Socialisation

Hi

I have an 11 yr old staff boy called BJ- hes goregous and we adore him. When he was a pup he used to be off the lead- run around near toher dogs- then he had horrid things happen to him- so we have rescued him- we have had him for a few years now- thing is he goes divvy when we are on walks at other dogs.... trying to get to them- he isn't aggressive in the sense that he doesn't growl and bark at them- he just tries to get to them... (its olny the huskies he really hates!- oh and cats!) So we are going away over xmas staying in a cottage with 24 people in total and 4 other dogs- female staff, girl collie, 2 yorkies - both girls. I desperatly need to socialise him before so we can at least go out for a walk with them - I won't leave him on his own as lets face it the yorkies would make good dental floss !- So I am going for a walk with another dog on MOnday - both dogs will be on muzzels- just wandering for any tips advice to keep things calm as possible - I know I stress a bit and he must pick up on it- so me being calm and in control will help- ADVICE PLEASE!!!! I took him to the playing fields this morning, doing a bit of treat based training- running round him chasing me, focussing on me, then stay come commands- he was brilliant!!- I just want to make this work if possible as I can't bear the thought of putting him in a kennel! Thanks in advance

Have you tried getting him to focus on you as soon as another dog comes in sight?

Take some treats, and as soon as you see a dog give the command "Watch" and hold the treat near your face. As soon as he looks at you, give him the treat. This will need to be repeated quite a few times until in the end, as soon as he sees a dog, he'll automatically look at you for a treat. Obviously you'll need to practice at home first so that he knows the command "watch".

Another way is to turn him away from the dog & make him sit. As soon as he sits you treat him. Again this will take quite a bit of repeating.

When you go on the walk with the other dog, I wouldn't muzzle either of them (unless they are aggressive), just keep a firm hold of the lead & make sure that both dogs are walking to heal - use treats if that will work. Start off walking with both dogs on the outside of each owner, so they are seperated by both of you. Then one can be walked between you, and then hopefully you'll be able to walk them together.

Thanks Caryll,

I'm going to try this with my foster dog - the previous owner didn't socialise her at all. The consequence being that Tess doesn't know how to react, sometimes is scared, sometimes aggressive. It is her only fault, otherwise she is the perfect dog.

I'll let you know how it goes

Dan
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wow! Well all I can say - smiling- is that this morning was brill- we walked side by side with an alsation cross collie- did a bit of 'sniffing' and winged when he went back in. The the staffy cross boxer- she was much more skittish, which resulted in one mini growl session - mainly because she went in his 'personal space' before he 'allowed' her to - result- walking side by side with no muzzlel and a nose to nose sniff at the end! Lookign forward to our walks next week ;-)

Fantastic news, well done!

I would have given the exact same advice as Caryll, so glad it worked for you! I find that just simply walking, not allowing them too much face-to-face interaction and keeping their attention on you works wonders. Dogs have a pack mentality and walking together and exploring can make them feel like they are part of the same pack and have the same cause

As all the dogs you are going away on holiday with are girls I would just employ the same tactics, as they are girlies your boy shouldn't try to be too dominant with them. Good luck sounds really positive already