Many of you have heard from multiple dog trainers and veterinarians how important socialization is for puppies and adult dogs. Puppies need to be around different dogs and people of all shapes and sizes to get over any fear of the unknown. Even your working dogs for both Police and Search and Rescue need to be socialized to people, dogs, animals, slick floors, riding in different vehicles, blue lights, sirens, and terrain changes. Many unwanted behaviors in dogs may be contributed to lack of socialization for example, shyness, barking excessively, dog on dog aggression, people aggression, and simply shutting down in public situations due to lack of exposure. The problems can arise more severely when dogs are kept from the world for years at a time, until dog owners are tired of tip toeing around the dog and changing their lifestyle to avoid confrontation that the unsocialized dog may cause, this is normally when a professional trainer would step in and assist dog owners with rehabilitation.
However, it’s best to start at an early age if at all possible but if you decide to adopt or rescue and older dog, you can teach an old dog new tricks! Let me give you a few examples of some experiences we have have personally encountered that has had a happy ending! I recieved a phone call from a client in Huntersville, NC who had explained to me that his dog was agressive and growled at any dog and most new people. It was to the point where the owners were very paranoid to have take the dog out in public and mostly hid him from the outside world. The straw that broke the camels back was that he had Max out in the yard on leash, but Max had gotten away from him by accident and ran over to a neighbors house and “loaded up” on the neighbor barking and growling…very scary for this dog owner.
After speaking with Max’s owner, we decided that our in-kennel training, or Boot Camp would be the best program for Max. This would give us 6 weeks of diagnosing and rehabilitation with Max. The day Max dropped off at our facility we didn’t quite know why Max was growling at anyone that made eye contact with him, he also growled at our 12 year old German Shepherd, Cyrus that wouldn’t harm a mouse! Max’s owners were very helpful and honest, which is huge in helping us understand what’s going on with their dog. The owner’s admitted that Max was not socialized very well as a puppy and as his behaviors grew more cumbersome they began hiding him from the outside world, which is a typical method in these situations, since liability is a big factor in today’s society.
The first week with Max was very difficult for both the dog and our trainers, Max was terrified of everything and everyone. His aggression grew worse as we were slowly putting more pressure on him to interact with us. We actually had to feed him the first few days with a bite sleeve for our protection. Slowly Max began to come around and trust us, everyday he got better it was even emotional for our trainers to see him actually start enjoying life again and trusting his surroundings!
By the time Max was ready to go home, he was interacting with strangers and new dogs, was he a social butterfly yet? No, but the foundation was laid for his family to continue working with him and for Max to get better everyday. Max is very fortunate to have such dedicated parents, after we gave them advice and steered them in the right direction for his continued success with rehabiliation, we recieve emails that Max is still improving! In fact the last email I recieved from his owners, was that they had began taking Max to a dog park and cutting him off leash with other dogs and people with no incident! We are very proud of Max and his owners!
With that said, professional intervention with puppies may also be helpful for socialization issues. We recently had a 4 month old puppy named Ginger that was highly food aggressive, and had no manners when it came to meeting new dogs at such a young age. Ginger’s owner also saw this to be a little too much and brought her to our in-kennel training program for obedience, socialization, and behavior modification. Ginger would bark and growl at new dogs she met no matter how big or small they were, we worried about the safety of Ginger just as much as the safety of other dogs that encountered her!
Our trainer Bobbie, worked with Ginger very consistently and by the end of her training session had Ginger learning to greet and play with new dogs of all shapes and sizes! It’s crucial to understand how much to expose a dog that has not been socialized properly, for what ever reason, and not shut them down. Ginger is a very sweet puppy and will be a nice dog as long as the owner continues to expose her to new things and has a structured lifestyle!
Highland Canine Training offers several different dog training programs to help out with any issues you may be experiencing with your dog. Our pograms include; inkennel training, private lessons, in-home training, group classes, and custom training. Please contact one our trainers to see which program best fits the needs of you, your family, and of course your dog!
