You're Probably Socializing Your Dog Wrong

March 21, 2024

You're Probably Socializing Your Dog Wrong

Dog socialization is a very misunderstood topic with most dog owners in North America. Most owners have the right intentions for their new puppies, and are quite proactive about doing what they think is proper socialization from day one. If you think that dogs parks, puppy classes, and doggy day care are the pillars of proper socialization, you might want to keep reading this post! Let's talk briefly about what the goal is for most owners when it comes to socialization. We generally want to be able to take our dogs anywhere, have them listen to us when we need them to, get along with people and dogs in the environment, and remain relatively calm when they are on leash or doing some sort of sedentary activity like sitting at a patio sipping coffee. So, if this is the goal we have in mind for our adult dogs, why aren't we keeping this in mind with our training and socialization as puppies? Dog parks, puppy classes and doggy day care all have a couple things in common that directly hinder the goals mentioned above. Lets dive into those issues and see what the real impact is on our dogs. They All Elicit Non-Stop ArousalThe thing about all these activities, is they are a non stop ride of arousal for your dog. They do no favours for teaching your dog how to simply exist in the world and watch it go by without over reacting. They don't teach our dogs that the presence of other dogs is something they can just see and do without constant excitement. In puppy classes, that event is going to be the biggest most exciting part of their day, and it's also probably going to be the only time they see and interact with dogs up close that day, or maybe even that week. In the vast majority of doggy day cares, dogs are just running around with each other to tire them out as much as possible before they go home, there is no training, impulse control or neutrality being worked on. Last but not least, the dog park, a place I would never take my dogs or any of the dogs in my care. Dog parks create reactive, nervy, over aroused dogs every day, and they end up coming right through our doors for training! This is also more than likely the only time your dog sees dogs that day and is their most consistent point of contact with their fellow canines, so you are hardwiring their brains to correlate other dogs with huge amounts of arousal! They Are All Situations You Can't Control, And Your Dog Knows ItThe worst aspect of these kinds of socialization activities is that you don't have any control over the interactions your dog has at a very critical time in their development. Dog parks are the worst offenders for this. Anyone can bring their dog to the dog park, and very few do anything at all to correct their dog if it becomes unruly. As a trainer, I frequently bring dogs to dog parks to hang around outside them to desensitize dogs and proof obedience, and every single time I go, I see a fight, unchecked displays of dominance, or reactive fence runners. You are putting your dog in danger bringing them to a dog park, there is no way around that fact, and once that trust is broken between you and your dog, it is a tedious process to get it back. I stand so firmly on this stance of dog parks that I won't take on a client who insists on frequenting dog parks, because I know that progress just won't be made to the standard we set here. The same can be said about puppy classes and doggy day cares, just to a slightly less degree. At least in these situations there is some level of screening done before hand, and there are some authority figures present. But it's not much better. Very few trainers that run puppy classes and day cares are going to have the ability or commitment to deal with an aggressive or reactive dog that could alter the trajectory of your dogs life forever. The majority of these places don't believe in correcting dogs for this kind of behaviour, so I don't know how they plan to keep your dog safe! So What Do I Do To Socialize My Dog?The goal of socializing your dog should be neutrality to their environment, it's really that simple. Instead of rushing your dog over to every dog they see to "Say hi!", how about just calmly walking by the other dog, teaching your dog that it is nothing special and to mind it's own business, similar to people passing each other on the street. I think most owners are so scared of their dog being fearful or aggressive to other people and dogs, that they go too far the complete opposite direction. Ironically, this constant state of arousal we create can often lead to reactivity through frustration on the leash and just not knowing how to exist in the environment neutrally. I never allow any dog that I am handling (including my own) to have an on leash greeting with a strange dog or person. It just serves no purpose to the training goals I have with my dogs, and there is too much that could go wrong. In the best case scenario, the interaction will go well and my dog just got a huge rush of endorphins from a strange dog or person, and will begin to expect it next time, not creating the calm dog I want to be engaged with me while we are out. In the worst case scenario, the interaction goes terribly bad. The person could get spooked and scare my dog, or the other dog could full on attack mine. This could result in my dog having a terrible association with people and dogs while on leash in the future, and they have probably just lost a lot of trust in me for letting this altercation occur. So, instead of taking your dog to the dog park, try just taking them somewhere busy and teaching them how to watch the world go by without overreacting, or even better, show them that you are more interesting by playing/training with them in these settings. Show your dog that you are the most rewarding thing in the environment, and that everything else is just there, not scary, just there. This is how you truly get a dog that is confident, in control of it's emotions, and engaged with their handler, and it's exactly the way we preach with all of our clients!