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Any top dog trainer, who employs a reputable, positive dog training program with respectful dog training techniques, knows that dogs are not solitary beings. In the wild, dogs and wolves live in family units, and instinctively choose to work together to hunt and protect themselves. As the idiom goes, there’s safety in numbers, and their family units offer that.
Dogs are predators, but that doesn’t mean that they’re at the top of the food chain, or that they don’t fear injury or death. Because of this, your dog’s instinct, unless proven otherwise, will be to remain suspicious of strange situations. It’s a matter of survival, really. This fear has contributed to the longevity of the species.
In many cases, fear of strange situations can morph into bigger problems: like life altering, fearful aggression. Many dogs who growl, bark, and bite do so because they are fearful, and deem strange places, people, and situations worthy of defense.
For these reasons, not excluding the safety of your family, neighbors, other dogs, and your own dog, it’s important to start socializing your puppy as early as possible.
From her eighth to her sixteenth week, she’s like a sponge, absorbing the world around her. During this time, you’ll have the unique and fleeting opportunity to show her that the world is a fun place.
Think about the things that you anticipate doing with your adult dog, and expose your puppy to those experiences.
Here are some ideas for socializing your puppy:
- Visit friends that have young children, or go to the park and allow your puppy to interact with young children.
- Take your puppy for rides in the car.
- Walk her on nature trails, where she’ll see squirrels, birds, etc.
- Take pup to the dog park or to dog obedience schools, where she can interact with other dogs.
- Take a walk down a busy street’s sidewalk, so that your puppy can become accustomed to the sounds and sights of vehicles, horns, bicycles, joggers, and other walking dogs.
- Drop in at the veterinarian office, groomer, pet store, and kennel, even if it’s simply to visit, and encourage the staff to interact with your puppy.
Find those places, like banks, home improvement stores, and pet retailers that welcome pets, and patronize them with your puppy in tow. Take advantage of the dog treats that are offered to shape your puppy’s positive view of these places.
You’ll already be embroiled in training puppy, so if she remains calm despite a loud noise, or sits nicely to be petted by a child, use the clicker, a treat, and targeted words to reinforce that desirable behavior.
If a loud noise startles her, or if a stranger’s hand causes her to back away, do not comfort and pet her. She will view this as reinforcement for her fear. Instead, ignore her behavior and reward her when she’s displaying confidence in the face of a scary situation.
Never force your puppy into a scary situation. If she’s afraid of a person, allow her to stay back while you interact with that person. Show the puppy that there’s nothing to fear, and she’ll probably approach on her own. When she sits nicely for a pet, click and reward.
If you aren’t physically able to socialize your puppy, invite people with children and pets to your home, or hire a dog walker or a dog trainer to take your puppy out on the town. A dog who grows up isolated from the world might not welcome a postman or a delivery person with open paws.
Every time you take your puppy for a ride, or a walk, or meander through a crowd of people with her, she’s gaining the confidence that’s necessary to be a calm, friendly adult dog.
You know how it feels to walk into a party full of people you don’t know. It can be disconcerting, and can cause anxiety. Your dog experiences these same feelings in unfamiliar situations, so make it your mission to introduce your puppy to the world, early on. Your dog obedience training success, and your dog human relationship, will thank you.
