Socializing Your Dog: Why it’s Important

One of the aspects that a person has to look at when having a dog (and especially if you have a big breed dog) – is taking the time to make sure that your dog becomes well socialized – with people and with other animals.
If you’re attempting to socialize a dog that’s already an adult, you might have to get the help of a dog trainer or an animal behaviourist. This ensures that no accidents happen due to the dog having a bad reaction to either another person or another animal.

There’s three points I want to address before carrying on with this discussion:
For those who want to have a dog that is wary of anyone else but your immediate family/friends/extended family, etc. be VERY careful with this approach – because if your dog happens to bite someone else who is willingly on your property; be aware that the person can open a civil case against you at the police station. DO NOT encourage your dog to be wary of the gardener or the house help; doesn’t matter about the fact that you might not trust them – this can backfire on you, and people can go to the police station to open up a case against you.
If you happen to keep a power breed (especially a pitbull) – please ensure that your yard is secure so that the dog CANNOT get out the yard. If your dog bites someone walking in the street – that person can also open up a civil case against you. Again, don’t encourage your dog to be overly wary of strangers.
The last point: if you’re not someone who is physically able to handle a large breed dog – i.e. if the dog has a bad reaction towards someone or another animal and you aren’t able to get the dog off or able to keep the dog under control, don’t get a large breed dog.

If you have a new dog on your premises, ensure that you expose your dog on a regular basis to new people, and also be sure to include the vet in this as well – since you will take your dog there on at least a yearly basis. Having a dog that doesn’t enjoy the vet is not a pleasant experience, and especially if it is a large breed dog.
Familiarize your dog with the house help and the gardener – so there is no aggression or biting issues. Also see if you can visit other people who also have dogs on their premises, this will ensure that your dog becomes familiar with other dogs and gets used to other dogs. If possible, see if you can also socialize your dog with a cat – even if you don’t have a cat of your own.
The goal is to desensitize your dog as much as possible so that it doesn’t have any bad reactions towards other people or animals.

It will also ensure that if a situation happens where you aren’t able to keep your dog if you happen to move to a smaller place or lose your living place altogether – that your dog will be able to have a better chance at adapting to other people as well as if those people have other animals of their own.

One last point I want to mention before closing off:
If you happen to have a dog that doesn’t socialize well with other animals – don’t force the issue. And always do research before getting a dog – for instance, Pitbulls are infamous for not getting along with other dogs – and if it grows up with another dog, it is highly unlikely that it will adjust to a new dog once the other dog it grew up with is gone; so always keep this in mind when getting a dog. Do you want your dog to get on with other animals, or are you ok if they’re the only dog on the property?

As always, please always practice responsible pet ownership.

Blog Post By Your Pet Caring Friend,
Carmen Harris.