How Does Socialization Prevent Stranger Aggression?
When you socialize your dog, youre getting him to learn through experience that new sights and sounds are fun, not scary. Its not enough to expose an adult dog to a crowd of unfamiliar people and tell him to settle down. He has to learn that its OK for himself. And he needs to do it from puppyhood for the lesson to sink in. The more types of people and animals he meets (babies, toddlers, teenagers, old people, men, women, people wearing uniforms, people wearing motorcycle helmets, people carrying umbrellas, etc) in a fun and relaxed context, the more at ease and happy and safe around strangers – hell be in general. Socializing your dog is pretty easy to do its more of a general effort than a specific training regimen. First of all, you should take him to puppy preschool. This is a generic term for a series of easy group-training classes for puppies (often performed at the vet clinic, which has the additional benefit of teaching your dog positive associations with the vet!). Socializati