Should I be concerned?

[Jessneff5]

Hi everybody!!! I have a quick question. My chocolate lab Coco is 6 months old now and she LOVES other dogs. She has never been aggressive in any way. She gets extremely excited when she gets to meet one. Today she met a beagle (adult, not puppy) while on our walk. Coco and the beagle meet and sniff each other for about five seconds before Coco gets really amped up, jumping around and trying to get the beagle to play. The beagle just kind of stood there and watched her run around like a maniac, while occasionally coming back to sniff her here and there. Idk, I'm just worried I guess. Is my dogs behavior going to scare other dogs away from her? Does this mean she was off-putting and scary to this other dog?? Should I be concerned?

[smartrock]

I think it sounds like a normal, happy, excited puppy! I suspect the other dog was just older, calmer, and maybe has a different play style, or didn't want to play at all. Not all dogs will want to play. If you have an opportunity to let her play with another dog closer to Coco's age and size, you'll probably have a whole different experience. Older dogs may not want to engage with a puppy at all or tell them in doggy language to knock off the wild play. I wouldn't let this single interaction with an older dog get you discouraged. Puppies can be a little wild.

[SunDance]

I think it sounds like a normal, happy, excited puppy! I suspect the other dog was just older, calmer, and maybe has a different play style, or didn't want to play at all. Not all dogs will want to play. If you have an opportunity to let her play with another dog closer to Coco's age and size, you'll probably have a whole different experience. Older dogs may not want to engage with a puppy at all or tell them in doggy language to knock off the wild play. I wouldn't let this single interaction with an older dog get you discouraged. Puppies can be a little wild.

This!

Luckily, what you met was an adult dog with good puppy-interaction skills. If Coco had been too much of a pest (or if the other dog had felt threatened), she most likely would have received a correction from the other dog. Corrections can go two ways: a growl with no snapping is a good correction. A growl accompanied by teeth and lunging is a harsh correction. Sometimes puppies don't respect a good correction and end up getting snapped at...or a dog isn't skilled at giving corrections and just goes for the snap right away. A harsh correction doesn't mean a bad dog....could be that the dog is anxious over the activity and feels either threatened or annoyed.

Your best bet is to not allow Coco free rein when meeting other dogs that she doesn't know until you see how they interact. At six months, Coco is probably bigger than that Beagle. Puppy enthusiasm could easily result in the other dog (smaller or not) being injured....not something you want to have happen, I'm sure. So.....concerned, yes....worried, no.

[Jessneff5]

There was no growling or snapping or anything. The beagle just patiently waited for Coco to settle down I guess. I always keep her on a leash when meeting other dogs so that I can reel her in and keep her contained if she seems to be irritating the other dog. This is the first time something like this has happened, so that's why I was a bit concerned.

Also, yes, I think the fact that she was so much bigger than the beagle may have had a lot to do with it. She towered over him so he might have been a bit intimidated.

Thanks for the reply!

Editing to add: Coco & I actually just passed the same beagle on our afternoon walk. He was whining and pulling on his owner's leash to get to Coco, so maybe their first interaction wasn't so bad.