Content
- Each case of socialization is unique
- Analyze the situation in particular
- The expert, the true formula for success
- Advice to improve the socialization process
socialize a adult dog it's a much more complicated process than socializing a puppy. Before starting, it is essential that you inform yourself properly and always with a professional as many cases need specialized attention.
It's important to know that socializing an adult dog just because it's aggressive, so bonding with a puppy, cat or baby is not the best option. An adult dog must socialize in a generic way with everything that surrounds him, the environment, people, pets and objects.
Keep reading this PeritoAnimal article and find out how you should socialize an adult dog.
Each case of socialization is unique
On the internet you will find a multitude of tutorials and information pages full of advice more or less efficient to socialize a dog, but the truth is that each case is unique and each dog reacts in a different way. For this reason we can say that not all the advice you find is valid for your puppy.
Dogs should socialize when they are puppies, since at this stage of their life they do not have a defined personality and do not have fears or memories that make them refuse or accept certain situations.
We understand as socialization the process in which the dog interacts with the environment that surrounds him (which can be very diverse). For the process to be complete, you must accept and positively relate:
- City
- field
- Forest
- dogs
- buses
- adults
- noise
- kids
- adults
- elderly
- young people
- dogs
- cats
- toys
- etc
Analyze the situation in particular
The socialization of an adult dog is usually more difficult since the adult dog has memories that make him react in a certain way. Therefore, it is essential that review the aspects you should work with before starting:
- pets
- People
- Quite
Once we have analyzed the particular problem, we must ask ourselves why our dog behaves this way, whether aggressive or shy. If the dog is adopted, it is likely that it will never discover the factor that triggered this behavior.
To treat the problem must make a list of all behaviors that disturb you and that cause stress in the dog. It is essential to know your pet and observe what you do to solve this.
The expert, the true formula for success
After making the list, you should consult an ethologist or dog educator as they are the only people who can resolve this situation.
These people have advanced knowledge and real training in the behavior of dogs and, for this reason, what we can interpret as aggressiveness is perhaps fear or anxiety, depends on each case.
In addition to solving the situation, the dog educator or ethologist will answer your questions and guide you individually. While this comes at a cost, the benefit in the future will be much greater.
Advice to improve the socialization process
At PeritoAnimal we know the behavior of some dogs and the difficulties that living with this type of problem represents. For this reason we never tire of repeating that it is important to consult a specialist, just as you would if you had a problem.
During this process you should pay attention to some aspects so that the puppy notices a real benefit in his daily life and accepts this process properly.
Some advice that will improve the quality of this process are:
- Fulfill the five freedoms of well-being animals with: adequate and quality food, comfort in their daily lives, consult the veterinarian when necessary, let them express themselves naturally and avoid fear or stress at all costs.
- Walking two to three times a day: It is essential that your puppy has its daily and adequate doses for walking, as not doing so directly affects the socialization process, becoming a puppy that lives isolated, afraid and nervous.
- Exercise with your pet: It is an excellent option for nervous dogs with large amounts of energy, in addition, socializing a dog after exercising is much more efficient since the dog is relaxed and tends to better accept new situations.
- Use positive reinforcement as the only tool in your education: It is essential that you use this process if you are socializing an adult dog. You will get much more effective and faster results.
- Do not hit or scold under any circumstances: Carrying out this type of action will only worsen the socialization process and create insecurities and discomfort in your pet. Stop being irritated by what is bad and praise what is good.
- Anticipate the dog's attitude: It is important to know your pet and anticipate situations in which the dog may feel stress.
- Always practice with calm people or pets that have a positive attitude for your puppy to feel confident.
- Have patience: Not all dogs overcome a fear or lack, others take years and others just two or three weeks. It's something that will depend on the specific case and that only an expert can determine, for this reason if your dog is afraid and doesn't want to interact with other dogs, don't force him, it's preferable to wait for him to take the first step.
- Do not expose your pet to a situation if the specialist has not recommended it, as it may have an unpleasant encounter.
- Accept your dog as it is, is the best advice we can give you, because if you can't solve the problem, you'll have to learn to live with it and make it as light as possible for the whole family.
