I took him to the dog park.

Kingsley is 4 months old and we have completed his puppy shots. We took him to the dog park for the first time yesterday and today. He's still too small to go to the big dog part of the park, so we took him to the under 25 lbs part (where he's closer to the 25 end of the spectrum).

Aside from his litter mates, his mama and papa, he's only been around 1 other dog. He's been overly playful with her, not taking a hint when she's bored. She doesn't snap at him or growl or anything, she just ignores him. So I was really hoping that the dog park would teach him some manners.

Aaaaaanyway, as soon as we take him to the dog park, a bossy chihuahua half his size PUTS HIM ON HIS BACK! And not with force, just by approaching him rapidly barking.

What a little wuss! Today, two teeny tiny dachshund did the same thing! They don't even do anything but run to him too quickly, and he immediately gives up on life and cowers into a ball. It's so cute, but so embarrassing.

Other than that, he's done great. He plays respectfully, doesn't jump up on other people, runs around like a mad man, and just wants to be everyone's friend.

He won't be able to play in the small dog park for much longer because of his size. I'm worried that if he doesn't acclimate confidently soon enough, he'll be too big of a wuss to play on the big dog park (because there are some HUGE dogs over there).

Here's to hoping.

Submission and dominance isn't based on size so much as maturity level, personality etc. At 4 months old, and being fairly new to the dog park, I would expect a young pup to be submissive to just about any assertive dog. As he grows and develops, he will become more confident and will probably display all of the traits of a husky at that point.

The socialization is the best part for him right now. Being around lots of other dogs, submissive, dominant or otherwise, he will be used to it, and once the size and maturity come about, he will be able to play with the rowdiest of them .

Keeonah was the same way. She is a little princess, so she would probably submit to a big, mean dog, but that's okay. I'd rather he say "Okay, you win" than spark some sort of altercation. It's funny, because if you take special notice, you can see which dogs she isn't scared of at all, and would try to display dominance over, and you can see which dogs she will play with if they want, but would bail the instant they turned dominant lol

I agree completely. I just thought it was funny because there was nothing to indicate this trait otherwise.

Definitely agree.

I'd much prefer that to Pippa too, who, when confronted, never backs down. She still annoys even the few dogs that are dominant over her at the park.

She's um...tenacious?