Training Essentials
3 categories of socialization:
Pups
People
Places
Exposure and acclimation are essential to building confidence. Go slow and take things at a pace appropriate for your dog. Most of the time, ask your dog to ignore other dogs and people – the goal is neutrality.
Socializing with Dogs:
Dog sociability can range from friendly with all dogs, to getting along with some dogs, or preferring to not be around other dogs. It’s normal for your dog to not get along with every dog.
Categories of sociability:
Dog social: They enjoy meeting and playing with most other social dogs.
Dog tolerant: They may accept being around other dogs, but often don’t engage in play.
Dog selective: They like some dogs, but don’t get along with others. Match is everything! How you introduce them matters as well as compatibility around personality, energy level, age, sex, size, etc. Most dogs fall in this category.
Dog aggressive: They don’t enjoy time around other dogs. That’s okay! They might be totally happy in a home with people who adore them.
For dog social dogs, playdates with other social dogs may be enjoyable. Keep in mind there are also a range of playstyles, so it’s important to supervise and step in if play is one-sided or one dog is no longer enjoying it. This is why dog parks can be detrimental to dog sociability. There are too many unknown factors and often owners don’t know what appropriate play looks like or when to interrupt.
Selective and tolerant dogs may prefer structured pack walks with mannered dogs and/or sharing space in a calm state. These activities are also great for dog social dogs. It helps reinforce that not all dog interactions are about play and excitement and teach your dog to be neutral around other dogs.
Socializing with People:
To mitigate territorial and stranger danger behavior, invite a guest over on Day 3 to normalize people entering your home. Follow these steps:
Start with your dog in the crate or on walk together and then place the dog in the crate.
Ask the guest to ignore the dog (no talk, no touch, no eye contact, and avoid walking towards the crate).
Disagree with any barking with “Eh Eh” or “No”.
If your dog settles, allow them to greet on a loose leash, while your guest continues to ignore!
Only when the dog shows loose body language (loose body, tail, open mouth, soft eyes) is it okay for the guest to invite them for a brief pet.
Take breaks between pets, keep calm energy, avoid leaning over or hugging the dog.
You will likely encounter opportunities to socialize your dog out in the world. Many dogs are not comfortable with greeting strangers. If called for, you can allow your dog to greet a person by first establishing some ground rules:
The person stands or sits calmly and allows the dog to come to them, not the other way around.
Refrain from keeping tension on the leash.
Your dog must first be allowed to approach and investigate using their nose without being touched. Refrain from reaching.
Only when the dog shows loose body language (loose body, tail, open mouth, soft eyes) is it okay for the guest to invite them for a brief pet.
Take breaks between pets, keep calm energy, avoid leaning over or hugging the dog.
Socializing in New Places:
Rescue and shelter dogs often have limited exposure to the outside world. Go slow. The key to avoiding creating fear (even if they don’t seem overwhelmed) is to expand in small increments. Expose your dog to different sounds, smells, and environments beginning with quiet, calm areas. Be deliberate about choosing spaces where you can give distance, and be mindful of the duration of each exposure session. There will come a point when your dog hits the threshold where they can no longer absorb new information. Let your dog process this new information by facilitating rest and recovery. Use this opportunity for decompression time in the crate.
Socialization in all categories are a learned skills and needs to be practiced regularly to be maintained. If you want your dog to be able to go to coffee shops, they need to practice doing it. Have fair expectations, be patient, and honor your dog’s personality and needs.