How To Properly Socialize Your Dog (Hint: No Dog Parks)

Socialization one of the most important skills that we can teach our dogs. How our dogs perceive the world will form the foundation to every single experience in their lives. Depending on a dog's genetic makeup, training, and socialization, a simple walk around the neighborhood can be a fun, relaxing experience or alternatively a scary, stressful endeavor. We all want to do right by our dogs and set them up to have the best life possible through proper socialization. Below we discuss what socialization is and how to properly socialize dogs.

Common Dog Socialization Misconception

Over the past few decades, the concept of dog socialization has changed much in owners' eyes. Nowadays, most people think that a well socialized dog is one that plays with all dogs, wants to greet all people, and is essentially inviting everyone and everything to be their friend, regardless of their behavior. Therefore, they take puppies and young dogs on outings, have them interact with as many people and dogs as possible, and, if at any point their dogs become nervous, the conclusion is that more socialization is necessary. That is absolutely true, but how we go about socialization will heavily influence their development.

If we force dogs into uncomfortable, situations repeatedly without actively building their confidence in incrementally stimulating environments, we are essentially beating our head against the wall and worsening an existing problem. A puppy that is nervous about people leaning over it and petting it or handling it in ways that is not respectful or enjoyable (although they may be perceived as friendly, well-intentioned interactions by humans), will not learn to enjoy people by repeteadly being put in an uncomfortable position. Instead, it will either fear them more and flee at the sight of humans approaching it or eventually show aggression to avoid further interactions. Additionally, a puppy that is eager to interact with every dog and every person that it sees on an outing instead of interacting with its owner is not only missing out on a fun, interactive experience with its owner, but can also become hazardous, reactive, and even aggressive depending on its size, its handlers size and age, its genetic makeup, and other factors.

In summary, focusing on plentiful, oftentimes forced interactions with people and dogs alone is not enough and can create some serious problems down the road regardsless of your dogs' reaction to this "socialization" method.

What is a Well Socialized Dog

To us, socialization means exposing dogs to as many different environments, sounds, smells, people, dogs, and other stimuli as possible and teaching them to ignore those distractions with confidence and engage with their handler instead.

A social dog is a dog that is comfortable and confident in its environment and its own skin without needing to interact or react to every stimulus in its environment, including people, dogs, noises, and more. A well socialized dog easily ignores what is happening in its environment without worrying and fully trusts and focuses on its owner. Moreover, a well socialized dog is comfortable interacting with well mannered dogs and humans that are respectful of the dog and do not force interactions. They are also comfortable ignoring said dogs and people. They neither obsess over nor stress out over these interactions.

Tips to Socialize Your Dog

The basis of proper dog socialization involves exposure, confidence, and focus. Most owners go above and beyond in terms of exposure. In other words, they take their young puppies and dogs to many new environments and situations to socialize them. However, without focusing on intentionally building a dog's confidence and focus on the handler in these environments, frequent socialization outings can become disastrous. Instead, keep the following in mind when exposing your dog to new experiences:

• Foster a Calm and Confident Attitude. The quality of dog interactions with their environment is much more important than sheer quantity. Dogs should never feel forced into a new situation, but rather built up progressively through training. This includes promoting a calm state of mind in our dog and building confidence through positive interactions with the handler in a new environment. ‍
• Control Interactions. To make sure that we build up and reinforce the right mindset, controlling the environments and interactions during socialization is crucial. This means carefully selecting the environment, dogs, and people thatyour dog could interact with. For example, a family reunion with kids is not the best environment to socialize a young puppy if the children present are not aware of proper dog etiquette, if guests cannot ignore your dog while you train it around people, or if other dogs may come up to it in a way that your puppy is not ready for. Think ahead before choosing the environment to socialize your dog and ask yourself whether it is realistic for inappropriate interactions to be avoided given where your dog stands in the training process and the uncontrolled variables in the environment.
• Build a Strong Dog-Handler Relationship. If you want a dog that listens to you when out and about and trusts you when it is unsure of something, you must become the most valuable entity in its life. This means that you must be exciting and engaging not only during an outing, but in day-to-day life through consistent, appropriate training and careful handling.

Socialization is an ongoing process. When planning how to socialize your dog, carefully think about whether a specific experience promotes the overall behavior that you want for the rest of its life. For more help on how to socialize your puppy or to learn about any of our dog training programs, speak to the staff at Chomps Dog Training today.