One way to have a closer relationship with your dog is to help it be more comfortable in “social” situations.
Dogs have a way of working things out, if they are allowed to. But sometimes, thinking we’re helping, we intervene and mess things up.
Jamie (“My Doggie Says… Messages from Jamie”) was a wonderful dog in every way except for her doggie social skills. She was great with people, but she was pretty grumpy when she met other dogs. There were two reasons for this: 1) she was attacked by other dogs a few times, when she was on her leash and the other dog was not and 2) Barbara and I got nervous when other dogs were around and tightened up on her leash.
Trying to protect your dog by tightening the leash is a doggie “no-no.” It transmits your fear to your dog and makes it nervous. Here’s an article from paw-rescue.org that talks about this and other excellent points. It is titled “Dog Tip: Socializing Adult Dogs and the Importance of Maintaining Socialization.” This article has lots of good references to other books & articles, too.
This is a good example of how socializing your dog can be a little tricky. Sometimes, when you think you’re helping, you’re not. Another example, from an article titled “Socialization: The Key to a Confident Dog,” by the Humane Society of Santa Clara Valley, suggests that when you try to calm your dog at the vet’s office, you are probably rewarding its nervousness, not making it better.
Having made the “tight leash” mistake with Jamie, we vowed that we would do a better job with Callie. So when Callie meets other dogs, we give her a limp leash and hope that she can work things out with her new doggie friends. So far, it’s worked well. We always ask the other owner, “Is your dog friendly?” Most of the time, the answer is a cheery “yes.” But occasionally, someone says “not really” and moves on.
In Callie’s life, one of the best places for socializing is Lake Arrowhead Village, a shopping area that is always filled with children and adults who love dogs and ask to pet Callie. There are also lots of opportunities for doggie socialization. Here’s Callie on her most recent visit.
The black labs may look like they’re beating up on Callie, but they’re not. That’s a smile on her face! They were really well-behaved, and Callie kept running back to them for more play.
Dogs are pretty friendly, if left to their own resources. Why not help your dog exercise its friendly gene?
