Manners

[JustJules]

my pup,Nimz who will be my traveling companion when the time comes ..is not very socialized...any suggestions to help become friendlier to other dogs..he has only been with his brothers up to this point but as they will be staying with my brother here....I want to be able to have him with me in many social situations I may come across without worrying about him...he is young ,yet just 18months and is being neutered next month...I ,of course do not have the funds to take him to obedience school (he does know the basics well)and there are no dog parks close by.<br>how can I teach him to be friendlier but still protective enough of "home" when we are not around other people.....Or am I just worrying for nothing?

 

[cleanheart]

Getting Nimz fixed will help some but socializing comes with doing just that. He needs to be around other dogs that you trust. It takes time and a lot of it and a lot of patience. I don't trust dog parks tho. I don't know those dogs but if I was to do it that way I might go around with my dog leashed and away from other dogs until I got a good idea what they were like. Like I said, it takes time. Treats go a long way!

 

[my_vantasy]

Try taking him to pet friendly stores. He can learn how to meet and greet other dogs as well as people of all ages. Our dogs did go to school and the instructor said that a meet and greet can be as short as a few seconds. The important part is ending it on a positive and praising your dog. We had a girl who was not well socialized, so short meets really helped her.

Good luck and have fun together!!

 

[JustJules]

Thank you so much for the ideas...I will continue to work with him as I know I can help become the dog he wants to be..safe travels

 

[Wild_E]

No pet parks too bad that is the very best way! What about a Doggy Day Care? Find one that has a big open area and they let all the pouches run around in the ring. They are around and once yours is in there with so many other dogs, they&nbsp;socialize&nbsp;very well. You will always find a few bigger dogs act like the refs and get in between the fighters, so they all settle down.&nbsp;

 

[katelyn]

I took my dog everywhere when he was a puppy, pet stores, groomers, doggie day care (even if it was for one day), friends houses etc.&nbsp; The one thing I noticed is when I tensed up my dog did too.But when I wasn't around everyone kept telling me how calm and nice he was.&nbsp; <br>Now that he's getting older , he's 8, seems like he's gotten a lot crankier!&nbsp; <br>Some people like or cant stand this guy...Cesar Milan, but he does have some really good advice, maybe check out one of his books at the library?&nbsp;

 

[pawsaroundoz]

Hi<br>If your dog is a particular breed you may find a local breed club will have fun days, great for socialisation!<br><br>My younger boy is not yet 4 and has been attacked 3 times, twice requiring many $$ and tima at vets so gets scared if he spies big dogs off lead, but now we are temporarily staying in a friends driveway for a few months I take him to a Whippet social group....in fact we have to be going very soon! Lots of dogs his size&nbsp; and that play the way he does!<br>That is something else to think about with your boy, different breeds play in different ways, dogs that 'paw' others are a bit ouchie for Whippets that have very thin skin that tears quite easily.....oh, any pet friendly coffee shops in your area, where you can sit with your boy outside and meet other dogs briefly, or do you not do that in America???<br><br>Good luck<br><br>Annie

 

[jeanontheroad]

A lot will depend upon you dog's breed. We traveled with a big Bernese Mtn Dog the inherited the easy-going, friendly, tolerant, gentle character its ancestors were bred for. Not sure what you would have to do to make that dog aggressive towards either people or other animals. My brother's Rottweiler was a very different dog. It was well-behaved enough with people it knew, when my brother was around, and my brother used to brag about what a gentle character it had. My brother was delusional.

 

[fluffabear]

Getting Nimz fixed will help some but socializing comes with doing just that. He needs to be around other dogs that you trust. It takes time and a lot of it and a lot of patience. I don't trust dog parks tho. I don't know those dogs but if I was to do it that way I might go around with my dog leashed and away from other dogs until I got a good idea what they were like. Like I said, it takes time. Treats go a long way!

Neutering or spaying your animals has very little actual effect on their behavior.

I agree that it does take time and patience. One method is to socialize your pup on neutral territory starting with short increments and then for increasingly longer periods of time. If he isn't in territory he considers his, he is less likely to show hostility toward other animals and people.

Reward his good behavior. Is he food (treat) or toy or attention motivated? If any of these things, you have that working in your favor, so you can reward him when he behaves well and he will connect the reward with the behavior.

Hope that helps.

 

[jeanontheroad]

Fluffabear, neutering or spaying may not affect general behavior, but it will help curb male aggression towards other males, wbich reduces both the fights your dog starts and the fights other dogs start with him. It will also make both sexes less likely to run off and either get lost or come back pregnant. Personally, I have enough trouble dealing with the human hormones in the family. I don't need rampaging canine hormones to deal with, too.

 

[fluffabear]

Fluffabear, neutering or spaying may not affect general behavior, but it will help curb male aggression towards other males, wbich reduces both the fights your dog starts and the fights other dogs start with him. It will also make both sexes less likely to run off and either get lost or come back pregnant. Personally, I have enough trouble dealing with the human hormones in the family. I don't need rampaging canine hormones to deal with, too.

I wasn't implying that neutering the dog was a bad idea, it's the responsible thing to do. I was only trying to say that many people will have their pets 'fixed' in hopes that some unwanted behavior will stop.

I agree that hormones have a lot to do with aggression, however I have seen a large number of neutered males flat out attack other male dogs because they are not well-socialized.

 

[Patrick46]

I agree that the breed of you dog can be a huge influence!

A friend had a huge pit bull, that I wouldda left alone with my children, as he was the most kind and gentle dog I've ever seen around kids. We thought he was the most wonderful dog we'd ever seen before.


.....until we saw him meet a strange dog once!!!

He locked his jaws around the other dog's head so tightly, that the owner had to hit his head with a board just to get him to break his grip!! Needless to say, the other dog didn't fare so well.


If taking your dog to obedience school is not possible, go to your local library and pick up a few books on dog training. Simple one-word commands, and lotsa praise does wonders!!

 

[WheelEstate USA]

There's another side to manners also....human manners.
Leash your dog in public. I've heard people say, "Oh, my dog minds". My question is, "But, you never learned to mind??"....there are laws in most places, not to mention just plain good sense. Using a leash in public only re-enforces good behavior.

I've seen dogs that were "well behaved" going for blood on each other in front of a store on a busy street. Both dogs, in one case, were hurt badly and a few people hurt trying to break it up. The whole affair would have been avoided if leashes had been in play.
Simply common sense.

And please, carry and use a damn poop bag....*Thank you very much*

 

[Patrick46]

There's another side to manners also....human manners.
Leash your dog in public. I've heard people say, "Oh, my dog minds". My question is, "But, you never learned to mind??"....there are laws in most places, not to mention just plain good sense. Using a leash in public only re-enforces good behavior.

x2

yeah...I'm a big believer in leashes.

There's a park across the street from my place, and alotta folks bring their dogs there to let 'em run.

I'm a walker/hiker...I go on alot of them, and I can't name all the times that a dog has spotted me from across the park and has come running for me. They're just being friendly and curious...they're dogs....but I can't stand it when they jump up on me!!! I push 'em off and they do it over and over...all while the owner is calling to them, or walks up and sais something dumb like "oh, Buffy here just loves everybody!"

Well...sorry, but not everybody loves Buffy!!


A leash on your pet is a good way to prevent making enemys.

CONTROL YOUR ANIMALS!!

 

[jeanontheroad]

Yes, a leash is a good thing. It keeps both dogs and people safe. Jack was never off leash at campground unless he was in an area specified for dogs. Even then, we looked to see eho else was there. We never worried about him going after other dogs, but we never knew who would go after him.

 

[hippiechk]

You've received a lot of good advice a out the importance of social visits and the vital part about leashing. For your dog to be protective, love it!!

 

[compassrose]

Look for info on the internet. Had a post but it had three links which meant it got dumped as spam. Do a free internet guided training, then use places like petsmart or petco to socialize your pet. We found that using a harness with a 6 ft leash plus a 1 - 1.5 ft leash for crowded towns/trails was great. Small dogs were egged on by their pea brained owners to "go after" a much larger "wolf dog" (husky-borzoi mix). Our dog did not like small yappy dogs.

 

[Patrick46]

btw...

when I used to live in my semi truck on the road, I had my dog with me. I got him from a cardboard box at a truckstop.

It was interesting, because whenever I'd take him to the back lot of the truckstops to let him run and stretch his legs, there'd be other drivers back there letting their dogs run too...and enevitibly, the dogs would start to run around and play together! I saw this happen on many different occasions too.

It was alomost like the dogs knew that they were doing something different from the norm, and had found a kindred spirit to play with!

 

[jeanontheroad]

Patrick, re your pitbull experience, a lot of park are restricting breeds for just that reason. Dogs can be unpredictable and owners can delude themselves about what a big teddy bear their Brutus is. My son left us with a 120# German Shepherd when he moved and could not take the dog with him. My son used to joke about how gentle the dog was. My son was wrong. No way would I have taken that dog camping around strangers.

 

[Patrick46]

yeah, I'm with you on that one Jean.

I've got friends who've got 3 huge Rottweilers, that they think are the sweetest teddy bears to be found dressed like dogs.

I'm a big tyme dog lover, but those guys scare the crap outta me!!! I don't trust 'em for nuthin'!!