So you just brought home a new puppy. Everybody is overcome with joy, and the puppy is getting adjusted. I could write a book about all the little mistakes people make during these first few days, and how it surfaces into problems later in your life together, but you're stoked, so lets leave it alone for now. Common knowledge says, "socialize your puppy." However, this is a crucial step to get right, and most everybody, even so called dog trainers and dog schools (not naming names, but rhymes with shmet sart) get it absolutely wrong. If there is anything you want your dog to be good at, it is social behavior. Sharing your life with your k-9 gets difficult if he/she displays discomfort in social situations when other dogs come along, especially in a town like Flagstaff, where there are seemingly as many dogs as humans. Get this part right for a life full of doggy friends for your pooch.
What you MUST realize
From the moment your puppy was brought into this world, even while blind and deaf, if he acted in a way that broke his mom's boundaries, (like feeding too hard) mom would provide a correction as if to say, "hey little puppy who does not know a thing yet; we don't do that." This message is continually sent when ever said puppy acts too excited. The age when doggy-mom begins to depend on other members of the pack to help her reinforce these "No" times, happens to be the same age most puppies head for a human home. In this setting however, this type of message (a lot of the time) ceases to exist; and in a world with zero "No" verything tends to be a "Yes". In this way, you ought to treat your puppy's early social situation a lot like you would your own child's; pick his/her friends, supervise play time, and be ok with communicating "No." Often times in socialization groups or classes, puppies are allowed to jump all over each other usually to the high pitched, excitement-inducing cooing of the humans that are watching. As associative learners, this teaches your puppy to greet dogs with high excitement, a trait that can cause all sorts of problems later in life. However, if the goal is to raise a well adjusted dog whom you have no problem controlling, this type of high excitement behavior should not be allowed at any age.
Socializing your puppy the right way
First, find some friends with older dogs who behave in a desirable way. These are the dogs you should introduce first, as they already understand the correct, polite way to greet other K-9's. Furthermore, because they are adult dogs, your puppy will naturally defer to a follower role (ideal for puppies), observing and acting accordingly instead of trying to run the show. If you want your puppy to interact with other puppies, make sure that all the humans know how to communicate "No, that is too much excitement." If you choose to do your socialization at the dog park, take the following actions to assure some other misbehaved dog does not ruin your time:
1. Walk your dog around the dog park (outside the fence) to see how all the dogs in the park react. Allow curiosity on your puppies part if he chooses to sniff through the fence, but do not let him pull you to the fence. With a puppy, and any dog for that matter, YOU should lead the dog into new situations. At this point, don't be afraid to make the decision not to enter, especially if you notice dogs acting dominant with no human interruption.
2. Make sure you own the gate of the dog park, meaning, you can get your puppy to give you space as you walk through the gate into the park before inviting your pup to follow. This will communicate that you are in control of that space as well, providing re-assurance for puppy. Before this step, if your local bark park has a double entry gate, you can again let your pup and the other dogs satisfy their curiosity by sniffing through the fence. When these dogs begin to leave the gate area, you can proceed in.
3. No matter the size of the dog, DO NOT pick him up, even (especially) if you are nervous. Let him be a dog so that other dogs are not confused. If your puppy is being pestered or pinned by another dog, pin your puppy yourself and push the other dogs away (if people won't recognize their own dog's misbehavior, you should not have to be a victim) to let other dogs know that YOU are the dog that owns this puppy's space.
By following these steps, your puppy will grow up a social dog who knows how to meet dogs of all temperaments without problem, knowing that you, above all these other dogs, are the leader of the pack.
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