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Dog Socialization:

Raising a dog-friendly dog

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There's a short period in every puppy's development, from very early puppyhood to three or four months of age, when his experiences have a big effect on his entire approach to life. If he has lots of positive encounters with other dogs during that developmental window, he's far more likely to grow up to be dog-friendly. If he doesn't, he can become fearful and aggressive.

An adult dog's personality is far less malleable than a puppy's, but exposure to other dogs can still improve his social skills. Just move slowly and cautiously, and if you see signs of aggression or timidity, get help from a professional trainer right away.

How to raise a dog-friendly puppy

This is easy, since other dogs, starting with your puppy's mother and littermates, do most of the work.

Young puppies teach each other how to act around other dogs, mainly by practicing how to show and read the signs of submission and dominance. Without this lesson in canine etiquette, a dog may attack another dog who's trying to tell him, "I give up--you're the boss!" Or he won't know how to defuse a dominant dog's aggression by signaling his submission. Either way, you're likely to wind up with expensive vet bills.

The solution is simple: Give your puppy plenty of chances to practice his canine etiquette.

Bring home your puppy at the right age. Don't buy or adopt a puppy who was taken away from his mom and littermates before eight weeks of age. Any earlier, and your pup won't have had enough chances to practice his canine manners with them.

Set up playdates. When you bring your new pup home, invite your friends to bring their healthy, vaccinated dogs over to play. To make sure your pup doesn't get intimidated, start with mellow, well-behaved dogs.

Start him in school. As soon as possible, sign up for puppy kindergarten classes that allow the pups plenty of time for off-leash play.

Feed his social life. When your puppy grows up, take him to the dog park, invite friends' dogs over to play, and keep exposing your dog to other canines. Even if your dog had a hopping canine social life during puppyhood, he needs regular exposure to other dogs throughout his adulthood or he risks becoming less friendly over time.

Bottom line: No matter what the breed or bloodline, every dog should get regular playtime with canine pals to be friendly and safe around other dogs. This is especially important before the age of three or four months, when a pup's experiences can shape his personality as an adult.


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related Raising a dog-friendly dog topics

Dog Guarding

dogtime tip

Introducing your pup to other dogs is actually very important for his safety around people. When puppies play-fight, they teach each other to not bear down with their jaws when they bite. Trainers call this bite inhibition.

A dog with rock-solid bite inhibition is unlikely to break the skin if he ever snaps when startled or in pain. This is critical for a family dog. Even if you don't mean to ever frighten or hurt your dog, accidents--such as closing a door on his tail, or tripping on him while he's napping--can happen.


 

Comments

AvatarI have a 4 year old pit-bull mix that I adopted from a resuce group a few years ago. She had alot of problems but has really come a long way. She is competely social towards people and almost all other dogs in the neighborhood. There is however, one dog that she had a run in with early on and now she absolutely hates this dog. She got out of our yard on two occassions and attacked the dog in his own yard. I don't know what to do. It seems to be just this one dog, like she's holding a grudge against this dog maybe with reason because the first attack was provoked by this dog. I think the neighbors are pretty fed up and I'm afraid animal control may get involved. How do you fix a problem when it seems to be dog aggression towards one particular dog???

Laura” — Laura, Jun 20 2009

AvatarI have six month gorgeous labrador who is just SO full-on and enthusiastic around other puppies and children that its getting difficult to continue her socialisation, as she is now quite large and wont calm down. She went to preschool and has had lots of plays with kids and pups but she is just so agressively playful. Any advice?” — kmalss, Mar 16 2009

Avatari have a female pit that is 7 months old now,but ever since she was 9-10 weeks old she was aggressive over other dogs, she nearly killed 2 small dogs at 6 months when her jaw finally locked how do i get her to stop going after the 2 small ones?” — upbrotherhood, Feb 19 2009

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