Most pet parents try to protect their animals from situations that would cause them to feel frightened or anxious. They must teach their dogs how to cope and respond in many diverse situations. Dogs will come in contact with a large spectrum of people, places, and other animals. They need to know how to act in a healthy and acceptable manner.
Start Young
The most formidable time is between the age of 3 and 12 weeks. During this period, the dogs will be the most sensitive. It’s important to start the socialization process when they’re a puppy; though a social life doesn’t end there. Dogs should continue to be socialized through adulthood. A good pet parent will encourage and reinforce good social skills and responsiveness to commands for their entire life. Even a simple walk in the park can do wonders for the dog’s obedience level. They will learn to walk on a leash, interact with others, and obey commands with regards to behavior. That walk in the park will help them be resilient in the face of the most unsettling of situations.
Socializing When Working Long Hours
Many people use cages and other methods to contained their dog while they are at work. Since everyone has to work, this can be a problem for owners that are gone all day. Leaving a dog alone for most of the day will cause problems due to a complete lack of socialization. Inability to relate to other dogs can cause aggression and unruly behavior because reacting to other animals is something out of the normal range of their day. There are options for those who live in the Lakewood or Golden areas, dog daycare is not just a kennel service. The professionals that care for your dogs actually help to socialize the animal when you can’t. These programs are designed for animals with active parents who simply cannot put the time into socializing their four legged family members.
The Consequences of an Dog That Hasn’t Been Socialized
A dog that has been exposed to social elements will be less fearful, friendlier and usually welcome the love and attention of a stranger. It’s important not to underestimate the necessity of socializing a dog. A dog can have all the interaction with people possible, then later in life become aggressive in social situations. This is because, without constant social interaction, they can become regressive with behaviors. To put it in perspective, dogs are a lot like humans in some ways. How would a human being react if they never saw anyone else? What if their world revolved around four walls all day long? It wouldn’t be long untill they would develop a mental illness, and they would be unable to properly interact with people. The same goes for dogs. They need to be able to interact to stay mentally strong. Anxiety and other mental illnesses can also affect the animal world too.
Dogs can also regress for other reasons too. If they have been in a traumatic situation or had a frightening experience, this can cause them to pull always from other people and animals. Every social situation will remind them of what happened. That is why, as a parent, they must learn to use social therapy to help reverse the hard-wiring complication. Exposure therapy is one of the best ways to desensitize an animal to something that has traumatized them. Soon the issue won’t bother them and they won’t see every situation as a thret.
Conquering Fear or Aggression with People
In addition to taking advantage of dog daycare facilities in Lakewood and Golden, like Pet Peeves LLC., you can also try some easy activities at home. Many dogs respond well to reward-based techniques, and this should be one of the first methods uses when a dog is aggressive. If a dog is fearful around people, one way to break that problem is by giving them a treat when they listen to commands or act appropriately.
The food is an obvious way to lure them into effective communication. In some instances praising is effective, but here if the kibble is thrown to the ground and close to you, they will have to come to you to get it. If the dog is fearful, worried or stressed out, it needs to be worked on. It can cause aggression, and aggressive dogs bite. In a kennel, like Pet Peeves LLC Dog boarding/dog daycare, they can help a dog to get the socialization they need. It can be an additional form of support to pet parents who do maintain busy schedules.
Dealing With Canine Squabbles
If you find that your dog is not friendly with other dogs, the problem is most likely that they are not adequately socialized. While dogs are not going to be best friends with every dog they see, they should be able to tolerate another animal. Even if the dog has been in the social scene and had adequate exposure, they still may hump, chase or even argue with other dogs. Making sure a dog is social allows them to have skills to be socially savvy and able to interact with both familiar and unfamiliar dogs without issue. Though this is an easier problem to conquer when they are younger, it’s never too late to help a dog be more social.
How Dog Daycare Can Help
Many people utilize the services of a kennel or dog boarding facility when they go out of town. However, a dog daycare setting, like the one at Pet Peeves LLC, will be advantageous for those pet parents whose dog suffers from not being socialized in the Lakewood and Golden areas. Here, they will have the opportunity to play with other dogs in a structured environment with supervision. They can interact with well-trained staff that know how to fix their problem with ease. It’s often frustrating for pet parents to work on these issues when they are just trying to get through the day. A trained dog expert can help them conquer their fear and anxiety and allow them to be social and outgoing. While each dog has their own personality that cannot be changed, bad behaviors and aggression from not being socialized can be addressed.
