Hello! I live in an area with lots of dogs and a dog park. My 5 month old puppy meets different dogs during his daily walks. Most of the time, the other dog owners and myself make them meet and greet. With the dog owners and dogs I am familiar with, a 5 minute play time is usually awarded. I also bring my puppy to my girlfriend's house to play with her two dogs. Is this enough for socialization at this age? My neighbour mentioned that I should avoid the dog park since many dogs there are lacking doggy manners. Can socializing your puppy with not well behaved or trained dogs have a negative impact? I also have noticed a bad habit my puppy has and it is try to jump on other dogs. I am consistent with him that this is not an acceptable behaviour. Any tricks? Any other suggestions on socialization? Thanks
We will have to trust your judgement on the dog park, some are great, some are awful. One near me is smaller than my yard with 10 dogs crammed into it the day I dropped by. You couldn't pay me to let my adult dog in there, let alone a puppy. Other poorly behaved and trained dogs could hurt your puppy. If your puppy is rude and jumps on other dogs one might take exception and tell him off and hurt him. Most well rounded dogs understand puppies and try to avoid the behaviours they don't like but some will overly strongly react. In a small dog park it might be difficult for the other dog to avoid yours. You need to socialize with more than just other dogs. Any living, breathing animal, people, cats, horses that you are likely to meet and spend time with are good to try and socialize with. People of other races (it's embarassing as heck if you do not have any black people near you and then when you visit your sister your puppy makes strange with her little black boy neighbour) and wearing different clothes, as in the hat thread. A schoolyard when school lets out is good for exposure to commotion as well but you will probably have to instruct the kids on proper puppy meeting protocol. Plus, it's fun for you to show off your puppy. Strictly speaking it's Habituation, not socialization, to expose puppy to sights, sounds, smells and places. We went to my Aunt's nursing home with it's smells, wheelchairs, elevator, grasping hands and lots of oohing and ahhing people. We also visited the ski resort - first the parking lot with cars and fumes and the outside noise from the loud speaker, then the foyer (with permission) people in funny hats, loud clomping boots, shrieking kids. .
Hi and welcome, I'm guessing that from your reference to dog parks that you're in North America. Dog parks are few and far between here in the UK. It is quite possible that your puppy can learn poor manners from poorly trained dogs. Ideally you only want your dog to play with well mannered dogs and a puppy will learn from the experience. A well mannered dog will also let a younger dog know what is or isn't acceptable without the need for any form of aggressive behaviour (unless the youngster is really persistent). I wouldn't insist on my dog greeting other dogs, there is no reason why a dog should like or want to greet another dog just because we say so. Do you like everyone you meet? I know I don't and I wouldn't want someone to make me spend time with them. It is also good to train your puppy to ignore dogs when you ask him to, it is important that e develops impulse control. As for jumping on other dogs it is difficult to say whether the jumping is a bad habit. Is it part of play? Is he trying to initiate play with the dog. Is he on or off lead. Does he jump up on people as well? Socialisation or habituation is just a process of introducing your dog to as many different experiences as possible and certainly is not restricted to just meeting other dogs. Ideas for socialisation are walking in town exposed to the sound of traffic, airbreaks on vehicles, sirens on emergency vehicles, people in uniform, sitting in a café having a coffee (or beer), watching people at the rain station, trips on a buses or trains, watching people at supermarkets, seeing people wearing hats, umbrellas, the noise of children at school and leaving school - the list is endless.
I would avoid areas will "poorly behaved" or "untrained" dogs. In the UK our experience of dog parks is limited (and I have only been to two) and it may be quite different to where you live. I went to one park that was just a fenced off area the size of a tennis court within a much much larger park that was empty, which could have been good for some off lead training. The other dog park had two dogs in it when I arrived, shortly after just the one. The owner said to me that his dog could be a bit aggressive, it then proceeded to chase Lilly and bark at her. Now Lilly is always up for a chase, but you could see she wasn't happy, so I left. I think dog parks COULD be used as a place to let them do what they want off lead without intervention or attempt at training. So for this reason you might be better staying on lead, wandering around getting all the experiences MaccieD has mentioned, concentrating on "look at me" rather than any "forced" greetings. Perhaps it might be good to have a visit to your nearest park WITHOUT your dog to get a sense of who is there, what owners are doing, and the overall dynamics of the dog interactions. Maybe a couple of visits at different times to see what you reckon?
Sorry to hijack the thread - were the dog parks here in Fife? I'm always looking for different places to take Ripple.
Well, one of them (the small one) was at Beveridge park - it was just a basic fenced off area. The other one was in Glasgow.
Thank you, that's a shame, but I suppose dog parks aren't always the best place. Just looked at Beveridge park, probably only worth it if I was in Kirkcaldy anyway. Glasgow is a bit far .
I found Tara socialised well at puppy training, having the chance to play with other puppies. She is now 14 months, but still thinks all dogs want to play with her, and will go up to any dog for a play. So far she has been rebuffed by a few terrier types, but most seem to realise she is still a puppy, and tolerate her. I expect one day she will come up against a large dog that will snap at her, but that is no different than how we learn who to avoid in the school playground or on an evening out!
Portland Metro area has lots of dog parks, some small and some quite large. We often go to one that is about 50 acres, not fenced, a few miles from our home. Most dogs that people take to parks are at least reasonably well socialized. I don't think it is a bad idea for you pup to meet some dogs that don't particularly like him. He will get a useful message that will serve him well in the real world where some dogs are really unfriendly. The Federal Government owns most of Oregon, and dogs are allowed on most Federal and State lands, except National Parks and game refuge areas (depending on the season). I especially agree about having your pup meet as many different people as possible. Different races, clothing etc. Also going to different environments. Dogs aren't generally allowed in restaurants and bars over here, but lots of places have outside seating now where they are allowed.
