Are there any techniques to socialisation?

Hi all,

Troy is getting better, I let him say hi to other dogs as much as possible and sometimes he will even ignore them on the field when we are play which is great.

He gets on fine with my brother's puppy and they play together all the time without scrapping or anything.

I took Troy out with my brother Labrador puppy, his GF's elderly Boxer bitch and another male puppy, supposedly a Pitbull.

I had Troy on his lead and the elderly Boxer was off lead and came face first to Troy. They were sniffing face to face but then my brother GF grabbed her by the collar and they scrapped a little. I blame his GF for that one

But he also scrapped with the 4 month old Pitbull puppy. Troy appeared to be trying to dominate it by trying to hump him all the time which he used to do with my brother pup, but this puppy was not having any of it.

So the 4 dog's and us went on a pack walk (I guess we should of done this first to calm them and let them make friends?) All the other dogs were walking nicely but Troy was doing his usual pulling, lunging and whining as loud as he could! I kept correcting him which slowed us down and eventually lost site of the rest of them.

We caught up to them eventually and went onto a walk on a field and I let Troy run free on his long lead. He showed no interest in the elderly Boxer bitch and none in my brother pup as they get along anyway, but kept trying to hump / dominate the Pitbull puppy.

I correct him every time and eventually he sort of gave up and they all walked more calmly.

Another person there was asking why Troy was so 'bad'

So I am trying to socialise him by pack walking etc but how can I stop all of the over excitement, pulling, whining, humping and domination?

He seems to have no dog etiquette, how can he achieve this?

Will it all just magically come with more socialisation?

It did appear at some point that the Boxer was trying to correct Troy or calm him down..or that could just be me watching too much Dog Whisperer.

I just want Troy to be good!

I guess all I can say is the more you do it the better he should become..

Winston is the same .. sometimes if we haven't seen another dog for a while, and then we do, he goes bonkers crying and whinging and barking at the other dog ...yet then other times he couldn't care less.!

Keep exposing him to other dogs. It helps if the other dogs are well socialised. Older dogs will snap and growl at unacceptable behaviour from younger one to 'teach' them some manners but he should learn fast. Troy obviously is trying to let the pitt puppy that his behaviour is not acceptable albeit with dominance. I would step in and not allow Troy to exhibit this behaviour so vigorously. I do believe in walking dogs together as a start to introductions. I also believe in not allowing socialising until my dog is calm. Keep up the good work.

Definitely keep up with the socialising, they get better and better. Also, I do think your brother's GF might have caused the initial scrap as I often find that the dogs can be fine together but as soon as someone pulls one away, it creates that forward lunge.

For my puppy, thankfully he's usually ok though I often have to calm him down and ask him to approach a small dog slowly as he can be too energetic for smaller dogs and puppies but I find that after the initial meet with both on a lead, they tend to socialise better off the lead. He is often getting 'put in his place' by older dogs which I think is good.

Obviously, its best to know the character of the other dogs before letting them socialise off leash (I only do this with people's dogs that I know well). For the rest, its meet and greet on a leash and then move on.

How is your dog when you walk him alone? Does he still pull and lunge? And how long have you been doing the socialising? Does he always get over excited?

Unfortunately, sometimes the only way to get over the humping is to have the dog neutered (if he isnt already).

vanessa wrote:
I guess all I can say is the more you do it the better he should become..

Winston is the same .. sometimes if we haven't seen another dog for a while, and then we do, he goes bonkers crying and whinging and barking at the other dog ...yet then other times he couldn't care less.!

I am going to try, but I don't know 'many' people with dogs to arrange regular pack walks.

Ty wrote:Keep exposing him to other dogs. It helps if the other dogs are well socialised. Older dogs will snap and growl at unacceptable behaviour from younger one to 'teach' them some manners but he should learn fast. Troy obviously is trying to let the pitt puppy that his behaviour is not acceptable albeit with dominance. I would step in and not allow Troy to exhibit this behaviour so vigorously. I do believe in walking dogs together as a start to introductions. I also believe in not allowing socialising until my dog is calm. Keep up the good work.

I am not so sure to be honest. Thing is, Troy wasn't very well socialised when I got him. I don't know if he knows the rules and boundaries himself.

I do step in and tell him no straight away and he will stop.

munschk wrote:Definitely keep up with the socialising, they get better and better. Also, I do think your brother's GF might have caused the initial scrap as I often find that the dogs can be fine together but as soon as someone pulls one away, it creates that forward lunge.

For my puppy, thankfully he's usually ok though I often have to calm him down and ask him to approach a small dog slowly as he can be too energetic for smaller dogs and puppies but I find that after the initial meet with both on a lead, they tend to socialise better off the lead. He is often getting 'put in his place' by older dogs which I think is good.

Obviously, its best to know the character of the other dogs before letting them socialise off leash (I only do this with people's dogs that I know well). For the rest, its meet and greet on a leash and then move on.

How is your dog when you walk him alone? Does he still pull and lunge? And how long have you been doing the socialising? Does he always get over excited?

Unfortunately, sometimes the only way to get over the humping is to have the dog neutered (if he isnt already).

Yeah, it's not the first time I have seen him fine with other dogs until their owners come running in panic and grabs their dog by the collar, so you're probably right.

Troy won't to approach calmly. While walking to another dog he will stop his crying as he is getting to where he wants to, but will pull at the end of the leash until he reaches! Other dogs must think 'what's up with this guy?'

I have let Troy play with other dogs in the park before, we saw a Staffy X bitch and they were playing wonderfully together.

This was the first pack walk we have done with 4 dogs, I try and let him meet and greet as much dogs as possible and play with some when we can but we haven't been on any walks with dogs except my brothers Lab and once with my brothers friends dog.

When walking on our own he is generally fine. Walks okay a lot of the time but still gets to the end of the leash and tries to pull. I am still trying to train him out of it. Turning around, stopping etc etc.

Sometimes we can walk past dogs have a sniff and off we go but a lot of the time he wants to get to them in excitement and will try pulling, even if he see's a dog in the distance a head of us.

He doesn't lunge as such, just tries to 'run' on the leash if you know what I mean?

I think it is all down to excitement. Once he see's a dog or a cat on a walk, even though he could of been walking nicely before that, he will stay excited for a while after and start pulling and looking in every garden for other cats and dogs.

Oh and in regards to the humping, he did this initially with my brothers pup, but very very rarely will try that now as they are friends and meet all the time and he started to stop it by the end of the walk also. I am sure I could of stopped him completely more or less with the Pit puppy too. Just not sure if he is doing it out of excitement or dominance.

EDIT:

He is him playing with the Staffy X I mentioned.

Playing with Staffy X

And here on a walk with my brothers pup.

Playing with brothers pup

So you can see he has got potential, he just needs to get over his excitement.

If you know an experienced handler with an older dog that should help with socialization. Any off lead play should be done with a dog he already familiar with and gets along well with. It improves with time and practice.

Its difficult because ideally you want a dog to be very good on a leash when on his own (no pulling etc) before adding in other distractions like other dogs.

Is he being walked with a leash and collar or in a harness?

I know this may be a bit out there for some people, but have you tried clicker training to help him walk on his leash correctly and learn to pay attention to you and not other dogs?

Sorry cannot add too much more than already said. I know the link below says about puppy socialisation but the chart may help you with Troy too.

http://staffy-bull-terrier.co.uk/socialisation.html

Have some time to write a proper reply so here goes.

Why I was asking about how Troy was when walking on his leash on his own, is that he should not be allowed to meet other dogs in such an excited manner as it can pre-dispose to problems. Ideally, he should be calm, focused on you before meeting another dog. I know this can be very heard and difficult sometimes.

I mentioned the clicker training earlier as it can be very useful to train dogs to 'heel' or walk correctly without pulling. Here is a very useful website if you are open to trying it: http://www.clickerlessons.com/looseleash.htm.

If not, then I recommend starting in your garden, with your brothers puppy as they already get on well together. Have both dogs on a lead. Have Troy walk on his leash next to you and slowly approach the other dog. If he starts to get too excited, stop, turn around etc. and only continue to approach once he has calmed down. He needs to learn that excitement gets him no closer to the other dog, only being calm does. Unfortunately this can take time and you really need to be consistent with it and work on it until he can approach the other dog calmly and, preferably sit beside you, before you let him off leash to socialise.

Does that make sense?

Once he can do that in in his own home, then move on to getting him to do the same at the park (somewhere not his own territory) but at a time where it is quiet which just you and your bother and the dogs. Then you have to get them to walk quietly together. Ideally, stick with just the one dog until you dog has the behaviour down, as too many dogs cause too much excitement. Then slowly introduce more and more dogs, but always the same approach. He must be calm and relaxed, then he gets to approach the other dog. He will learn quickly though it may be frustrating at times as he could get worse for a little while before getting better.

But it is tough as you want him to get out and socialise with as many dogs as possible. But it is really important that he is calm when he meets new dogs, it makes everything much easier and smoother.

jstaff wrote:If you know an experienced handler with an older dog that should help with socialization. Any off lead play should be done with a dog he already familiar with and gets along well with. It improves with time and practice.

I don't unfortunately.

kathytake2 wrote:Sorry cannot add too much more than already said. I know the link below says about puppy socialisation but the chart may help you with Troy too.

http://staffy-bull-terrier.co.uk/socialisation.html

Thanks, I'll check out the link anyway.

Why I was asking about how Troy was when walking on his leash on his own, is that he should not be allowed to meet other dogs in such an excited manner as it can pre-dispose to problems. Ideally, he should be calm, focused on you before meeting another dog. I know this can be very heard and difficult sometimes.

I totally understand.

Yup, it can be difficult as seeing another dog is what gets him excited. If he doesn't get to greet the dog he actually just gets worse and very vocal.

I mentioned the clicker training earlier as it can be very useful to train dogs to 'heel' or walk correctly without pulling. Here is a very useful website if you are open to trying it:
http://www.clickerlessons.com/looseleash.htm.

I'll take a look because I clicker train him all his tricks anyway so he gets the concept.

If not, then I recommend starting in your garden, with your brothers puppy as they already get on well together. Have both dogs on a lead. Have Troy walk on his leash next to you and slowly approach the other dog. If he starts to get too excited, stop, turn around etc. and only continue to approach once he has calmed down. He needs to learn that excitement gets him no closer to the other dog, only being calm does. Unfortunately this can take time and you really need to be consistent with it and work on it until he can approach the other dog calmly and, preferably sit beside you, before you let him off leash to socialise.

Does that make sense?

Once he can do that in in his own home, then move on to getting him to do the same at the park (somewhere not his own territory) but at a time where it is quiet which just you and your bother and the dogs. Then you have to get them to walk quietly together. Ideally, stick with just the one dog until you dog has the behaviour down, as too many dogs cause too much excitement. Then slowly introduce more and more dogs, but always the same approach. He must be calm and relaxed, then he gets to approach the other dog. He will learn quickly though it may be frustrating at times as he could get worse for a little while before getting better.

But it is tough as you want him to get out and socialise with as many dogs as possible. But it is really important that he is calm when he meets new dogs, it makes everything much easier and smoother.

Would be tricky to do in my garden as it is a source of excitement for Troy. My garden is not divided with the neighbours and the first thing Troy usually see's once we open the door is a bunch of cats.

We just got back home off another walk with my brothers pup and his GF's Boxer bitch though. We walked them together first and then when on the field I let them both in front of us. I tried to walk Troy towards them nicely without pulling and turned him around every time he tried to 'dash' to them.

We would walk towards them, initially nicely then once he get's close he tries to dash towards them, at which point I would turn him around walk back and then start again. He must get the concept because he would then walk nicely without pulling but get's impatient or excited and try dashing towards them on the lead again.

Anyway, I did this over and over for about 20 minutes until we actually go to them without him pulling. Once we started walking he was pulling trying to walk in front though.

Once in front he would walk nicer on the lead, but then the Boxer would pull. If she was in front then she would walk calm, but then Troy would try and pull. Seems they bother wanted to lead?

Great, I find the clicker training works wonders for the pulling.

I understand that your garden could be difficult then, Staffies and cats XD But it seems that he's getting the concept in the park which is great! Just keep at it, I know he may get worse and worse but eventually he will stop or just get too tired and stop for a moment and then let him forward. Consistency is really important at this stage! Soon he will learn.

Yep, it can be difficult when walking and both dogs want to be in front!

Gee wrote:

He is him playing with the Staffy X I mentioned.

Playing with Staffy X

And here on a walk with my brothers pup.

Playing with brothers pup

So you can see he has got potential, he just needs to get over his excitement.

This looks like normal Staffie play to me.

Oh yeah I know it is normal Staffie play in the video, was just showing that he does get on well with other dogs.