Socialization is extremely important when owning a pet. How you handle the exposure to new experiences is the key. Dogs will look for stability immediately when they enter an unfamiliar environment and will adapt accordingly based on your own actions and how you respond to the situation. 

When introducing your pet to a new item, situation, person or even another pet first thing you need to do is keep the situation controlled and approach  it with confidence. If your pet senses that you are nervous about this interaction, they in turn will reflect your demeanors.  Next, remain calm and quiet during the introductions being careful not to draw unnecessary attention creating insecurities or instability in your pet.  A good leader does not hover but they always remain in control no matter the distance.

We will give you some examples of recent and past cases so you have a better understanding of how to handle your pet under unfamiliar circumstances.

Case 1: Dog introductions: 2 yr. old  spayed Female Chocolate Lab , owned since 7 weeks of age meeting new 7 week old female pup owned by another family member. 

First control the situation by keeping both dog and pup on leash. Place the adult dog in a sit position keeping their head faced forward towards you and away from their back end so as not to snap at the pup. Remember, dogs do not meet and greet face to face, but rather nose to butt as this is where their scent glands are and give a variety of  information to another dog.  Lead the pup towards to adult dog. If the pup puts on the brakes and resists, as tempting as it may be  do not pick it up, it must be lead to the adult by you, it’s leader.

Give the pup small tugs and releases of the leash to get him or her to follow you. Do not talk to either dog. Talking, “ C’mon sweetie, it’s ok, he’s not going to hurt you” will draw unnecessary attention to the greeting and your dogs will feel that you are nervous about this so they should be too. Allow the pup to sniff the adult and then switch positions and allow the adult to sniff the pup in the same position.   Keep the adult dog under control as size wise it can accidentally hurt the pup.

Play rituals can consist of barking, biting, jumping, running with  and at, pawing, bowing, and alpha rolling. If the adult dog charges the pup barking during play do NOT yell at the adult or pick up the pup. Removing the pup will create fear of this behavior and when they become older will always look at this type of play as negative and address it with defense. The adult is just doing what naturally comes to them, so as a dog, they’ve done nothing wrong. 

Humping is dominating, if this occurs take charge immediately by remaining calm and quiet and removing the acting dog. Always stay in charge so when you say enough is=2 0enough lead the dogs away from each other and the play stops.

Case 2: Thunder and Fireworks:  1yr.old in tact Male German Shepherd. Every time he heard thunder ,sirens or fireworks he hid under the kitchen table.  When socializing your dog to a new sound  always remember these three words: “NO BIG DEAL” In this case, we made the dog face his fears by associating the thing that made him uncomfortable and turned it into a positive. We re-simulated these sounds using a  cd. We started with the cd  on a low volume and used obedience and play to redirect his attention. The dogs attention was now focused on the commands, rather than the distraction. After the obedience routine, we played with the dog ,taking something he loved to do “play with the ball” drawing his attention again away from the sound. When the dog responded to the sound, we refocused him on an obedience command and then encouraged him to continue playing. Little by little, the volume was increased to a decimal that was rattling the windows. The dog remained  focused on the interaction with his leader and completely ignored the floor vibrations and window rattling sounds.

Case 3: Trail walks:  6 mos. old  Male Yellow Lab. Overly excited and pulled his owner over to  everyone he encountered. Her solution was to place the dog in a sit / stay and let others pass by as she pet the dog and tried to speak to him to calm him down. This is a non controlled environment  so it was important that the owner knew how to remain calm and control their dog.

First thing we did was train the owner. She was advised not to show the dog attention or affection when he was in the wrong frame of mind. Second, not speak to the dog as her speaking in a calm tone, was actually encouraging the dogs behavior ,pacifying him telling him that it’s ok for him to act this way. Lastly, we advised her to keep moving.

When you stop a dog at a distraction, in essence you are drawing his attention towards it that much more. We began walking with the dog. Oliver remained at our side at all times. This was no time for smelling the roses. A walk is a mission, it has a purpose ,it’s a lead to the hunt.

Dogs must always remain in the following position. When we encountered people we remained calm, quite and kept moving treating the situation like it wasn‘t even there. Oliver tried to cross in front of and behind , panted excitedly and tried to get over to them but we gave a few small tugs and releases of the leash , remained quite and passed by. We had to repeat this process several times for the dog to understand that his behavior was unacceptable. After many passes the dog understood and followed readily.

How you introduce or social dogs to new experiences can create a large impact on their lives. Do not use human physiology when working with a dog. They simply do not understand. Pacifying, talking sweet , trying to reason with the dog, this is human behavior. Dogs live in a very black and white world and are taught things from their mothers at birth, pet owners unknowingly  take these imprinted teachings away by trying to humanize their pets. Treat all situations with calm, confident control . Take the leadership role immediately and you will have a well balanced, properly socialized dog for life.

This article was published July 4th , 2009 on page 6 of the Sunday Sentinel