No Dog Aggression Here

Socialization:  "The process of interacting your dog with other dogs to ensure there is no dog aggression."

 

A day at the dog park can be a blast, especially when there are no issues occurring.  Every day at dog park in my neighborhood there are at least 100 visitors.  Most of the time all the dogs there get along great.  Once in a while, you'll get a dog that is great but than dog aggression hits.  No one knows why he or she snapped, they just knew that they were playing and running. 

 

I was at the dog park the other day with Dominic (My Olde English Bulldog) and he was doing well.  He was playing with a young Blue Heeler, running in the water and smelling everything.  The Blue Heeler and her owner left, we were the only ones in the park.  Soon a Chocolate lab came and he went up and smelled him.  It broke, Dominic got aggressive.  I had to run over and grab him and put him on his leash.  Needless to say he wasn't happy.  He was barking and whining at the dog like he wanted to play. But every time the dog came near he got aggressive.  Yeah, no dog aggression here!

 

In my experience dog aggression comes from a lack of socialization.  Now even under the right circumstances a dog who is well socialized must still be kept under close supervision, after all we are a well socialized group but we can get nasty too if someone decides to fight us.  It's the same with dogs, they may be well socialized but whose to say the other dog is.  If a dog right does occur remain calm.  One good choice is better than ten bad choices.

 

In order to socialize your dog there are a few things you must know.  Start off early, 16 weeks is the youngest I'd recommend due to vaccines.  16 weeks is when you get your first rabies shot, and as some of us do not know the United States has the most cases of the rabies virus.  England is not affected by the rabies virus at all (The More You Know) ;) .  Also be sure to get a bordetella vaccine if you're going to socialize, only because you never know if another dog has kennel cough.  If you socialize earlier, ensure the other dogs are current on their vaccines.  Socialize with dogs of all breeds, sizes and ages.  This gets the dog used to being around dogs of sizes much smaller and larger than itself.  Make sure the other dogs are well socialized if you're socializing your young puppy.  You want to keep your young companion safe after all.  Socialize often, a couple times a week and for an hour or two each time.  If you want to socialize more do so, but be cautious not to tire out your baby.  Socialize in different settings such as pet stores, dog parks, the beach, a friend's house and anywhere else dogs may gather in your area. Last but not least be sure to reward for good behavior, discipline bad behavior and always ALWAYS keep your dog/puppy under close supervision.

 

"Coming Soon, Socializing your older dog or Rescue Dog"

 

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