My vet recommended that I take my puppy to puppy socialization classes, which I agree is a good thing. The only thing in my area are obedience classes at a petstore chain. So I signed up and I have all puppies in my class.
Three of the puppies are SharPei mixes (all in the same family, dogs and people), and a doberman and poodle mix. Well everyone is afraid to let the puppies play. Even though the trainer tells us the normal stuff and the stuff to watch out for, nobody will let my puppy play with theirs, or they will start and if I puppy just stands over the other dog, they get all nervous and pull their dog away.
What gets me is that one of the guys of a Shar Pei tells me today that I need to get a handle on my dog because she will only get bigger and I won't be able to control her. Well that is why I am taking classes, so I am doing the right thing. My dog IS rambunctious and not shy at all, but only wants to play, she knows her commands well. She is gentle with my other older dog (10yrs. old) (but he doesn't' want to play either), my 3 guinea pigs, and a cockatiel. She isn't aggressive in any way.
I talked to my trainer privately and he said there was nothing wrong with my dog, in fact he said she is very friendly. He even offered to bring in his dog to play with my puppy because he also agrees it is important to learn how to play with other dogs. But he can't tell owners to let their dogs off their leashes because of the store's policy. These people won't even let them play while holding on to them with the leases. This guy even told me that he doesn't believe that big dogs with spike collars should be allowed in the store.
A tech at my vet's office gave me her business card to set up a play date with her 2 golden retrievers. She knows my dog and how friendly and how good the breed usually is.
So is this a common thing for dog owners of big dogs face? Do many people just assume that a big dog is dangerous?
Here is my blog that has pictures of my dogs and other stuff.
http://psychoflowers.blogspot.com/