Thursday, December 15, 2011

It's NEVER too late to socialize your dog!

Dog not socialized well?  With patience and a little common sense, it’s never too late to have a very friendly, well-socialized dog.

While the window of socialization closes for most puppies by the age of five months, many puppies – and dogs slip through the crack without this experience. Not to worry, all is not necessarily lost. It is still very possible to begin again with an older pooch – it may just take time and patience. Oh yeah, and food treats!

If your dog was not socialized by 5 months of age, start now. Today is the first day of the rest of your dog’s life! Remember the first time your puppy or dog came home and you called him into the kitchen as you unscrewed the lid on the “doggie cookie jar?” The sound had no meaning until your dog connected it to the cookie in the jar. Now every time he hears that lid unscrew, it’s a good thing! Cookies! What if your dog made that same great connection with people he didn’t know? Every time he met someone new he got a bunch of high value cookies? That would be way too cool!

If you have not taught your dog commands, work on sits, and downs so that you can eventually give your dog sits and downs to focus on rather than feeling anxious about the new person. Always work your puppy on leash to control the training environment. Each new person widens his circle of friends. Take your time with your dog and move at his speed.

1 comment:

  1. i recommend daycare times 9 billion!
    gwendolyn attended daycare twice weekly during her early years, until about the age of three.
    now, at the age of four, she will attend about once each fortnight, giving her that chance to run freely for eight hours with other pampered poochies. she is so sweet ~ they put her into the puppy play yard to teach lessons to the puppies. and then for her social scene, they throw her into the big yard. gwendolyn likes the big boys, like her mommy. ;) x

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