Socialisation Tips/ What To Encourage

[mowgliandme]

Do you socialise to satisfy your dog’s curiosity about everything and make sure they aren’t scared of things in the future? Or to create a neutral value for things other than yourself like in the pinned socialisation post?

Puppy is now 12 weeks and has been on many socialisation outings, the first three weeks she was mostly carried in my arms for short trips - she went to lots of cafes, (busy streets and a few shops) and settled calmly in my lap/chair next to me either watching the world go by or chewing a pigs ear/chew/toy. She didn’t ever have her ears back or get a rigid body posture and when I saw something that I thought could be new and scary, like bus pulling up next to our café id give her another treat for looking at it (giving her the treat when she was looking away from it) but overall she didn’t seem bothered by it.

Yesterday my housemate was vacuuming the room next door and she was asleep in her crate and she got up and wagged her tail happily so I took her out of the crate and she just wanted to watch my housemate vacuuming (I did give her treats for looking at it the first time) have I created too positive an association with vacuuming? Will she be that happy to see a bus next time?

Overall she has been happy with everything and everyone to far, loves to meet people and get pats, not scared of loud noises, wheelchairs, skateboards, bikes, prams, kids, walking sticks, sirens, buses, motorbikes, cars etc.

I am hoping one day to be able to walk around with her on a loose leash with her looking back/checking in with me every so often and release her to “go sniff” so I’m not constantly stopping at every post/plant (like it is for my housemates dog).

This week she has been on the ground a lot more as she is vaccinated, do you let puppies sniff as much as they want as it is good for them to learn about their environment or "run them through new places trying to keep their focus on you" like in the post? which i suppose would be good for obedience?

[alpha bet]

We breed and run Training School and allow the pups LOADS of socialising opportunities. In fact we start with pups at 3 weeks taking (2-3 pups in the litter at a time) to visit friends - they can then wander out of the carry box at their leisure. They commence puppy school at approx 4-5 weeks old (again 2-3 pups from the litter and wander out of the carry box at their leisure).

Once I have my own single pup (and what we recommend to families with their own pups) we encourage them out and about to visit everything at their leisure... Pups have different personalities and we allow them to explore when they feel ready to try, they can step back when they wish and even if they act worried we remain neutral and let them make their own decisions rather than trying to reassure them. Hence this helps to build self-confidence.

Often with young pups, people worry that the dogs appear to enjoy the interaction too much and many will try to discourage this and will hence micro-manage their pups (just like we see with how parents are with their kids) - however we find that pups mature much quicker when they have the chance to explore more. So by the time the dogs are around 8 months they seem to enjoy some company of other dogs but CHOOSE to keep their eye out for their humans. They will interact with the outside world but as soon as you start to move away or call out for them they are happy to rush back to see what you are up to... They enjoy socialising but their focus is really about you. We certainly have no problem with dogs preferring the company of other dogs.

Sounds like you are doing some great work, keep it up and have some faith that you will make good decisions about what works for her.

[*kirty*]

I have a naturally timid breed (Italian Greyhound) and have no interest in formal training so for me, it is all about positive experiences. I started taking my pups to work when they were 4-5 weeks old and introducing them to as many people, dogs, situations etc as possible. They were passed around and cuddled by strangers daily and met multiple new dogs every week. All of the puppy owners have commented on hold bold and outgoing their dogs are, so I must have done something right!

[mowgliandme]

I am interested in doing formal obedience with her and want to take her along on lots of outdoorsy adventures, camping trips, holidays, regular walks, the beach etc. (and have her listen to me in these settings) but I’m not really into going to dog parks.

I want her to be a dog that is comfortable in any environment and wants to move with me when I want to. At the moment she is super interested in sniffing everything so I am letting her and then saying lets go and giving her a treat for coming with me…

[mowgliandme]

Oops should probably clarify that she has been more places than just cafes:

Other socialisation outings include going to friends houses and in their backyards, a couple of friends holiday houses for overnight stays, a warehouse, pet shops, an overnight camping trip, a train station, construction site, outside a shopping mall, the beach, we have had people over, she has loved being patted by at least 100 people and seen a lot more, lots of car rides of various lengths (she does occasionally whinge in these - for some reason the shorter ones), the vet for puppy school and vaccination. She has been comfortable, curious and happy in all of these situations.

In the overnight trips to new places she likes to explore the new environment, meet people, play with her toys and settle for a nap or a play in her play pen so we are even able to go and get some groceries/dinner - she is good at figuring out the door/tent opening and will wait there to be let out to go to the toilet.

We have used the ‘sound proof puppy training’ app to get her used to weird noises but she was never really fussed by them.

She was taken out and about in a stroller by the breeder and socialised to a variety of textures, surfaces, noises and general life things so luckily for me she has been a very easy going puppy. :)

[The Spotted Devil]

I will combine socialising with training. Every dog is different and Ginny's issue is that she gets OVER aroused. Letting her explore at her own pace involves running and swimming for an hour :laugh: So somewhere she's comfortable with I would ask her to do simple things she can do at home. In the beginning it would be hard work just getting her to tug. Then I added impulse control games where she would have to offer a sit to initiate a tug game. And then I built it from there. Short sharp FUN sessions.

[karen15]

With your walking on a loose leash, my staffy learned to heel on command (means walk beside you and don't deviate) and then I'd give him his release word and he knew he could go and sniff etc. Call him back to heel and back to uninterrupted walking.

Current dogs are learning the same. If you have trouble with them not coming back to heel a short jog works, as they have to zoom to keep up. Return to walk, say heel and walk with purpose.

[Eza]

My pup is 14 weeks old now.

My vacuum dispenses treats if you ask him. My birds go crazy and he doesnt even bat an eye lid. My 4 year old chucks tantrums and hes not fussed. The bin truck is amazing and hes not got a worry in the world (expect the wolves on the TV tonight had him worried but I just ignored him and played with a few of his toys and he was edgy but not in a panic).

Walking on lead we havent really started other than to control his wandering range but Im usually moving in the same direction anyway.

Hes met 2 other dogs while being here but hes due to start dog obedience next week.

[mowgliandme]

She is typically not over excited by the environment and im able to get her back to my side most of the time...and is very good with most situations (yesterday she just lay down at a busy cafe with 70ish people and watched kids run, scream and play but was happy to get pats from them when they asked)

I agree that I'd rather she likes things like people, vacuum cleaners and bin trucks than be scared of them

She is a bit strange with dogs though:

If they try to say hello to her - she will at first run behind me (tail down, ears back), then in a matter of 2 seconds) she'll come back to the same spot where she was (tail neutral) and approach to sniff them cautiously, then within another few seconds she'll want to play and be very pouncy in a puppy way, then when they leave - its hard to get her back to my side again until they are a 5-10metres away. She was super confident in puppy school and plays with the other dog at home.

Is the initially fearful reaction normal? And will meeting a few more nice dogs get rid of that?

[mowgliandme]

With your walking on a loose leash, my staffy learned to heel on command (means walk beside you and don't deviate) and then I'd give him his release word and he knew he could go and sniff etc. Call him back to heel and back to uninterrupted walking.

Current dogs are learning the same. If you have trouble with them not coming back to heel a short jog works, as they have to zoom to keep up. Return to walk, say heel and walk with purpose.

That sounds good- we have been keeping actual walks really short, just up and down the short street but am going to try and get her to walk by my side for one house then release her to go sniff for a bit and follow her around, then call her back to my side...cause at the moment im just following her around while she tries to sniff every plant, bin, patch of grass, calling her away from some things (going into peoples driveways) and thats not how i intend to walk in the future!

She does heel very well at home, in the backyard and I am keeping sessions short and fun :) But naturally our outings are longer than a few minutes so dont want to push her to stay in position for that long at this baby age, i'll get her to walk nicely for a little bit then gradually increase the time of walking nicely by my side vs sniffing as she gets older

[karen15]

With my puppy (now 12 mths old), we go to park first so the dogs can run and sniff for 10-15 mins, then we go for a proper walk.

To be honest, I never encourage my dogs to approach other dogs when on leash. Two dogs are tricky by themselves, add another two and you get tangled leads and what not. Some people are nice and ask if it's ok for their dog to say hello. That gives me time to prepare my two. Generally I just call them into a tight heel, keep the leads short and tell them to walk on.

My staffy was a bit different and so excited with other dogs approaching. Excited staffies can get mistaken for unruly naughty bitey dogs, particularly with their play bark. So with him, I'd go a short way up a driveway or just well off the path and "park" him. Depending on his excitability he would either be in sit or drop. Once the dog passed we'd resume our walk. As he got older he was more settled but was always so happy and friendly with other dogs.

[Eza]

My pup has only met 2 dogs. First he was 10 weeks old and pretty full of himself. She was an older dog and very friendly so he just got to do what he wanted and she followed around.

Second dog was on the weekend and he met him through a gate on neutral grounds. They were happy to play after a few seconds of sniffing. My pup spent most of his time on the ground being submissive but once he worked out how the other dog wanted to play they were sharing sticks and playing chase.

I have another week before he will go to Dog Obedience classes.

[huski]

A couple of things I consider when talking about socialisation:

1) Socialisation isn't just about giving a pup a new experience - but assigning that experience a value AND teaching them how to behave in new environments. Every time I take a puppy out it is a chance for me to test what value they have for things they experience and come across and how well they engage with me in different environments and around different distractions.

2) In regards to the vacuum cleaner example, being neutral or having a low positive value for something isn't an issue, it IS an issue when the dog is so driven by a specific distraction like other dogs or people or a particular item that they can't control themselves or engage with you around it.

3) Easily one of the biggest mistakes I see owners make is taking pups out and letting them confidently pull on the leash engaging everything in the environment except for them (the owners). This develops a pup that starts to think you are the fun police by slowing them down to get where they want to go, and you are teaching them to disengage from and ignore you in favour of other things in the environment. I always want to make sure that no matter the environment or distraction my pup can engage with me. That doesn't mean I want them to ignore everything, but that no matter what they are doing I can easily get their focus and attention back on me.

4) As we start to teach pups more things, you need to assign the correct arousal level to each exercise. Walking nicely on the leash = low level arousal. Competition heel work = high level arousal. etc

[mowgliandme]

Thanks huski that does clear it up :)

I haven't been letting her pull on the leash at all or choose directions but I have been letting her stop and sniff things as I am walking (and stopping or slowing down for her).

If she hits the end of the lead (rarely) I will either call her back to my side and then continue walking or call her back and then release her to go sniff it again. I haven't had any issues with getting her attention back to me with sniffing things or watching garbage trucks go past etc

But i have had difficulty getting her attention after i've let her "say hello" to 3 other dogs (after they were done greeting each other) while they were walking away, otherwise she has passed other dogs while still being able to focus on me? Does this mean I shouldn't let her greet other dogs for now?