The easy way to socialize a dog

Dog owners that have taken time to properly socialize a dog will have a pet that adapts to any situation and gets along well with people and other animals. Socialization is one way of developing a dog into a good canine citizen that will be a most valued companion of the family. Socialization is one of the responsibilities of a dog owner that will develop the dog into a happy and well adjusted member of the household. A first time dog owner may wonder at the need to socialize the dog and how dog socialization can be done.

In spite of the fact that dogs are acclaimed to be social creatures, some individuals would not interact well with people and with other animals as dogs too have different personalities. Shy or nervous dogs will react either with fear or with aggression to unfamiliar faces or to new situations. On the other hand, a dog with a dominant personality will always try to be the alpha male whether the pack consists of humans or animals. A dog owner's responsibility to the pet is more than providing the dog with its basic needs. A dog owner has to socialize the dog so that it will grow into a well behaved dog that can interact with all types of people and animals in any kind of situation and all kinds of environment.

Socialization must take place when the puppy is between 8 to 16 weeks old. This is not to say that older dogs can no longer be socialized. To desensitize an older dog though, a pet parent has to be more patient and persistent. Socializing puppies would be easier as apart from having a curious nature; puppies have not yet formed hard to break habits.

Introduce the puppy to everything that it will be exposed to as soon as the OK of the vet is received. Start by regularly grooming your dog so that it can get used to being touched. These handling exercises will prepare the dog so that it will not react aggressively to being touched by the vet, by a child in the park or by a neighbor or a guest in the future.

Taking the dog to the local dog park or enrolling the dog to an obedience school will give the pet a chance to interact with other canines. The dog must be introduced to as many people and exposed to as many situations as possible. Whenever there's a chance take the dog along. Entice the dog to respond well to socialization by using treats as rewards. These socialization efforts will develop the puppy into a well adjusted mature dog.