Have you ever walked your dog and come across strange people, dogs, or other animals?
Has your dog ever started freaking out, barking, growling, and trying to get to the stranger?
Has it ever been or is it to the point that you stopped going out with your dog?
This problem could be because of several different things. The first is that the dog may be insecure in his relationship with you. Dogs need consistent, firm, guidance, and when they don’t get it, they may become unsure about where their place is in life. To that end, they may be afraid of any other people or animals because they’re protecting you because they feel they have to. Another problem could be that they’re simply not used to strangers, and they need to be socialized.
So I bet the first thing you’re wondering is “What is dog socialization?” Essentially, dog socialization is the practice of introducing your dog to other dogs, animals, and people to the point that they are comfortable with strange people, dogs, and animals.
If you own a dog to be a guard dog then perhaps dog socialization isn’t for your dog. However, if you are having any problems like the ones listed above, you should consider socializing your dog and then training him to guard on command, rather than just owning him to ward off strangers. Another thing to think about is that even if they are socialized, dogs will still usually guard their own territories, meaning their house.
Back to socializing. If your dog is a perfect example of the reactions above, then there’s a lot of work to do. He’s a red light case, and will have to be handled very carefully while teaching him to be accepting of strangers in any situation. If he just has a few, milder problems with being around strangers, then he’s a yellow light, still needing some help and care, but not too much. If he’s perfectly fine walking up to random strangers, be they other dogs, animals, or people, then he’s a green light. Keep in mind though, that green lights can become yellow or red if you’re not careful. You have to keep them social.
Why socialize your dog?
Socialization is important on more than one level.
It doesn’t reflect well on you as the owner when your dog is going nuts around people or other dogs.
It isn’t mentally or physically healthy for your dog to be anti-social. Being in social situations will stress an anti-social dog, and cause heavy mental stress, as well as physical stress from pulling, growling, barking, etc.
Being socialized will prevent a dog from breaking loose of you and harming you or someone in the vicinity, be they dog, human, or other animal. Having a dog bite someone is traumatic for the victim, often resulting in life-long fear. It’s harmful to the dog, because depending on the situation they will be labeled an aggressive dog and put down, or have other consequences, none of which are cheery. It’s harmful to their owner as well, because of physical injury to them, the victim, or the consequences for the dog.
So, socialization is not only important for the mental and physical health of your dog, but also important for your health, as well as the health of other people and animals you encounter.
Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Morgan_Clemens/664989