A: Every time my dog, Nessa, and I get close to other dogs she bears her teeth, growls and attempts to bite.
She does not act this way around cats and apparently, she doesn't act this way in other situations. For instance, when she was groomed, the groomer said she was fine around the other dogs and the same went for when she has had to stay in the vet's office without me.
I would love to be able to bring her to a dog park or even just to play with my friends' dogs.
Some background information: Nessa is a rescue. She was stray and rescued by a wonderful woman who soon placed her with me. She is about a year old. As best as vets can tell, she is a mix of shepherd and labrador. I have tried taking her to parks but keeping her at a distance from other dogs. I just wanted her to get used to seeing so many dogs around. I have tried taking her to friends' houses who have dogs.
What can I do and how long can I expect it to take before she is comfortable with other dogs?
A: She may never be able to handle dog parks. This is a stressful situation for dogs, and many dogs cannot handle it. However, the place to start is in an obedience training class where the dogs are all kept under control. Both the breeds that went into her require several months of weekly class and daily practice of the class homework, and she is likely to do very well in the class.
Affordable classes are usually available through your nearest obedience training club, where the instructors are dedicated volunteers. These clubs are listed by state at www.akc.org, so you can find the one nearest you.
Obedience class will give you the dog-oriented atmosphere you are seeking for yourself, socially, while your dog will be much safer around the dogs in the class than she would be in a dog park. If you keep other dogs out of her face, she can learn to trust you to handle that, stop trying to protect herself from other dogs you meet when out with her, and learn to calmly work with you and ignore the other dogs.
As far as your friend's dogs, there may be a few of them, probably males, and only one dog at a time, that she could enjoy playing with in safe, enclosed areas. These would be playmates she would get to know, not expecting her to just socialize with any dog. She can probably play with one male dog at a time, if you are very selective about the dogs. If you just throw her into situations with all sorts of other dogs, you could wind up making her a lot worse.
Obedience class is very important for this dog. It can make an enormous difference in her future.