Socialization is one of the most important elements in a dog's life. Whether you are dealing with a puppy or an older dog, proper socialization enables the animal to determine it's standing with other dogs, people, children, and with you. It's the process which renders some dogs confident and happy-go-lucky, while leaving others reticent, fearful and uncertain.
The Miriam Webster Dictionary defines the word "socialize" as the act of "making social; especially to make fit or train for a social environment; or to adapt to social needs or uses." Its synonyms are "mingle, associate, or mix."
Puppies go through various critical and delicate developmental stages. The primary, or new-born period, is one where all imprinting is done by the mother. This is a process that is wholly natural, and instinctual. It enables the puppies to develop an appropriate understanding of their place in nature (with other dogs).
From the age of five weeks and up, the puppy is capable of taking in information from its environment. It is from this period on that the domestication process can begin. When a dog is properly domesticated, it can adapt to an intimate association with, and to the advantage of humans.
I can't help but feel that this all-important stage is too often rushed, downplayed, and sometimes downright ignored. If our purpose is to make our dog companions "fit for social environments," then this means taking the initiative to expose the animal to new people, places, and situations. The most important aspect of this process is how we handle the dog's response to the new situations and stimulations. There are often long-term catastrophic consequences when owners give conflicting behavioral reinforcement, and put the dog in situations of overwhelming stimulation.
Here are a few rules of thumb of socialization:
- Never touch your dog, unless you intend to demonstrate approval of their behavior or reaction to stimulation. (Fear, aggression, apprehension, or panic, are a few undesirable reactions.)
- Never say, "okay" in an effort to appease or nurture a dog. They will perceive their present behavior as okay.
- Do not yank on the leash when the dog is behind you. Encourage the dog to keep up with and be in tune with you.
- Do not give your dog a treat in an attempt to get his attention. They will think you are rewarding their current behavior.
- Do not leave a situation while the dog is still reacting inappropriately. The next time they enter a similar environment, they will respond based on their last experience.
- Do take your dog to as many new places as possible, as early as possible.
- Do start at lower stress environments and work your way up. This will enable you to build a relationship with your dog based on trust and repeated success.
- Always keep the dog on a leash to insure safety and success. Even the best-trained dogs are seldom off leash in an environment which could pose a traffic hazard or any other danger to the animal.
- Quietly, and with encouraging words, walk your dog back and forth past the stimuli or the distraction which is disrupting "normal" behavior, until he ignores it.
Many of you will see different reactions from your puppies when they are stressed. Some will get overly stimulated and excited, other will try to withdraw or hide, a few will ignore the distraction and seem to take it all in stride, and a small percentage will show profound panic or aggression. How you respond to their respective reacton will determine how they will react as adults.
Your job is to desensitize or make non-reactive; to extinguish the emotional response to new stimuli. Take this seriously, with diligence, and your pup will become comfortable and well adjusted. If they can handle a shopping cart clanking by, the neighborhood noises will be a piece of cake.
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Obedient Behavior Versus Obedience Training
"Aaahhh…" a subject after my own heart. Understanding the difference between obedient behavior and obedience training is the first step in setting realistic expectations for your dog's performance. It is also the fundamental difference between my training technique and other methods which entail constantly hovering over the dog.
A well behaved/obedient dog knows how to act in the absence of command, correction or your control. He is a dog that has learned to control himself, and make "good" choices. An obedience-trained dog does not have to be well behaved in order to respond to an order. He requires constant command and control. This dog relies on the handler's command to determine the appropriate behavior, instead of learning to make better choices. This is the "don't think, just do" dog.
Obedience training does take time, effort and education to be a success. It certainly plays a major role in the owner/dog relationship. It enhances mutual respect and taps into the dog's brain, making the animal work like a child in school. It gives the dog something constructive to do while focussing your pets attention on you. There are many real life situations in which your dog needs to be responsive to command, and in a controlled body posture. Although I highly recommend and subscribe to it's importance, your dog's behavior needs to extend beyond those parameters. (Key concept)
"Sit and Stay" in obedience training means "sit there and don't move from that position or place." Those two words are almost always the first words I hear from an owner when I appear at their door. Invariably, the dog bolts out anyway (hopefully restrained by a leash) in an attempt to reach me. Not only has the animal failed to meet the basic sit/stay command parameters, but its social behavior is totally unacceptable.
The obedient/well behaved dog waits for direction when the door is opened. This animal has learned what is expected of him from the point where the bell rings or someone knocks. A side benefit of this behavior is that the dog is less likely to jump all over your guest, since he already understands how to act in an exciting situation. (Consider your dog's life. A stranger knocking at the door is a potentially thrilling experience.)
"Down" and "off" are two other orders given just as frequently and inappropriately. Oh, I forgot…"no jump" is another favorite. In obedience training, when the down command is given, the dog is expected to lay in a prone position. The animal regards this as a submissive body posture. Is this the point you are trying to make when your dog is jumping on people or furniture? Does this teach the dog anything about your desires of his behavior in the situation at hand? Wouldn't ' it be better if the dog just didn't ' jump up without you having to say anything or to restrain him by the collar or lead?
The answer to the last question is "yes, of course!"
A dog's instincts often run contrary to human wishes in a domestic environment (i.e. your home) Dogs are naturally motivated by pack behavior, scent, running prey drive, noises, and a thousand other things. In order to have a well behaved, socially acceptable, responsive dog, you must provide a clear channel of communication that offers a simple alternative to instinctual behavior. This communication hinges on setting up a particular training scenario to illustrate the correct behavior, at the correct place and time, and to repeat it until it is thoroughly ingrained in the dog's mind.
This takes time, patience, persistence and understanding: some commodities that dogs often find in short supply at their human led homes. The process is relatively simple:
- Determine the behavior you'd like to either ingrain or eliminate
- Determine the correct language for the exercise
- Create the scenario and illustrate the appropriate behavior
- Acknowledge that acceptable behavior with approval, praise and a "fun moment" (excited wonderment at their success)
- Repeat steps 1 through 4 until an acceptable level of behavior is achieved.
Many people get discouraged by Step "5".
How often does a training session need to be repeated? The answer depends on both you and your dog. Some dogs pick things up very quickly, but that doesn't mean they won't challenge you at some other time. Others may require 10 times the effort and time and seem that they will never get it. The good news is that perseverance pays off. If you create the successful response for the dog, so they understand what is expected, reinforce it, and repeat it, over a period of time, they will become the well adjusted dog that is a true joy to own.
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Kids and Dogs: Creating Great Playmates
You see a cute puppy in a pet shop window and make an impulsive, often catastrophic, decision to add another "child" into the family. You are probably well equipped to handle one with two legs, but I'm talking about the 4-legged kind. Good intentions are usually behind this choice, like getting a dog for the kids so "they will learn to be responsible for another living, breathing thing", and "Spike will grow up with the kids and, how sweet, they'll be buddies". Or maybe it's this reason: "It's a perfect time! The kids are home from school and can bond with the puppy now. And we can use this next two weeks to get the puppy trained." It all sounds good on paper, but the reality is that it's often a disaster waiting to happen. Babies need care and supervision, no matter how many legs they have. So, when you expect them to take care of each other, it's bound to fail.
Let's just say you've done it. You went out and got a puppy. Now what? I'll spend some time with you, giving you ideas, principles and tips to make this relatively painless. Heck, you might even have fun.
First, you cannot depend on your child to supervise the puppy when the puppy is out of the crate and you're out of the room, or even view. Consider your absence or lack of ability to pay attention to both a definite "need to crate" time. Your crate should be used to form the puppy's habits, to keep him safe, and to prevent potentially hazardous or negative situations for the child and/or the puppy.
When you have the time to work with the dog, either with or without your child, your focus should be on teaching the dog how to behave. You need to be "setting up" potential real life situations, desensitizing the dog to his instinctual response, and replacing that with a domestic response. This alternate way of acting is determined by your direction.
For instance, child's toys are often objects of great interest to dogs. You need to "casually" drop the toy in the general vicinity of the puppy, and with a sharp noise such as a clap, hitting the counter, or stomping the foot, interrupt the dog before he acts on his impulse to grab it. Remember that in order to change behavior in a dog you must change his thought process. Once the puppy acts on a thought (i.e. grabs the toy) and you correct him, he figures it's okay to do it but at this moment in time you want him to stop. Don't lock yourself into the same toy, or the same room, or the same time of day. Make sure to use shoes and socks as well, for they seem to be objects that are usually chosen by your canine child. If you don't generalize the situation and environment for the dog, he will only be conditionally responsive, i.e. he will only be trained to a specific situation or toy. You will know that you are doing this correctly when the dog avoids the behavior instead of avoiding you. He will choose to walk past the "set-up" without even sniffing it.
Another common problem with dogs and kids is play biting. Whether this is exhibited during excited running, for no seemingly good reason at all, or simply when the child reaches out to touch the dog, you must take an active part in teaching the puppy not to play with your child like he would another dog. You see, your dog cannot figure out that merely because you walk on two legs and have hair instead of fur, that he should interact with you in any other fashion than what would be natural to him if you were another dog. Spend time with your dog on a slack lead, encouraging your child to touch and "over-stimulate" the dog and correct the dog as he becomes animated with his mouth. Do not remove the dog from the situation, instead continue to have your child touch him until the puppy chooses to tolerate handling and play without using his mouth.
As far as the chasing of a running child, that is the result of a natural instinct called "prey drive": if it runs away I chase it. If your child is old enough and willing, have her hold a handful of keys or other object that can be concealed until it is thrown as the dog attempts to jump and bite in play. The purpose is not to hit the dog, but to startle and disallow a repetition or continuation of this behavior. (Another useful object you can use to startle the puppy is an empty soda can filled with a handful of pennies, sealed, and then placed into a cutoff sport sock.) If your child is not old enough, or you feel uncomfortable with this, you can attach a long, light line, such as a clothesline, to the dog's collar, and when the chase begins, you give a firm yank, before the line gets tight and before he reaches the kids. There is no need to say anything unless the dog returns to you in avoidance of chasing. That would be the optimum response, by the way. Remember, we don't want the dog to avoid the children, just change the way he plays.
It is very important to make sure to teach the dog how to respond in as many potential real life situations as you can think of. A child can be taught to behave responsibly and kindly with a dog, but they are still kids, and they can do the darndest things at the worst possible times. You need to gently pull on the dog's ears and tail and correct any undesirable behavior before adding the actual child to the equation. You are teaching tolerance to the kind of over-handling the dog might experience. Get right up in your puppy''s face and schmush up on him, pick up his bones and toys while he's actively playing with or chewing them, and so on. You will have a much happier family if you can depend on your dog's response in any given situation. You can't think of everything, so remember that dogs learn through repetition. You have a small window of opportunity to change any behavior fairly easily. You must set up anything you "miss" as soon as possible after its occurrence, leaving the experience only after the dog has made the right choice as determined by you. This is all a process of domesticating the dog…making him fit for your household and its members.
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Multiple Dog Households
So, you've decided that Rover is lonely and needs a playmate. You feel sorry for him that he's left home alone so much. You think he needs more exercise and to be livened up a bit. He's getting so old…a new puppy would add spark to his life. He could help you train the new puppy.
Or: Awww…you just couldn't break them apart. They're the last two puppies left and they love each other soooo much. They'll keep each other company.
I've heard all of these remarks, and more, from well intentioned clients who are now suffering the double trouble syndrone. There are those that have the older dog first and now, not only is the puppy torturing the poor old guy, but he won't listen to you at all. All he seems to focus on is the other dog.
I'm here to impart some more truths about the animal, specifically dog, kingdom.
Firstly, with only one dog, he gets all your attention, all the treats, the toys, and walks. He doesn't have to worry about guarding his family, bed or other belongings from some snotty nose kid. Besides, he's probably sleeping most of the day while you're gone. It's a nice quiet time when he doesn't have to worry about a thing but for an occasional taunting squirrel or mailman.
Secondly, two puppies at one time is at least as difficult as twins. They are both exploring, maturing and learning at different rates. At the same time, they are dragging each other into their antics.
Now for the serious side of this. You can count on the fact that dogs will always make more sense to each other than you will with them. What will happen without your understanding, implementing time consuming protocols, and diligence, is that the new addition will become much more dog oriented than people oriented. If they were in a "natural" environment, that might not be a problem, but for you, in a domestic environment, that means they will depend on each other more than you. You might think that would make things easier for you, but quite the opposite.
In the case of the two puppies, one will always be more secure and confident than the other. The problem is that the security will disappear when they are separated. For the less secure of the two, that translates into fear and shyness. There is often an inability to approach new and stressful situations in the absence of the other dog. For the more secure of the two, you might still observe a lack of confidence in the absense of its counterpart. Basically, they depend on the other dog to complete themselves. You might see quite a separation anxiety when they are forced to be in separate quarters or areas.
In the case of the puppy added to an existing dog household, the puppy will undoubtably never develop into the completely happy, independent, well adjusted adult he would have been if you had raised him alone. He will, in essence, appear to be lost when separated, and will at best, be an anxious and uncomfortable pet.
You need to understand that dogs follow effective leadership. Dogs naturally communicate in a like fashion. You communicate like a person to your dog, although they do not process that information the way another person would. So, the other dog, whether puppy or adult , will always have the upper hand on you in the leadership and teaching capacity.
Take heart. There is good news. You can successfully acclimate dogs to domestic behavior directed by you, even in a multiple dog household.
The easier scenario is the pup coming into an adult household. The adult is already person oriented. You only need to be concerned about socializing (refer to article on this site ) the puppy. In the two puppy household, you will need to separately socialize and train the dogs.
Here's what you must do: The puppy (or puppies) must be brought up separately. They should be crated apart from the other dog, and allowed supervised, directed group play, only for short intervals for the first 6 months. The puppy (or puppies) should be socialized separately. They must be taken to new and unusual places, and around new people, independent of each other. At six months of age, you can begin a program that includes mostly together time, but always with you determining the level of interaction and play allowed. I still recommend they be housed and taken out separately, on an ongoing basis to maintain your position as the effective leader in the house.
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