several older puppies and pinned, and he spent as much time as possible at the edge of the fence trying to stay out of the way.  The one staff person supervising kept telling me that puppies learn manners from each other, and that this slightly aggressive behavior was totally normal and helpful to him.  But all I could think about was how nervous and uncomfortable he looked.  

Am I being overly protective?  Is it really in his best interest to stick him in a pen of high-energy pups and cross my fingers that he gets socialized?  Or is my gut instinct correct that this is not the right place for him to learn manners?  As a first time dog-mom (and a worry-wort by nature) I'm struggling to find the right answer.  

 

[Jennifer Tramell]

I don't think you are being over protective.  This is all personal opinion, but, I believe that different pups have different personalities and need different levels of socialization.  I also completely disagree with the statement that puppies learn manners from other puppies.  I don't want my puppies to learn their manners from other puppies -   I want my pup to learn from a well mannered, well balanced adult dog!  My pups have learned so much from my adult dogs - they are better teachers than me :-)

Do you want to encourage Copernicus to be wound up and rowdy?  A puppy who is naturally high energy may benefit from that kind of play, but a puppy who is naturally laid-back shouldn't be forced into rough play (again, just my opinion).  It seems to me that pushing a calm, compliant pup into a puppy free-for-all could cause anxiety.  I can see benefit if you went into the play pen with Copernicus, so he has a safe place (with you) but also the chance to venture out and play when he becomes comfortable.

 I've never taken my dogs to a play group, but there are others who will give their advice and experience about finding a good play group. I've always taken my dogs to play with other family member's dogs, to parks, flea markets, Lowes/Home Depot, etc.  I want my pup to know that I am there for him, I will protect him, support him, and be his leader.

 

Okay, I'm done ranting.  I agree with you and urge you to follow your instincts when it comes to what is best for your pup.

[Gail and Bailey]

I totally agree with Jennifer!  Well said.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Me too.

[BG and Gavin]

If it made you uncomfortable, than it is not right for him.  It sounds like total chaos to me.  How about seeking out an individual dog for sweet Copernicus to play with?  When Gavin was a puppy we took him to puppy socialization classes.  There were several other puppies there and we learned some really great tips and basic obedience/manners  that really set the stage for future training.  There was free play time at the end of each class, but the instructor closely supervised and intervened if one dog was "bullying" another.

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

This was our experience in puppy class too.  There were about 12 puppies in the class, and we actually used the unstructured play as training opportunities.  The instructor had us "catch" our puppies for a 5-second time out several times during the play time, just so they got used to the idea that we were still in control.

Luna has always been a very submissive dog and would only feel comfortable playing with smaller dogs.  If she was being "bullied" by larger dogs, we would separate them and let Luna play at our feet under our protective watch.  She's naturally a bit timid but friendly, and we don't feel like "forcing" her to be more social would have been helpful... it probably would have made her even more timid.  Now she is a well-adjusted and social (but very submissive) adult dog who can be trusted around puppies and adult dogs of any size.  It's really cute when she balls up and lies down so a yorkie or small puppy can play with her face.

[Barbara B., Sasha & Oliver]

Jennifer's comment above says it all.  I think it all depends on your puppy's personality.  He may still be in his adjustment stage from Mom/litter mates to his furever home.  I would wait about a month and if he seems like he would want to try that again when he is older and more confident.   My two doodles are totally different in this aspect, my Oliver (2 yrs old) LOVES to socialize at the dog park, he greets everyone and every dog and loves to socialize.  My Sasah (2 1/2 yrs old) is more of a timid/skidish, when I take her to the dog park with Oliver she just clings to my side and does not venture out much and I know she is not enjoying herself so I do not take her anymore.  She is more of a one-on-one type of dog.  So I take Oliver to the park then when we get home Sasha and I go for a nice long walk just me and her, which she loves her special time with mommy :)    I think you need to cater your dogs activities to their personality. PS - I don't think you are over protective at all.....  good luck with Copernicus, he sure is a cutie pie :)

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

Oh, this is giving me flashbacks about Tara's first experience with a :"pack of puppies". It didn't go well either. She was terrified and cowering and screaming in a corner. She is not a doggie dog and to this day prefers people over dogs for company. She is shy with dogs now and I don't know which came first the puppy class or if she just has that kind of temperament.

One other thing about Copernicus is that he is very young and new to your household. He is probably still adjusting to his new environment with you after leaving his family. So to be put into another new and chaotic setting with the puppies may be more than he is ready for at this time. Maybe later in a more controlled environment.

I agree with Jennifer too that it is important to evaluate your pup and follow your instincts about what is right or wrong for them. They need for us to make wise decisions and be their advocate. Of course the trainers think every puppy should be in their class...more $$$ for them!

I withdrew Tara from her class and only allowed her to  interact with dogs I knew were stable and friendly and under controlled circumstances. Good luck, your boy is really a cutie! Enjoy!

One thing I did learn at the puppy class was that if you think your pup is being overwhelmed by a playmate to leash up the playmate and see if the shy pup goes back to him to play. If the shy pup returns to play then he is okay but if he doesn't then the play needs to end.  It wouldn't be possible to leash up 50 pups but I think you get the idea.

[Marnie, Stanlee's Mom]

So glad I saw this - my veterinary office has puppy play dates and I totally trust them BUT I think I'm going to make a call and see how many puppies they have at any given time.  I don't want Stanlee to be overwelmed by 30 or 40 puppies at once.  He's a big guy but he's only met a couple of dogs so far.  Working on socialization but puppy classe don't start for 4 more weeks and I refuse to take him to the dog park as most of the dog owners just unhook the leash from their dogs and let them go without paying attention to them.  Not the kinda place I will let my puppy hang out.

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

Most trainers will let you come and observe a class without your pup before signing up for it. Maybe you could try that and see if you like the atmosphere.  I think you are wise to avoid dog parks.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

It really sounds like too much chaos from too many pups.  I think 'socialize' would include a couple of other dogs sniffing and romping not 50 and not all puppies either.

[Jarka, Monty & Auggie]

No, you are not overly protective. There should NOT be 50 puppies of various sizes and ages in ONE group. Puppy socialization is important, but it is also important to do it the right way. We took Monty to a humane society that is 30 miles from our house for puppy socialization classes and we are going to do the same with Auggie. They had 3 different age groups (8-12 weeks, 12-16 weeks and 4-6 months) that were supervised by a trainer and at least 2 volunteers. The groups had a maximum of 10 puppies and a trainer educated us on how the dogs interact and threw in some obedience exercises as well. We started with Monty in the middle-age group since I wanted to wait until he had 2 rounds of vaccinations. During the first class, he was not sure what he was supposed to do. Ever since then, he was totally fine and the trainer used him as an example of a puppy that plays nice. I would check to see if there is any other training facility in your area that does something similar.

[Marnie, Stanlee's Mom]

Okay *whew*  Doggie daycare at my vet averages 5 dogs per day in the puppy group, going tomorrow at lunch to check out the facilities before i take him in.  Thanks for this, feeling much better now!