Do Not Rush Your Puppy's Socialization Process

Date: 2010-02-08 18:20:25

By Tristan Andrews

The big buzz word these days is "socialization". Many owners are in a hurry to socialize their puppy. Nowadays, owners go through great lengths trying to socialize their puppies by placing them in every possible situation, such as walking them down every busy street, taking them to street fairs, meeting lots of different people, and meeting different dogs. Yes, a puppy becomes more confident when properly socialized in the city, but it must be done slowly and in small increments. Some situations are just too stimulating and challenging for a puppy.

There is no need to walk your puppy down the busiest downtown streets if you can't control her from jumping and pulling toward people on side streets. By working on side streets first, you can more easily move to the challenges of busier streets. It's also not wise to go rushing young puppies - under four months of age - to the park to meet other dogs. A young puppy will merely be in the way as big and more assertive dogs try to play together. There may be a more suitable area in the park where other puppy owners gather together.

The best place to start the socialization process is in your home and on your own block. Your puppy will have adequate opportunities to meet strangers when guests visit you or when meeting the neighbors on your block. As you may have heard before, the best place to socialize your puppy is by enrolling her in a puppy kindergarten class.

Stress Of Meeting New Dogs

Most owners think it's cute when their dog pulls them along to reach another dog. An owner will often say, "My dog just wants to say hello." But they don't realize they are creating a stressful situation for the other dog. From my own personal experience, my dog Indy does not like other dogs pulling on their leash or racing up to her to get in close to sniff her. In the dog world, this is viewed as aggressive behavior - not respecting one's space. When this happens, simply give a polite "Good day" greeting to the owner and quickly move on.

Some puppies cower or pull away when a strange dog approaches. If your dog begins to cower, use leash control to your advantage. A cowering puppy is showing submission. Move her away from the strange dog by stating the "Back" command. As you walk backwards, you open up more space between you and the other dog. This will make your puppy feel more safe and give her a chance to regain her confidence.

Never hold a puppy in your arms when a dog moves in an aggressive manner toward her. By holding her in your arms, your puppy becomes an accessible stationary target. Tell the owner how you feel about this aggressive dog. It may be the dog's nature to be aggressive, but it isn't right for a city environment. I believe owners need to be told when their dogs are too aggressive. If they hear it enough times, maybe they'll right the situation by taking their dog in for training and spare other pups from being frightened.


Author

Tristan Andrews is a freelance author who writes about puppies and dog breeds.Distributed by http://www.ContentCrooner.com. This articles came from MoreArticles.net.


Terms and Conditions

By using any article on this site you agree to not change, modify, or add to the article in any shape or form. You agree to not modify any clickable and active links. You agree to include the author bio unchanged and unmodified. You agree to link back to this site MoreArticles.net. If you accept and follow all of these terms and conditions then you are allowed to freely use these articles.