Small Dog & Large Dog Safe & Structured Introduction

Big dogs and small dogs interacting can be a tricky situation (even with confident dogs).
A regular movement, play behavior, interaction, etc. can be up to 10x more exaggerated to a small dog from dogs who are so much bigger than they are.
The same can go for extremely shy and nervous dogs who are very sensitive to interactions, movement, pressure, etc.
Petey has two strikes against him in the sense that he is SMALL and NERVOUS.
We introduced him to Elke for the first time and made sure to structure and control the interaction so we could promote confidence and a positive experience for little Petey.
If we just let Elke come to meet Petey, he most likely would have acted out defensively to try and create space and keep a bubble around himself instead of sniffing or interacting.
We prefer to have larger dogs whenever possible in a down so they appear less intimidating to smaller dogs and with small / nervous dogs we allow them to approach, initiate and disengage on their own terms. I wanted Petey to have an experience with a "brand new" dog so that he felt accomplished, confident and in no way threatened or fearful.
You can see he is a bit timid, but still engages in sniffing, allows himself to be sniffed and shows some relaxed body language hanging out in the same area as Elke with rolling, stretching, etc.
Too often we see shy, nervous and small dogs pushed too quickly to interact and accept other dogs and this makes them become extremely defensive to the point they will act out prior to any interactions to avoid conflict and potentially feeling cornered and pressured.
When Petey first met our dogs, he was NOT this comfortable or relaxed and it shows how much confidence and trust we have built with him.
It will be important to continue promoting positive and productive social experiences (even if just existence and hanging out sessions), to help him slowly get to know new dogs instead of letting him be overwhelmed with pushy greetings and stressful interactions.
PROUD OF YOU LITTLE BUDDY!!
Thanks for being a great helper Elke !!