Socializing your dog doesn't mean bringing Fido to a tea party with the ladies...it means being a responsible pet owner and teaching your dog to be calm and confident in any situation.
Socialization starts the moment your dog is born. More importantly, your socialization efforts start when you take ownership of your dog. Exposing your dog to many sights, sounds, and situations will teach him that the unexpected is okay. He will (hopefully) learn to get along with people, other dogs, and animals.
A calm, well-socialized dog will be welcome in a lot more situations than an untrained, hyper dog. You can bring your pup to the dog park with confidence; you can take your dog into many situations and he will behave and obey at all times.
An unsocialized dog may knock a person down in greeting; an unsocialized dog may fight with other animals; an unsocialized dog may spook and run out of the yard at an unexpected sound! A poorly socialized dog reflects badly on ALL dog owners.
Socialization goes on every moment of every day of your dog's life. Start with a basic obedience class as soon as you get your dog, but be sure to pick one with positive training methods. (You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar, as the old saying goes!)
After you pass the basic obedience class, take your dog with you as much as possible. Walk out to greet the mailman every day. Stroll through the busy downtown streets at lunch time. Visit friends and family. Take car rides.
Socializing your dog may be easier than you think. Praise your dog's good behaviors, like walking calmly, sitting on command, and greeting strangers politely. Use treats or affection as a reward for the good stuff, and don't reward bad behaviors like barking, pulling on the leash, jumping up on people, or cowering in fear.
Socialization is an ongoing process. Every day brings new experiences, but the more exposure your dog has to the world, the better equipped he will be to handle surprises.
This page contains the following solutions.
Proper socialization is one of the key factors in raising a well-behaved puppy. By meeting all types of dogs in all types of situations, your puppy will be well-adjusted and will learn that they should not bite hard.
Spend lots of time playing with your dog, starting from when it is a puppy. The more time you spend with your dog, the happier it will be and the friendlier it will be with other people.
Start taking your new puppy to a Doggy Park now. You have plenty of happy days ahead of reading in the park as your dog runs free, gets plenty of exercise, and socializes with other dogs.
Your dog needs to be socialized from the time you make him/ her part of the family. If you have them around different age groups and other home pets, you will have a friendly dog.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I adopted an adult Pit Bull from the pound about 6 months ago. They told me at the time they thought he might have been used for fighting as he had some scarring. He's never been aggressive with anyone in our home, or people at all, and never been aggressive with our Chihuahua or ShihTzu, despite the both of them constantly barking at and being aggressive towards him (they have their own little clique and he's definitely not invited to join). He's actually a very loving, sweet dog, but he is huge, muscular, and strong, and he looks scary.
Recently we took him to the lake where there were lots of other dogs playing, many off their leashes, and he kept looking at them and whining, like he wanted to play with them, but because he's never really been around other dogs out in public, and I haven't really had him that long yet, I held him on his leash the entire time. There were a few other dogs that came our way, and even though he'd been whining to play, whenever they came close to us he kinda lunged at them. He wasn't barking or growling, his tail was wagging and he seemed happy and not trying to be mean, but I'm just not sure. The lunging just kinda happened out of nowhere, and he never bit any other dog, but I honestly can't tell if he was just trying to get them to play with him and not doing a great job of communicating that, or if the lunges were signs of aggression.
I've been reading online and he didn't show any other signs of aggression, and his hackles weren't up, so I'm so confused. He desperately wants to play with another dog, and offers his toys to our small mean girls and they want nothing to do with him. I'd love for him to have a playdate with another big dog, or be able to give him a little more leeway the next time we go to the park, but I'm also afraid to risk him potentially harming another dog in case I'm completely wrong and he really was trying to be aggressive. If a dog is dog aggressive, wouldn't he be that way with our other 2 dogs, especially since they go after him and he basically ignores them?
It does sound like he is just nervous and unsure how to "play". We had that issue with our rescue wire hair dachshund, and we had one lesson/evaluation from a dog whisperer (I kid you not) and it got him settled in and WE learned to understand his behaviors and reactions.
She gave us lots of tricks and tips to get him socialized. This has worked very well for many years. Now that he is getting older he is reverting back a little (with the odd behaviors) but since he is older--and so are we--we don't take him as many places. He is fine in the house and with us, so we are not going to go back for a refresher.
If you are in Pittsburgh, I an recommend the lovely gal we used. She was amazing and I believe she still "whispering".
Some dogs, especially rescues, sometimes need a professional to help THE HUMAN guide them into the appropriate reactions. A lot of it is us--not them--and teaching us humans how to understand AND REACT TO the subtle behaviors that are coming from the dog's instincts.
I haven't looked, but there may even be YouTube videos to help with this. I am not sure we even knew about YouTube when Clarence came to us.
If you can't find a good video, talk to your vet and see if you have someone near you or if they offer those services at your vet.
Stores like Pet Smart have training classes. Your dog would benefit and learn social skills.
I think you are wise to evaluate this dog carefully before allowing him off leash with other dogs. Could you have a professional dog trainer evaluate him for aggression with other dogs?
This is a page about solutions for dog on dog aggression. Dog on dog aggression is a common issue for pet owners. This aggressive behavior can be the result of several factors.
