One of the best things that have happened recently is the increase in parents of young pups bringing them in for the Puppy Preschool Program. This 4 week course is specially designed for puppies up to seven months old. In it, puppies learn rules and boundaries, some commands, but most importantly they learn a healthy way of socializing with a myriad of other dogs. Dogs of all different ages and temperament, some with behavioral issues, some not. Like us, puppies learn from their pack. The importance of introducing younglings to all sorts of scenarios is as important to us as it is to dogs. That is how we and they learn what are acceptable forms of behaviors and what are not. Having humans understand and surrender to that is one of my life missions. For a long while humans would only bring their dog to training after behaviors started going south. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, but as any counselor will tell you, it is way more beneficial to be proactive in teaching good behaviors then it is reacting to bad ones after the fact. Having puppies coming in to learn and to create a foundation of behaviors that acceptable in the dog and human world is one of the best things any dog parent can for their dog. It means setting the dog up for success. It means socializing them and creating an imprint that will be with them for the rest of their lives when done correctly.
Socialization with dogs means many things to many different people. In my mind the perfect socialization for dogs means allowing them to interact and experience a multitude of different scenarios and energies while guiding them to be successful. Like us when we are young, puppies absorb every new experience that they have. They learn through trial and error. Creating and maintaining a healthy environment in which a dog can learn is the best way to imprint the behaviors that will make them be comfortable in the world that they live in. No need to fight – flight – avoid others dogs, people, places or things. Simply learn to navigate your way through that. That is healthy fraternization. That is the foundation of balanced dog.
I will venture a guess here and say that most of us had parents or guardians that taught us how to interact with the world around us. In addition to that we went to school to learn skills that eventually would benefit us in the long run. The younger the student the more leisure time was offered in between lessons. The same is true for young puppies. The younger the dog the less they can absorb in terms of commands and human words. On the other hand, young dogs learn quicker through socialization with dogs and humans what behavior will get them what they want and what won’t. Contrary to popular belief socialization doesn’t simply means taking your dog to day care and letting them play until they are too exhausted to do anything else. Play is one important aspect of it, but not the only one. Learning how to be calm around others is as crucial to social learning as play is. Understanding that the other does not always mean excitement, assimilating giving space to an unstable energy or even surrendering to something you really want because the other has asked you to are all pillars of a social mammal; human or dog. Socialization is “the process of learning to behave in a way that is acceptable to society” hence why providing our dogs with healthy social skills is the best thing one can do for them. We do it for humans, my goal is to make it as acceptable and important to dogs.
So next time you think of how best to socialize your dog, set an intention of how would you like to be taught how to behave in a way that is acceptable to society. Then find a way to teach your dog that. Often times, seeking the help of a professional can alleviate a lot of the difficulties. But, if that is not possible, try mixing up play dates with simply walking your dog in the park and asking them to lie down beside you while other dogs or people are playing around. Or when dogs are playing with your dog, recall them and ask them to stay in the role of the observer for five minutes. Teaching our dogs that calmness around others is essential for a plural society is socialization. We were taught that, let’s give our dogs the same benefit and foundation.
Happy training!
