Socialisation – the key to a balanced dog
The key to having a well balanced dog is socialization; this medium length word has more significance than any other in the trainers and behaviourists environment. Lack of socialisation is the cause of the vast majority of canine issues that I deal with regularly. Issues such as:
- Nervous Aggression
- Noise fear (Traffic, fireworks, hoovers e.t.c)
- Dog on dog aggression
- Dog on people aggression
- Dog on animal aggression (sheep, horses, e.t.c.)
- Anxiety – barking at everything that moves
Dogs do not come to us with in-built social skills, they have to learn what is acceptable and what is not, very similar to children. If children do not have proper schooling and discipline they demonstrate antisocial behaviour as they mature. Likewise if dogs do not receive assertive consistent training they also exhibit antisocial behaviour.
My advice to ensure robust socialization is to start as early as possible, if your dog is a puppy; ensure that in their first year they meet 100 different people and 100 different dogs. Take your dog to a busy park such as Darley Park, Darley Abbey in Derby where there are many dog walkers and scores of dogs of different breeds, sizes and ages, get to know experienced dog owners with friendly bombproof dogs. Young dogs are like mirrors they copy behaviour so ensure the behaviour of the other dog is acceptable. Take your dog to town shopping, Derby on a Sunday is ideal it’s not too busy but there are still plenty of sights or sounds.
Let your dog meet people all types of people – small, tall, fat, thin, black, white, old, young, people with wheelchairs, walking sticks, umbrellas, shopping bags. Sit your dog down and watch the world go by with all the sights, sounds and smells that are associated with today’s busy environment. All this exposure has to be as relaxed as possible don’t be tense or this tension will pass down the lead making your dog apprehensive. Once your dog is relaxed and calm then reward with praise or a small treat, if your dog snatches the treat or the dog is not interested in the treat then they are not sufficiently calm.
To desensitize your dog to noises such as fireworks e.t.c. visit the http://www.doggiesolutions.co.uk/ web site, where you can purchase a “Sounds Therapy” CD. It contains approximately 40 different well recorded noises, which can be played over and over again in the background gently increasing the volume until the sounds make your dog react, if the dog shows distress such as vocalisation, panting, pacing or moving away from the source then ignore it, but turn the volume down slightly. Remember, stay relaxed and be patient the rewards of a well socialized dog are well worth the effort.