Most people have heard about the importance of socialization but what IS proper socialization?
What it is:
A well run puppy class. This puts puppies (under six months at least) in a safe environment where they can comfortably interact with other puppies.
A puppy play time. These should either be limited to young puppies (under six months) or have separate areas for different age groups. All dogs should still be under a year.
Puppies also need to be exposed to things besides other dogs. They need to be exposed to kids of all ages, other animals like cats and even horses if you may come across them, a variety of different people (different races, genders...) and even different surfaces to walk on. While this often isn't as adorable as puppies playing it goes miles to help form a confident adult dog.
What socialization is NOT:
Puppies under a year should not go to dog parks. Play with a large number of adult dogs is not socialization. Think about having your five year old child hang around a bunch of teenagers all the time. It may be fine but they likely will learn a few swear words along the way.
As with dog parks, puppies should not go to the vast majority of dog day care facilities. Unless a facility has a specific program for puppies where they play with almost entirely other dogs under a year and there are lots of rest times (about 45 minutes of play with an hour to two hours of rest between) it is not considered socialization and runs the risk of them learning bad habits, getting over corrected by an adult dog or picking up an illness from the other dogs.
Puppies should not be allowed to approach all other dogs out on walks. Many dogs do not do well on leash with other dogs. This is not the fault of the owner often but is either a matter of genetics or lack of socialization which may have been out of the current owners control. Even more dogs that may be ok on leash with other dogs do not tolerate puppies. Lastly, what is often an adult dog teaching manner to a young puppy looks awful to owner so it is possible that the other dog will "correct" your puppy but that may be startling to both you and your puppy. It is best to allow a professional to determine what are appropriate corrections to behavior.
Forcing your puppy to approach everything. Let your puppy investigate things as he or she feels comfortable. The best thing to do is praise them when they approach something but allow them to hang back as they need to. Also don't put your puppy in a situation where he or she shuts down. Street festivals and jammed sidewalks are not a place for puppies to get used to new sights and sounds.
When should I do this?
Immediately! Dog's window for socialization with other dogs ends around four to five months so this must be done prior to that.
There is so much more to discuss about how to prepare your puppy to be the happiest dog around so contact a qualified trainer as soon as possible!
Here is a wonderful study Collins Canine participated in through the University of California at Davis. They gathered data on the instances of illnesses in puppies that attended socialization classes as opposed to those that didn't. They found no greater instances of illnesses in puppies that attended socialization sessions further supporting many trainers experience that it is much more likely to have issues with a dog due to lack of socialization than to contract an illness from being around other puppies. Unfortunately many vets still prescribe to the theory that puppies should not be around other dogs until they are four or even six months of age. This misses out on the window of socialization which can cause dramatic problems as the dogs mature. If your vet is one that still thinks puppies shouldn't socialization please pass this on to them. The more well socialized dogs we have out there the fewer behavioral issues we will have and therefore the less dogs in shelters and euthanized. Please spread the word! http://www.jaaha.org/content/49/2/95.abstract
Very often we deal with dogs that are afraid or nervous around humans. One great way to work with this is to teach the dog that if they give the person at the end of the leash a signal that we will get them out of the situation. We look for what are called "calming signals" as a sign that the dog is not comfortable in the situation and then take them out of the situation. Here is some work with Romeo, the Chihuahua.
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Jake, our foster dog!
Meet the Collins Family's new foster! Jake is a one year old neutered male Ridgeback/Boxer mix who is up for adoption. He is housebroken, crate trained and wonderful with dogs and all ages of people. The only reason he isn't in his previous home is that he wants to play with the cat too much. Please contact us or One Tail at a Timeto find out more about adopting. There will be lots of training incentives for him as well!
Monday, July 16, 2012
Another fun game!
To play Doggie, Doggie Where's Your Bone? you must have a group of two or more people with one dog. One person has a treat in their closed fist but everyone has their fists closed in the same position so the dog can't tell who has the treat (or bone!). Either have the dog in another room so he or she can't see who has the treat or pretend like you give a treat to everyone. The dog is then released to find the treat. When they nudge the hand with the treat they get the treat. Watch Darcy play it with our family and her friend Shannon.
As trainers we are always looking for fun ways to practice obedience. As a lazy mom I am always looking for ways to push chores off on my kid. The Alphabet Game accomplishes both! The rules of the game are simple - for each letter of the alphabet the human will pop a treat in the pups mouth as long as the dog remains in one position. You can do this with a Sit, a Down or even a Stand depending on what your dog knows. If the dog gets out of that position then the alphabet starts over. Have more than one child? Make this a little competitive by seeing who can get further in the alphabet without the dog moving.
The treats must be in a bowl or in a pocket so the human has to reach to get each treat. No fair having multiple treats in your hand so you can say the letters really quickly! And if your pup has a bit of a harder mouth (you hear Justin say "ow" a few times when Darcy gets too into the game) you can have the person hold the treat in a flat palm rather than pinched between fingers.
I have long wanted one of these toys because they are beautifully made and seem like they would be a lot of fun for a dog. This one is called the Dog Brick and they are made by Nina Ottosson. This is Darcy's first attempt with it. There are treats in the wells so she is supposed to move the black slides out of the way to get the treat. In true terrier style, she is most successful by just pawing the crap out of it. She does try to chew and pick it up in her mouth but thankfully it is well made and heavy so she doesn't get much out of that.
