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It could be. I know kryten was the same way if a dog came at him when he was that age. If they went after Jiggers however then they had to deal with him. Another thing I noticed with Kryten and I think it had to do with the fact he is intact, was it tended to be large German Shepard males (normally the biggest dogs here) that seemed to feel the need to put the puppy in his place. I had to watch to make sure that he didn't start to have a negative reaction to the breed in general.
I've noticed my pup also can be a bit timid at the park. He is 5 months. I've attributed it at least in part to the fact that he is a bully magnet. Maybe it is because he is intact like the user above posted... But every "big" dog in the park seems to want to put my pup in his place. Maybe somehow they can tell that he's going to outweigh them all soon enough!
My girl is shy at fist too, but soon opens up and it's as if I'm not even there. Just make sure you don't leave the dog park until your pup has a positive association with it. Otherwise you run the risk of it becoming a problem once he's older.
I would suggest not taking him to the dog park. It is not a good place to socialize and if he does get attacked/bullied you could end up with large adult CC that is reactive to other dogs, which is honestly the last thing you want. Contrary to HUMAN belief, the dog park is not something that dogs need or crave. I suggest to socialize him with dogs that you know, in a safe controlled environment. Dog parks are a bad idea for these breeds, well any breeds really...
Menace went to the dog park exactly 1 time. He was about 7 months old and had to go in the big side. The park was almost empty, only 2 dogs. One dog was right at the fence and i was not sure about going in. I was just letting him sniff around. I asked the guy how his dog was, a large black GSD. He said he was friendly, but could be a bit pushy. So, we went in. The second I took Menace's leash off this dog grabbed him by the back of the neck and tried to take him down. Menace looked terrified. The man stood there for a couple seconds, I told him to please get his dog off mine. I leashed him and we walked back out. All of 10 seconds inside the door. The small side was empty, so we went in. Just as we got inside and he was exploring, someone came with a small dog. I asked her if it was okay if we stayed, if not we would leave no problem. She said, sure try it out. Then she freaked as Menace started chasing her little dog. But they were just playing. Menace was so gentle with her and she actually said it was the 1st time her dog has actively played with a big dog, she even laid belly up in front of him and she said her dog had never done that before. We have not been to a dog park since.
Agnes has visited the dog park twice so far (just finished her shots the week before so we gave them a week to kick in).
She tends to be a bit nervous at first so far but opens up in 10 minutes or so.
You kind of learn to know the dogs that go. There's always regulars and, for example, even when bringing my friend's dogs, there's certain dogs that just don't play well with others. We made a few friends there though that Agnes enjoyed playing with and I have used it as an opportunity to set up 'playdates' with the owners of those dogs.
There's pros and cons. I live in an apartment so I don't have a yard and dog parks are the only opportunity for Agnes to be off leash and actually run. I went on off days when it's not that busy though as I am not sure her and I are ready for the busy days.
I seem to have the opposite problem. My CC (1 year old, and has done this since she was a pup) like to play too rough. She doesn't bite or inflict harm, but she likes to play rough. Also, if a dog tries to dominate her, hump her, or growls/snarls at her then she immediately feels the need to put them in their place. She grew up with a full grown English Mastiff and I think she became too used to playing with a dog every day that was literally 5-6x her weight when she was younger.
