Please help!
I have a 8-month-old male golden retriever and whenever we go to the beach, or an off-leash area, and he comes across a smaller dog/puppy he starts to paw or jump on them. He's not aggressive at all and just wants to play, but I'm worried that he's being too pushy and showing his dominance? I always tell him "no!" in a stern voice and take him by the collar if he doesn't obey. Today he jumped on a small puppy and the owner said I shouldn't take my puppy to the beach if my puppy is like this. I felt awful. My puppy goes to obedience class every Saturday, I take him on two 45 minute walks (includes some running on the grass) and he's not desexed yet as my vet recommended I wait until his growth plates close.
He has loads of energy and wants to play with every dog he meets. He's good with bigger dogs and doesn't paw them, but is probably a bit annoying because he acts crazy and wants to play with them.
I know that he's just a puppy, but I feel this could turn into a bigger problem if it's not corrected. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to correct this? He loves the beach and thinks every dog is his best friend, but clearly from today's encounter it's not nice manners.
He's 25kg so I can see how today's puppy owner was worried.
Thank you in advance.
I have a 8-month-old male golden retriever and whenever we go to the beach, or an off-leash area, and he comes across a smaller dog/puppy he starts to paw or jump on them. He's not aggressive at all and just wants to play, but I'm worried that he's being too pushy and showing his dominance? I always tell him "no!" in a stern voice and take him by the collar if he doesn't obey. Today he jumped on a small puppy and the owner said I shouldn't take my puppy to the beach if my puppy is like this. I felt awful. My puppy goes to obedience class every Saturday, I take him on two 45 minute walks (includes some running on the grass) and he's not desexed yet as my vet recommended I wait until his growth plates close.
He has loads of energy and wants to play with every dog he meets. He's good with bigger dogs and doesn't paw them, but is probably a bit annoying because he acts crazy and wants to play with them.
I know that he's just a puppy, but I feel this could turn into a bigger problem if it's not corrected. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to correct this? He loves the beach and thinks every dog is his best friend, but clearly from today's encounter it's not nice manners.
Thank you in advance.