What’s the single most important thing you can do for your adopted dog beyond fulfilling his basic needs for food, water, and shelter? What is even more important than obedience training your dog, even more important than pampering your pet or giving him cool toys or a luxurious dog bed or gourmet pet treats? What will be most likely to keep him from going back to the animal shelter, from being euthanized, or abused, or the cause of legal action against you?
Socialization.
The good news is that dogs are smart, thinking creatures that socialize beautifully. Actually, dogs are naturally socialized to pack life in the wild. The trick is to socialize them to life in human society, something dogs enjoy immensely. They love to bond with us, follow our rules, be loyal to us, give and receive affection from us, learn from us, do work for us, and generally live productively and happily among us. Socialization makes this possible, physically and psychologically, for dogs. Without it, dogs won’t and can’t thrive among humans and the result can be disastrous for both humans and dogs.
Because a puppy’s early experiences are imprinted on her for life, socialization can be a tricky business when it comes to dealing with adopted dogs.
The good news is that while you don’t know your dog didn’t receive proper socialization, you don’t know that he didn’t receive it, either. Many dogs in animal shelters were raised by a breeder who may have socialized and played with them as puppies, but who then sold them to people who couldn’t handle them as older puppies or adolescents. Many dogs in animal shelters were long-term well-behaved family pets. And even those who were strays may have had all kinds of social contact in their colorful past.
Perhaps as puppies, they were found by a child who played with them and loved them. Perhaps as they wandered, their interactions with humans were positive. Even if they had negative experiences with humans, these could have happened late enough in your dog’s life (such as after the first six months of life) that they didn’t permanently color your dog’s interactions with humans, or only affect your dog in certain ways. Maybe your stray dog is happy and friendly but suddenly gets fearful around women or little boys or large dogs. This is a problem to work on and take very seriously, but you may be able to work through it.
Whatever your dog’s individual situation—friendly but scared of men with dark beards, perhaps, or generally shy, or a little too assertive and dominant, or simply so exuberant that he is out of control—you can begin to repair past socialization snafus and you can help your dog grow into a more confident, friendly, and safe pet by putting daily effort into socialization. That effort can be as simple as taking your dog on a daily walk, something you probably do already. The great thing about socialization is that it’s fun to do.
From Your Outta Control Adopted Dog, by Eve Adamson, published by TFH Publications. Used with permission.
