I'm so sad and bothered by it and need to vent.

It was his first visit to the dog park due to him having fractured a leg and toe and needing to heal, plus needing all his shots. I figured he wouldn't do too bad since he gets along with his 2yr old doggie brother as well as 4 cats. But boy was I wrong.

I had him smell the other 2 dogs in the park thru the fence. He immediately sort of started growling and snapping towards them and raised his hackles. I had him sit and was reassuring him and giving treats when he would quiet down. His brother went inside the park while we waited outside, and he was a ball of whining and anxiousness wanting to go inside. After watching him for about 5 minutes and him seeming just excited to join in, I walked him inside. I unleashed him, but left his harness on in case anything went south.

He ran towards his brother, who was play chasing Dog 1. As soon as puppy got close, he focused in on Dog 1 and raised his hackles and sort of barked at him. Puppy chased Dog 1 then sort of snapped at them when they slowed down, while sort of barking and yapping. We immediately recalled while rushing over there, and he came to us easily. I put him in a sit/stay and ensured the other dog was fine (teeth hadn't made contact). The other owners were super understanding, saying that as his first time and being a puppy, he needs to get used to it. I clipped his leash to his harness and kept him in a sit or down and stay. He was a ball of whining anxiety watching the other dogs play with his brother. But whenever they would get close, he would growl or bare teeth or snap at them. I did my best to reward any silence or calm he gave, but it was few and far between.

Eventually, I took him to the small dog park that shared a fence with the large dog park since it was empty. I figured he could play fetch with me in there, then eventually meet dogs who came to the fence separating the two. Dog 2 did come over at one point and I THINK they were having an okay interaction (sniffing and no growling or teeth yet), but I made the mistake of touching his back while this happened. It spooked him and he immediately growled and nipped towards the fence. By this point, I could tell he was done and I was out of treats, so we left.

I feel like a bad mom cause we should have socialized him sooner. I know we couldn't have because he was healing, but I felt so guilty and sad and upset today. He does so well with all his furry siblings, so it never occurred to me that the dog park could go so bad.