Monday Myth: My dog is wary of other dogs. Putting him in a day care with lots of other dogs will surely fix the problem, as he will be able to socialise. There is few more joyful sights to watch than dogs having fun together, playing chase, rough and tumble, and generally having a great time. Many doggie day care centres advertise their services by showing pictures and videos of their clients’ dogs doing exactly that. And no doubt, there are a lot of really good, reputable doggie day cares where dogs are kept safe, in reasonably small, well supervised groups, and they all benefit from each other’s company. However, doggie day cares are not for every dog. If you own a dog that’s wary of other dogs, and would rather avoid them or snap at them when they approach, putting him in a doggie day care to make him more sociable is not only going to put him under a lot of stress, but can easily make his problems much, much worse. And even if he adapts to the day care situation, this does not necessarily mean he will be sociable when out and about – dogs’ behaviour is very context specific and what is true for one situation/location does not necessarily transfer to other situations (e.g. when out and about in the park). It’s also important to remember that dogs, similarly to humans, differ in how sociable they are. If you are an extrovert, you probably like parties and mingling with people, and these social occasions leave you energized and positive. If you’re an introvert, though, parties and social events, although you may enjoy them to an extent, leave you exhausted and needing a little break away from other people. Similarly, some dogs love nothing more than frolicking around with other canines, while some will say a polite hello and be on their way. If you put your “introverted” dog in a day care situation every single day, where he will be forced to interact with other dogs even against his wish, he will quickly become exhausted and grumpy. So if your dog shows aggression towards other dogs out of fear, a slow and gradual behaviour modification programme that will change his emotional response towards other dogs will be much less stressful and more effective in your every day life than just “flooding” your dog with a lot of dogs, which might result in him becoming more aggressive, or just shut down as there is no option of escape from this situation. Similarly, if your dog is not normally a “social butterfly” and prefers to keep contacts with other dogs short and sweet, don’t try to force him to become more sociable. Try to accept your dog the way he is and enjoy the fact that he prefers your company to that of other dogs. Written by the team at Pets in Practise, where positivity and determination, work!
Posted on: Mon, 01 Sep 2014 16:35:02 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015