Meeting other dogs
Every puppy owner's dream is to raise their dog to be social, responsible adults who can be trusted around other dogs, who can be off-lead on the beach and who is a well-known social butterfly in the neighbourhood. However, people often forget that socialising your puppy with other humans is a priority. Before diving too deep into dog-to-dog socialisation, please make sure you have already done extensive training on dog-to-human socialisation. Click here for more tips on socialising with a variety of people.
Introductions
When and where?
It is one of the sweetest things to watch a puppy making new friends. They are so playful and confident, until a bigger pup arrives and just trots over them. Please avoid public dog parks when socialising your puppy - there is a huge risk of infections and you can't predict if the dogs in there will be friendly, boistorous or even reactive. This is too much risk to take with a tiny puppy! To socialise them in an appropriate environment, find a certified puppy school instructor near you (Click here for a list of certified trainers in the Sydney region), and find puppies of similar age in your neighbourhood to go on playdates with.
Your handling is key!
To have the most control over the meeting, keep both pups on lead during your initial meeting. Always check the other dog first, and see if it's being friendly or interested before you allow your puppy to approach them.
Most people have heard of the natural survival instinct called 'fight or flight'. This is the response of many animals, when finding themselves in a sticky situation. Puppies don't naturally want to fight anyone, however, if they feel scared, want to run away and the owner stops them with the lead and keeps them in the interaction, it is very possible that they choose 'fight' in order to keep the other dog away. For this reason, always make sure to keep your lead loose during puppy interaction, so your puppy doesn't feel trapped. You want your puppy to be able to choose 'flight' every time, so they never have to fight instead. Watch out for their body language and make sure to give them enough space to back out of the meeting if they need to. Other owners can be very distracting and chatty, but please make sure to always keep an eye on your dog while socialising them with other pups.
Meeting other species
If you want your puppy to be comfortable around other animals, make sure to expose them to as many different species as possible! Keep them on a lead to endure calm and safe interactions and don't let them off the lead until you are confident that your puppy won't harass and chase them. Chasing wildlife or livestock can be a very problematic behaviour that is very difficult to fix, so you certainly don't want your puppy to learn to entertain themselves this way.
Cats, birds, sheep, horses, cattle - just a few animals you would occasionally encounter during your everyday life. To promote neutral behaviour for your puppy, reward him for being called and paying attention to you instead of the other animal in sight. If they are being a bit pushy or overly excited, try increasing the distance between you and the trigger and once your puppy can handle their presence from a distance, use your food or toys to reward your puppy for their calm behaviour.
