Last week we talked about how to get your dog better socialized. This week I want to build on that by diving into a common socialization mistake that can lead to a lot of trouble with your dog down the road.
What’s this VERY common dog socialization mistake?
Allowing your dog to meet everyone and everything in the name of socialization.
This usually arises from good intentions: we’ve been told that our dog needs to meet lots of people and lots of dogs. And people LOVE meeting a cute dog.
So what’s the problem with allowing your dog to greet everyone?
A dog that expects to meet everyone and everything is very difficult to take places. They never learn the self-control needed to thrive in human (or even dog) society. They start to view other creatures as playthings and disconnect from the handler.
They pull towards everything. They jump on everyone. And if we don’t immediately indulge them, they get frustrated and lash out. If the dog is always hyper during their outings, we’re teaching them to be hyper.
So what’s the preferable approach to socializing my dog?
We need to emphasize calm behavior and attention around other people and dogs. They need to learn that they should NOT expect attention from everything that passes. Have them hold a SIT next to you while you have a conversation. Have them observe people walking by. Have them settle while dogs pass. Practice your obedience cues with other creatures in the vicinity.
You get the idea:
Outings are collaborative and always involve some self-control and impulse control training.
When it is time to greet people or other dogs, have them calm down first. We don’t want them learning that the best way to get “fun time” is to act hyper and out of control. We don’t want them believing that yanking us down the block is the quickest path to fun. (They will get REALLY good at this, REALLY quickly!)
We want the dogs to appreciate that simply being in social environments is fun and rewarding, even if they’re not the constant center of attention, even if they have to respect the personal space of others. We want them to learn that patience pays off.
So many cute puppies end up losing all their freedom and socialization as they grow because they never learn to coexist calmly in social environments.
“People WATCHING” is a skill every dog should develop. The ability to settle calmly is an essential life skill, for everyone’s sanity and safety.
If you’re worried about sounding rude to people who want to amp up your dog and teach him to jump all over them (and this is a LARGE number of very nice people, unfortunately), just blame your trainer for the stricter rules. (I’ll take on that burden for ya!) If your style is brasher, there’s also the Jennifer Lawrence approach (profanity warning).
In short, play is great, friendliness is lovely, HUGE points to you for getting your dog out and about. But always balance this energetic attention-seeking behavior with self-control practice.
I can’t tell you the number of people who have come to me with shoulder injuries, broken fingers, sprained wrists, claw marks, etc, because they learned this lesson the hard way.
Our dogs are depending on us to instill this key life skill. It will make both of your lives SO MUCH better.
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While you’re reading…
Some social media highlights:
– A politeness competition (very cute)
– A key behavior that sounds so simple that most people ignore it — to their peril
– Which breeds do you train most often? (with a new update)
– Off-leash practice
We’d love for you to join us DAILY on Facebook and Instagram for training tips and behind-the-scenes training footage.