Socialization of your dog isn’t just about them being able to have a play date it is about your dog feeling comfortable in its environment and not feeling stressed out in new unusual situations. Helping your pet experience as many new and different situations as possible without stressing out about it will help your pet be happier and healthier.
Every single day Davinia and Indiana go for walks around the neighborhood. They see everything from cars to garbage trucks and lawn service equipment while we walk around the block. We see dogs of all shapes and sizes though to be honest we have only bumped into a sight hound once and that was an Italian Greyhound at the dog park. No Davinia doesn’t have to be friends with all the dogs we see on our walks and I know there are some she probably never will be friends with but as long as they can walk in the same area as other dogs I am ok with that.
Indiana LOVES little kids she tries to give them tons of kisses. Davinia on the other hand prefers adults but allows children who aren’t screeching or screaming to pet her and say hello. Though we do have to be careful around little kids with food in their hands because Indiana will try to eat the food. Not hurt the child but loosing a cookie to the doggy would upset any child. Ok most people are Davinia and Indiana’s new best friend they only reason why they wouldn’t like you is if you have a bad attitude or smell like stale alcohol (we were in Boston and walked passed a homeless man who smelled of stale alcohol he wanted to pet Indiana he just seemed sad and lonely so I said he could say hello but she literally didn’t even want to go over to him).
I make sure that the girls will step on any surface from gravel to grass to bricks or cement they will even walk on metal. They don’t have a problem in tile, carpet, or wood either. In fact there is a tree that must have been pushed down in a hurricane so it has grown horizontal to the ground so they can actually climb on it a little bit before it goes vertical. The only thing both girls will purposely avoid is grates the kind like they have all over New York City. They don’t like those at all. They will put them paw on one if I lift it up and put it down. Since we don’t live in New York and their response isn’t over the top freaking out they just walk around them I think they are ok. Feeling different sensations under their feet is actually one way to start socializing puppies at a very, very young age even before they can leave their mothers.
Davinia and Indiana think leaf blowers and lawn mowers etc are a part of life and will just walk right by them. They don’t look twice at bicycle riders except once in a while when they want to go and play with the riders. They don’t lunge at the bikes they just walk towards the riders instead of staying on the grass.
What kinds of situations do your dogs experience on a regular basis? Do they go for walks and explore their surroundings? Do you take your dog to pet friendly stores once in a while? How do you allow them to experience new situations?
We socialized Honey from the moment we brought her home. And her breeder did a good job from her earliest days. And yet, we find things that we missed in her early puppy days that are scaring her now. The big one? Flapping canvas.
We discovered that one on a camping trip on a windswept river.
Now I always carry goodies in my pocket just in case we get a chance to improve her comfort level. And I try to do set ups in the backyard as well.
Since we're taking of sailing this year, learning to be comfortable with all kinds of flapping sheets is a big priority for us.
This is such a great post. So many people don't even think about getting dogs used to all the strange things they'll encounter in life.
oh flapping canvass. I don't think we have ever been around that before. The girls might have seen flapping sails when they used to sit for hours on our balcony in Hong Kong.
Sisko and Juno visit the dog park regularly and know just about every member dog there. Their walks when we can't take them 'out' are over an hour long through school yards, small parks, busy streets and in all kinds of weather.
Often when we go out to friends they ask us to bring them along and they love it. Dog obedience school is something we always do with them and they meet many dogs of course.
We take them to our local pet stores when ever we go which seems all too much lately :).
Our dog walker when we are at work takes them on group hikes on all kinds of trail terrain.
Sisko's now so laid back that it seems nothing bothers him and Juno only being 5 mo is working her way pretty well to the same.
Thanks for the post. Without socializing we would have a whole lot of neurotic dogs
I socialized my Chester from a baby puppy by taking him with me anywhere I could. He learned to be around my friend's 5 big Pit Bulls and to adapt to any situation. He is so mellow now, I get comments about it all of the time. He still goes with me a lot of places – hiking, camping, car trips, walks, dog parks, etc.
I recently got a new dog who wasn't sociallized properly as a puppy. Her first reaction is to be scared in a lot of situations but we take her everywhere Chester goes. She is learning to adapt very well and has already come a long way in just a few months.