10 week goldendoodle meeting 2 year old dobermans - help!

[Puppy Madness]

Hi All!

Hoping to get some input from experienced dog owners - my husband and I picked up our 10 week old goldendoodle, Oliver, yesterday and we're so in love with him!

Our neighbors (and really close friends) have two 1 year old dobermans that they let run all over the place. We need to introduce them to Ollie so that they all know the others' smell since they will definitely be overlapping their areas, but my husband and I would like to keep them all on leashes for the first few interactions. We don't want them able to run and chase and play without us able to quickly step in. Of course, they'll play together and get along just fine when Ollie's alittle older, but at less than 20 lbs, I'm worried about him. They're sweet dogs and would never intentionally hurt Ollie, or anyone, but they're about 85 lbs each of pure muscle. They are littermates, so they've grown up playing very rough together. They also don't really understand personal space, they'll climb and sit on other dogs and even humans.

Recently, we dog sat a four month old goldendoodle and they all met out in the yard. One of the dobermans got so excited that she was chasing and basically body slamming this puppy (picture her going up on her back two paws, with her front two outstretched in the air, and slamming down onto the puppy's back and head with her front legs). The thing is, our friend's aren't super hands on with their dogs and when this happened, they simply said "stop" (which didn't really help) and told us she would calm down in about ten minutes. This goldendoodle started the interaction having fun but was quickly overwhelmed and unhappy.

Ollie hasn't met any other dogs (besides his mom and littermates), and I'm nervous that this will overwhelm or scare him, causing lasting damage in his socialization confidence. Am I being to over-protective? Will he be able to hold his own? Or will the dobermans know not to play so rough?

Like I said, these are our close friends and we don't want to cause any tension, but we're raising our dogs very differently. Should we stick to leashes and limited interactions for now or just let them do their thing?

Thanks!

[Helga, Nimbus, Sierra, Clooney]

You are right to be concerned. Especially since the owners don't seem to have the Dobermans under control. Instead of leash though I would suggest putting the puppy in an x-pen and let them meet that way. Dogs tend to be a little more aggressive when on leash.

[Helga, Nimbus, Sierra, Clooney]

I train tiny toy sized doodle puppies. My minis (23 and 19 lbs) are usually gentle enough with them but sometimes my female gets a little rough. My neighbor has a 50 lb+ boxer/pitbull mix who is young and bouncy. He would never want to hurt them but if his paws came down on their backs he might brake their spines.

[Carrie]

Hello! I agree with your thoughts and concerns. Our doodle fractured her tibia at 9 weeks when playing with her older doodle brother who accidentally stepped on her. The balance of safety with the need to socialize is an important one. For the 6 weeks post break we had her in a play yard and he continued to play and socialize safely through the walls. Also we tend to have my husband supervise initial intros as the dogs can feel my anxiety and it puts them on edge while is confidence provides a sense of security.

[Debbie & Gibbs]

You will want to have limited interaction with any dogs until your puppy has completed all of their puppy vaccinations, so that will give you some extra time to figure it all out. I agree with the X-pen idea, certainly want to keep your puppy safe physically. Our vet didn't want our puppy exposed to any doggie parks or kennels until all vaccinations. Good luck!

[Brandy]

I recently watched a training video that suggested making sure the small dog had an escape the big dogs could get to: i.e. A table to hide under or a small fenced off area with slats the small dog could fit through but the big dogs couldn't. That's my plan for when my pup meets my neighbor's Great Dane.