#dog socialization

[abirddogmoment]

Can you talk more about the dog socialization day training you did for Rory?

Yes! This was part of my effort to turn Rory into a truly neutral dog around other dogs after I made Mav lowkey reactive (from my own anxieties). It did not really impact his life or ability to do dog sports but it gave me extra stress and I wanted to avoid that with Rory.

Day training is where you drop your dog off with trainers for the day and they do structured training sessions while they have your dog. There are no free for all play groups and there's a lot of down time in a crate. This was fine for Rory who spent the work day in a crate as a puppy anyway, but might not be a good fit for dogs who have a hard time settling or aren't crate trained.

There are a handful of day training programs available in my city, geared towards different things like sports, specific issues such as sep anxiety, general good manners, etc. I ended up going with the day train at the facility I used for Rory's baby puppy socialization class because I liked the setup, it was on my way to work, and she had already been in the training centre with me so I knew she was comfy-ish there. There are other day trainers I know and trust more personally but they worked out of facilities that are much more inconvenient for me to get to, boo.

I emailed the day train coordinator to explain my goal, which was to do structured lowkey interactions with multiple vetted dogs so Rory could learn appropriate dog-dog manners and dynamics without feeding off my stress. I specifically wanted short, structured sessions and then for her to hang out and decompress in a crate. I did not want regular high energy play groups like you would see at typical dog daycare. The coordinator didn't really think it was good value for my money and pushed hard for me to do regular daycare but I insisted on the day train and it was perfect. Dog neutrality is worth the money to me, personally. It was $65/day for about 45 cumulative mins of structured training per day, and I sent her twice at about 6 months old.

(Clarifying note that I did lots of other dog-dog socialization work, this was just one piece of my overarching strategy and this was specifically to learn how to interact with stranger dogs, which is where I get the most stressed.)

Rory got to interact with about a dozen dogs of different sizes, ages, breeds, and energy levels both one-on-one and in groups of 3-5. I got videos of her interactions which gave me a good idea of how she approached, greeted, and responded to stranger dogs.

Her first day train day had lots of very appropriate but insecure interactions, which tracks for Rory and britts in general. I was again encouraged to put her in daycare but pushed back and did a second day train day, and those videos showed appropriate and confident interactions, so I didn't send her again after that because I was tired of advocating and she had met the goals I had for daytrain.

This was a good thing to do for Rory because she's nervous and easily overwhelmed, and could have so easily tipped into reactivity by feeding off my stress about interacting with strange dogs out in the wilds. I also don't put her in situations where she would meet a lot of strange dogs and I'm not part of any training clubs, so I wanted to front-load positive experiences with strange dogs so if/when she had a bad one, it would be an anomaly and not a baseline.

Traditional dog daycare is not suitable for Rory. As a breed that tends towards over-arousal / over-excitment, regular daycare (unstructured play groups) can cause a lot of issues. Training the britts has mostly been managing arousal to use our thinking brains, and traditional daycare is kind of the opposite of that.

So yeah I would do the day training again if I raise another puppy! I feel much less stressed knowing that Rory has a baseline of positive/neutral/boring strange dog interactions to help mitigate any negative interactions we have on the trails. Offloading my most dreaded socialization piece to trainers also took a lot of pressure off of myself which I love.

There are lots of things I would do differently with a future puppy, but this was a solid piece and if it's feasible (and you aren't getting stranger dog interactions in another way), I would recommend it. An ounce of prevention and all that.

[doggozila]

(via HOW TO STOP A DOG FROM JUMPING UP ON PEOPLE)

While it’s great that your dog is friendly and sociable, it’s important to ensure their behavior is controlled and considerate of others. Punishing your dog for this behavior is not the solution; instead, there are effective methods to prevent your dog from running up to people. 

[rjalker]

[ID: A screenshot of a tweet by "Dog Solution" that reads, "'Do not bite a hand that feed you but nibble ok' - Dog Proversb".

This is followed by a photo of a black, floppy-eared puppy sitting and looking up at the camera with two of the camera person's fingers in its mouth.

End ID.]

yeah this is in fact literally how you train your dogs to bite you.

If you let them do it when they're puppies, they'll keep doing it when they're adults.

If you teach a puppy that it's acceptable behavior for them to put their mouth around your hand, and "nibble" on your fingers, guess what they're gonna keep doing when they're bigger, and their teeth sharper, and their jaws stronger?

Especially if your dog is going to grow up to be a bigger dog, you need to actually fucking raise them, from puppyhood, planning the entire damn way. If it wouldn't be okay for a 100lb dog to do, then don't let them do it as a puppy. Dogs grow up fast. They get big really fucking fast.

What's cute and seems harmless now will, in a few months, be, at best, annoying, and more likely dangerous.

Don't let puppies chew on your fingers, arms, clothes, or shoes.

Don't let puppies jump up and put their front paws on you.

Don't let puppies tackle you.

It's so much easier and better for everyone involved, including your poor dog, if you teach them to behave properly and safely when they're still too small to hurt anyone.

By the time your dog is big enough to break the skin when they bite you or heavy enough that they knock someone to the ground by trying to say hi, it's going to be far more effort to reverse the damage you've already done, and more stress on you and your dog, and whoever is unlucky enough to get hurt by them.

And all of this also applies to cats. Do not let kittens play with your hands. Do not let them use their claws on you or bite you, even if it doesn't hurt now, it's going to hurt later when they're adults who think stabbing you or biting you is appropriate behavior.

My mom's current dogs literally think body slamming people and biting them is just normal friendly behavior because she lets her husband "play" with them in a way that literally teaches them "this is how you interact with people in a friendly way" because he's big and tall and works out and can't be knocked over by a 100lb dog. And he has never stopped to consider that maybe that is not the case for the majority of other people who have to interact with these dogs.

Every time I go over there my arms and hands are covered in welts from Lucy's teeth literally scraping my skin because she is literally biting down when she leaps into the air to snap at you, which she thinks is a friendly greeting.

Do not let your dogs chew on you. Do not let your dogs think that putting people's hands or arms inside their mouths is friendly, normal behavior.

All you're doing is raising your dog to be a danger to everyone who'll ever interact with them, including you when you get older or if you get hurt.

[ask-a-vetblr]

I don't know how to find friends for my dog. Would it be weird to ask my vet to offer my contact info to owners of other patients of a similar age and disposition?

gettingvetted here.

This would be quite an unusual ask, and possibly not something your vet could keep up with. You're probably better off advertising in local social media groups, attending local events that allow dogs, or enrolling in training classes to meet other dogs and their owners!

[clawbuddies]

Professional dog trainers teaching how to socialize a puppy, which is the far most important thing you can do. Watch these free videos and learn how to handle the socialization stage of your new puppy properly

[doggiedrawings]

Decompress For Success is a guide on how to welcome a new pup into your home.This is an infographic by Elizabeth Mullen of Dog Latin Dog Training. Illustrated by me. Any questions? << Dog Latin FB page

A little reminder that my new book on dog body language will be a great little guide on how to observe your dog and learn what they are feeling. You can preorder it now on Amazon, Bookshop, and other links - www.doggielanguagebook.com

[emiliotheexplorer]

During our walk, we sometimes come across this curly haired friend (CHF) just hanging out in its backyard. Today CHF was interested in Lio and was being so sweet (just sitting at the end of its yard and watching as I gave Lio treats) so I decided to see if I could get Lio up close to the fence for hopefully some positive puppy interactions.

Lio was a bit amped up but was doing fine so I got him into his down position when we got closer than I would usually bring him. Lio was alert but compliant. CHF got up to stand a few times but always settled back into a sit. This was all great.

But then I pushed my luck and stuck around even after Lio started up with the baby whining. I gambled on my ability to calm him back down and he ended up barking at CHF friend who, being a good dog, barked out of surprise then ran away from the fence and hung back until I got Lio to calm down in his down position. We were walking away when CHF came back. After which Lio peed on a bush and barked again. CHF ran away again.

I guess the context of Lio + dogs behind fences is that in my parents neighbourhood there is a trail that is lined by string of backyards. They don’t have privacy fences- just these four foot wire fences. There are some territorial/unfriendly dogs that owners just let into their backyards without supervision and Lio is scared of them all. Including two Pomeranians that were off leash in the street one day and swarmed his front legs and this really big and intimidating Great Dane that has almost jumped the fence on a handful of occasions. Lio always whines when we walk through the path and he senses that these dogs are out in their backyards.

I don’t know. I thought we could get a positive experience out of this because CHF was being so calm and sweet. Should have taken a cue from his baby whining that I was pushing my luck.

Lio doesn’t need to have dog friends. I would just like for him to feel more secure in diverse situations. I get really down on myself for not knowing more about dog socialization when he first came home. Especially when people always talk about how greyhounds come to you well-socialized due to their farm and track upbringing. It makes me feel like he only got screwed up after coming to live with me.

Which actually may be the case because he did okay for awhile until the handful of terrible experiences with the Irish setter two doors down and the husky that chased us half a block. Plus, as I mentioned, the Pomeranians and Great Dane. Also these two awful westies that also live along the trail.

Idk. Hoping for better experiences soon.

[trainingfaith]

Stress signals in dogs...and why they are important!!

I was watching a video the other day of a service dog in training. He was heeling beautifully beside his handler in a department store, sitting on command, performing a long distance down stay, and just being a really good dog. The handler wrote a short bit about how proud she was for how well her puppy was doing with his public access training. However, my heart truly breaks for this dog.

What the handler failed to realize is how completely uncomfortable her dog was to be there. Despite him behaving near flawlessly, his body language was screaming he’d rather be anywhere but where he was right then. Unfortunately many dog owners fail to notice subtle, yet key, signs of stress for their dog. Without knowing how to read subtle changes in body language, you can easily cause your dog to go from mildly nervous or uncomfortable, to a full on panic or rage in a matter of seconds. This is what happens when people say their dog “just had a meltdown,” or even snapped at someone, for “no reason.”  Ignoring stress signals is incredibly dangerous for everyone involved.

When out training with your service dog (or your pet dog for that matter), it is important to get into the habit of carefully watching your dog’s body language. It helps to write down in a training log exactly how your dog reacts to different stimuli. This way, you will be able to clearly see where your dog is solid, where your dog is not, where you are improving, and where you need more work.

Below are signs of minor stress signals for dogs.

When I say minor, this doesn’t mean you should continue what you are doing in hopes he will just “get over it.”  What I DO mean is that these are the signals which are almost always overlooked… when key stress signals are overlooked by the handler, it can lead to much greater problems.

Lip licking when no food is present

Yawning when he didn’t just wake up

Rapid sniffing of the air or ground

Stiff movement or tense muscles

Slowed movement or a laggy heel

Lowered tail

Hyper vigilance (rapidly moving eyes trying to scan the environment)

Hardened facial features

Dog stops taking treats/food

Dog starts taking treats in a more hard/bitey manor

Hard eyes (fast/sharp blinking)

Weight shift changes

Panting when it’s not hot out

Slightly roached (curved) back

Ears back

Not responding to handler’s commands

Looking away from handler

Whiney and uneasy

Nibbling on treats but not actually eating them

Leaning on the handler

Scratching themselves

Now here are some major stress signals for dogs.

If your dog is experiencing any of these, it is not only time to remove him from the situation ASAP, but to also rethink your training plan. Many of these signals will occur just shortly before a complete panic and/or bite.

Tightly tucked tail

Whale eye (dog’s eyes go wide and you can see the white rim around them)

Pulling towards an exit

Pulling away from the handler

Spinning on the leash

Not responding to the handler’s commands

Not responding to the handler’s voice

Shaking

Urinating

Low/tucked body position with a roached (curved) back

Sweaty paws

Whining

Heavy breathing when it’s not hot out

Teeth chattering

Tense lips and incisors (front teeth) showing while licking at the air

Laying down on the ground with their chin down and not wanting to move

Your service dog depends on you JUST as much as you depend on him. As your dog’s handler, you are 100% responsible for his mental and physical well-being at all times. No matter what situation you find yourself in, your dog’s needs should always come first.

Pushing a nervous dog into a situation where he is uncomfortable is one of the absolute worst things you can do for your SDiT, and creates the potential for much greater behavioral issues further down the road. Thinking your dog can “just get over it” is an extremely outdated training tactic. Just because your dog appears to stop fighting does NOT mean he is comfortable in that situation… it simply means he has shut down.  He’s still anxious and afraid, but he’s decided there’s no point in fighting anymore. This is one of the most dangerous situations your dog may find himself in. He appears “calm,” but a second later has the potential to lash out and bite.

I get it, we are all excited to start public access training! However, the goal for service dog training should always be to create a mentally sound and stable dog in all situations. Subjecting him to situations which cause him fear or panic is just NOT the way to do that.