This article covers the topic how socializing dogs can lead to dog happiness.
You will discover the importance and safety for you, your pet as well as people you come in contact with.
When your pet or any puppy dog, has proper social skills he or she has a fun and happy attitude all times and in all places.
Now on the other hand, a dog with poor social skills can become a threat to other animals, children and other pet owners.
When is the best time to begin the Socialization Training of a dog? The answer to this questions is simple, as young as possible.
The great thing about training a puppy socialization at a young age is that they will retain these teachings into adult hood.
Puppies are habit machines and creating a positive habit early will prove to be a dream for you.
If a dog is properly trained in socialization, he or she will not be afraid around other dogs, will not feel threatened and will handle any interaction with other animals in a calm way.
Every new encounter will be one a pure bliss for your dog, like a child meeting new friends for the first time.
A dog that is lacking the social skills, will not be as confident and calm with new encounters and these dogs have the ability to lash out and bite.
They do not realize how to react in these situations because they never had proper introduction to this life skill.
I think it is a good idea to begin training a puppy around 11 to 12 weeks old.
Help your dog refine his or her social skills with continuous training long after the young stages.
Now, I do not want to give the impression that older dogs can not be taught socialization skills because they indeed can.
It is just bit more difficult to teach older dog this because they tend to be stuck in there old ways.
Make each of the socialization events as pleasant and not a threat for the puppy as possible.
A unpleasant experience may turn into one that the puppy will not easily forget.
This could turn into some little phobia that may last a long time so make sure you work on making this training process enjoyable by taking your time and not rushing the puppy.
Here is a quick check list of training options for socializing dogs.
Number 1- Inviting your friends over to meet the new puppy.
It is important to included as many different people as possible in the puppies circle of acquaintances, including men, women, children, adults, as well as people of many diverse ethnic backgrounds and ages.
Number 2 - Consider introducing your dog to other healthy dogs as this will create the social interaction that your dog needs.
Make certain that when you introduce your dog that the other dog has received all necessary vaccinations needed.
Number 3 - Taking your dog to several different public places, like stores, parks, etc.
is also a great idea to create that comfort level need to have the confidence for socializing.
Get the puppy used to a variety of objects by rearranging familiar ones.
Simply placing a chair upside down, or placing a table on its side, creates an object that your puppy will perceive as totally new.
Number 4 - Getting your dog used to things like grooming will create comfort for him or her with vet visits and things much like this.
Number 5 - This may sound silly but, introduce your dog to every day things around the house provides that comfort which then leads to calmness in social situations.
Now there are some things that you do not want to do when teaching your puppy proper socialization skills.
Number 1 - It is not a good idea to have your puppy in areas with strange animals around.
Something like a attack will only create a bigger fear in socializing dogs.
Number 2 - It is not a good idea to provide rewards or affection to fear reactions as this will provide unwanted results in socializing him or her.
Number 3 - Try not to do too much too soon.
Young puppies have short attention spans, and continuing lessons beyond this point will prove to be not productive in the training process.
Remember that there is a small window of opportunity to start the socializing dogs and training.
Your young puppy is a clean canvas, and you want to make certain that you provide that canvas with a beautiful work of art from the start.
Patience is truly the key to teaching your furry family member and having the results you want.