Dog Socialization, Myths vs. Reality

How do your properly socialize your fearful or aggressive dog and make them more calm and sociable with other dogs and humans? Find out in this episode of the Grumpy Dogs Podcast with me. We'll explore the critical techniques you need to master for properly socializing dogs with fear and aggression issues.

I break down common misconceptions and offer five essential pointers, including:

1) Recognizing dog body language
2) Picking low-stress environments
3) Respecting individual fears
4) Using positive reinforcement
5) Gradually increasing exposure to triggers

These steps will help you create a positive and comfortable experience for your dog around unfamiliar people and other dogs.

View this Episode on YouTube:
Ep. 38 Dog Socialization, Myths vs. Reality

Episode Link(s):
The Truth About Socializing Reactive or Aggressive Dogs at Home Depot
 Understanding Dog Body Language

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Resources:
Scott Sheaffer's Free & Premium Training Videos
Scott Sheaffer's Dog Behavior Articles
Book an Online or In-Person Session with Scott

About Scott Sheaffer
Scott Sheaffer, CCBC-KA, CDBC, CPDT-KA, is a certified dog behavior consultant who has worked with thousands of dog owners and their aggressive dogs. Scott specializes in the assessment and treatment of fear, anxiety, aggression, and phobias in dogs six months and older. For more information about Scott, see USADogBehavior.com.

Disclaimer
If you have a dog who is aggressive and dangerous to humans, it is important that you immediately consult directly with an experienced and certified canine behavior consultant who specializes in dog aggression to humans. Take proper measures to ensure that your dog is never in a position to injure anyone. The information presented in this podcast is for educational purposes only and is neither intended nor implied to replace the need for the direct involvement of an experienced and certified canine behavior consultant who specializes in dog aggression to humans. Scott Sheaffer, the Grumpy Dogs podcast and USA Dog Behavior, LLC, are not liable for any incidents or outcomes resulting from following the advice given in this podcast.

Chapters

• 0:00 Intro
• 1:22 What is dog socialization?
• 3:14 5 Guidelines for Properly Socializing your Dog
• 3:37 Importance of Dog Body Language
• 4:15 Where to Socialize
• 5:15 How Fast to Socialize your Dog
• 5:47 Positive Reinforcement
• 6:16 Properly exposing your Dog to Triggers
• 7:00 Why do need to properly socialize dogs?
• 8:01 Home Depot Socialization Disaster
• 8:41 Putting it All Together and Conclusion

Transcript

Scott Sheaffer: 0:00

This is the Grumpy Dogs Podcast. I'm Scott Sheaffer, your dedicated dog behavior coach. I've helped thousands of fearful and aggressive dogs and their human families too. Join me as we tackle your dog's fear and aggression with science-based solutions. In today's episode, I'm going to talk about dog socialization. There is so much misinformation and misunderstanding about this topic by dog owners and even many dog trainers. Stay tuned. Are you struggling with a dog that is anxious or aggressive? You're at the right place because in this podcast series, we educate dog owners, veterinary practices and dog trainers on how to overcome dog fear and aggression using humane methods. My name is Scott Sheaffer and it's my mission to help you better understand your dog's behavior. Before we get going today, I just want to mention that you can watch the video version of this episode on YouTube. I've provided a link in the episode notes that will take you directly to the video at the Grumpy Dogs channel. You can also search for Grumpy Dogs channel on YouTube.

Scott Sheaffer: 1:22

Socialization is a term you frequently hear in the world of dog behavior. Socializing your dog sounds like something we all want to do for our dogs. It sounds like something good, and it is. However, the problem isn't with the term itself, but in how it's applied. Most dog owners understand the need for their dog to be comfortable around unfamiliar people and dogs to not be fearful or aggressive. Many think that simply exposing their fearful and aggressive dog to various environments with lots of unfamiliar dogs and humans will make their dog less fearful and aggressive. Your dogs and humans will make their dog less fearful and aggressive. This, they believe, is socialization or proper socialization. The problem is that when people take their fearful dog with them to places like Starbucks or Home Depot, they overexpose their dogs to scary things. Over-expose their dogs to scary things. Think of a kid, for example, who is afraid of water. Repeatedly throwing them into the deep end of the pool before they are ready will almost certainly and does, make them more afraid of the water. This kind of over-exposure to scary things is called flooding, just like with a child who fears water. When dogs are exposed to dogs or humans too quickly, things that they fear and too intensely, it will cause them to shut down or react aggressively, which only increases their level of fear and aggression. But isn't exposing our dogs to unfamiliar humans and dogs a good thing? But we have to do it properly to make a positive difference.

Scott Sheaffer: 3:13

Let me give you five general pointers. These are general pointers on how to socialize a dog correctly. Before I list these five items, let me remind you that at GrumpyDogsPodcastcom you can find free videos and articles about all kinds of dog behavior issues. Now on to the list.

Scott Sheaffer: 3:36

First, you need to become a bit of an expert on dog body language. I've included a video link in the episode notes that will take you to my free canine body language video to get you started. It's important to understand dog body language because you need to know when you're pushing your dog too much during socialization exercises. Their body language will tell you how they are doing. We look to our dog's body language to let us know are we pushing too much, are we pushing too little? Because their body language will let us know and it's important that you know how to read that.

Scott Sheaffer: 4:15

Second, initially select venues with very few dogs and human triggers. Start by gently exposing your dog to things that might scare them. Use distance and this is so important to help with this. More distance equals less exposure and less fear. Distance is a scared dog's best friend. More distance makes the scary thing less scary to your dog. Watch your dog's body language and if the first hint that they are stressed or overwhelmed. Back off a little and get further away from the scary thing. We want to give them just a little exposure where they're noticing the trigger and that's all. No fearful responses. When it comes to desensitizing your dog to stressors, which is what this is, less is always more. The objective is to take it easy and provide a positive experience for your dog.

Scott Sheaffer: 5:14

Number three never forget the following your dog is the one who decides what is scary or not to them, not you. Their fear doesn't have to make sense to you. It's your dog's reality. Have you ever been afraid of something or someone? And they keep telling you that your fear is silly and they just don't know what you're afraid of. Dogs are in the same situation when we want to dismiss their very real, to them fears. All right. Number four One more after this.

Scott Sheaffer: 5:56

After this, it's always a good idea to include training treats when doing this exercise, this exposure exercise, so that your dog associates good things with unfamiliar people and dogs. The technical term for this is counter conditioning. The general rule is to give your dog a treat immediately after they look at the trigger every time. They look at the trigger every single time and, lastly, slowly increase the amount of exposure by increasing the time and decreasing the distance to the trigger as your dog becomes more comfortable. Slowly is the key. You will need to do many of these kinds of outings. This is not a one and done thing with your dog. You have to expose your dog very carefully, many times and watch their progress. Progress can be seen through your dog's body language. If they're showing less stress indicators and you're able to get closer, they're doing better. When your dog starts to relax, they are making progress. Signs of stress indicate your dog is still afraid and you're moving too fast.

Scott Sheaffer: 6:59

Why do we have to do all the things I just mentioned? Well, just think about someone who has a fear or a phobia of something, for example, like a fear of spiders known as arachnophobia. Would any human with this fear just get over it with one or two high-intensity exposures to spiders, in other words, taking their hand and cramming it into a box of spiders? I doubt it. There are so many YouTube videos, dog trainers and other well-intentioned people who say that all you need to do is take your fearful and aggressive dog to Home Depot, lowe's or to an outside restaurant or a couple of recreational parks and let them just socialize with dogs and people at those places with no other restrictions. That kind of overly intense exposure will not remedy your dog's fear. Many times it makes it worse and could even result in your dog biting someone. I've provided a good example of how not to do this in my episode Lynx. It's a story about a dog trainer in Colorado who had her client bring her large, human-aggressive dog into a Home Depot store for socialization. Just about everything you could do wrong with this technique was done by her and her client and it ended up very badly for everyone. I have an entire episode on this titled the Truth About Socializing Reactive or Aggressive Dogs at Home Depot, and I've provided a link to it. As I said in the episode notes.

Scott Sheaffer: 8:41

Let me wrap up this episode with a few quick thoughts. There is no and I mean there is no overnight way to properly socialize your dog. It takes time. Using proper techniques and a lot of patience is what actually works. Letting your dog lead the way by reading their dog body language.

Scott Sheaffer: 9:03

Lack of patience from the owner is the most common problem I see when it comes to helping fearful and aggressive dogs. It's extremely common and I understand it. We want things to be fixed fast, but when we try to do it fast we frequently make things worse. We know that you have to watch what your dog is telling you by their body language to proceed at the proper pace. We also know that the rate of exposure you give your dog around dog and human triggers has to be very, very slow. You have to go at their pace. And we also know that pairing this exposure with food treats is also very beneficial.

Scott Sheaffer: 9:44

The counter conditioning part If your dog has chronic fear and aggression issues with either humans and or dogs. I have a number of prior episodes with some fairly simple techniques you might want to consider for properly exposing your dog to human and dog triggers so that your dog is less fearful and reactive around these triggers. Please contact me directly with your comments and suggestions at grumpydogspodcastcom, where you can also find my social media links. Thanks for listening. Thank you for joining me today. Don't forget to subscribe and share this podcast with other dog lovers. Stay tuned for our next episode, where we'll continue our dive into the world of dog behavior.