Prior to bringing Pandora home, I’d heard, “You’ve got to socialize your dog.” Then I researched Australian Cattle Dogs. I learned they really need socialization as soon as possible. We had picked out Pandora a week before the nation went into the Covid lockdown. She arrived at our home amidst the lockdown.
All the pet stores had stopped their puppy play days. People avoided each other at dog parks. And I fretted that Pandora was going to turn into a mean, snarling beast around people and animals she didn’t know.
I panicked. How was I going to get her socialized? Does she really need socialization?
Do You Need to Socialize Your Dog?
It depends. If you live on a farm, you will train your dog to do a particular job. As a working dog, she’ll be pooped and ready to chill at the end of the day. You may train her to not jump on people arriving to your house. You may want to help her know it’s not okay to race up in attack mode. But for the most part, a dog that works that hard, will crash hard when off duty. She will know how or learn how to interact with the other dogs that live there and the animals on the farm. It’s rare to see a hard-working dog like this at a dog park. They get plenty of exercise at home.
For dogs you plan on bringing to your dog park, or walking your neighborhood, or bringing with you to places where other people and pets may be, it’s a good idea to socialize them. They need to know they don’t own every area they visit. You don’t want them terrorizing the other dogs at the park and you don’t want them terrorizing little kids.
And when it comes to parents and kids, I don’t care how happy your 140 lb. Boerboel dog is, you can’t let him charge up to a forty-pound child. If someone three times your size barrels up to you, you’re going to jump back. A kid may jump back, scream, cry, and or run.
That’s when problems ensue.
Once a person starts running, especially a smaller person, the dog is all “PLAY TIME! ALRIGHT!” The kid has no clue the dog might be harmless, the parents don’t know the dog is harmless. And even as the owner, you can’t guarantee your dog won’t bite the child willfully or accidentally. The worst dog bite I ever received was from a good dog that I knew. It was one of my friend’s dogs. A bunch of us kids were wrestling around, and the dog was playing with us and bit my knee. Broke the skin. The dog didn’t do it willfully. It was an accident.
That’s why it’s incredibly important to socialize your dog.
You want them to know how to play with other dogs, how to play with kids, how to be gentle.
How Do You Socialize When You’re in Lockdown (or When You’re an Introvert)?
Well, you make the best of what you can. I have a friend that I walked with who had just adopted an elderly one-eyed Chihuahua. We would meet up to go for walks. Sophie (the Chihuahua) didn’t take to Pandora’s puppy antics. Which was okay. Pandora learned that Sophie was fine with her walking near her, but she couldn’t wrestle with Sophie. When to leave another dog alone is an important social lesson for puppies.
When Pandora and I were out walking alone and came across another person, if the person seemed interested in Pandora, I’d asked them (if they were comfortable with it first – because it was during the height of the pandemic) if Pandora could come up to them. I never asked anyone to stop. Only people who happened to stop or show interest in her.
I did the same when we came across people who were out with the dog(s). Pandora met a lot of dogs on our walks. Some were not social. One snapped at her as they passed by us. It was okay. We had reached a tight spot on the trail and the lady mentioned her dog was crabby so we both held our dogs in close. The other dog didn’t touch Pandora. But Pandora learned that not all dogs want to play. She still makes an attempt to meet all dogs, but she knows when to leave the other dog alone.
Once Pandora had all her shots, we would go to dog park so she could meet other dogs and learn the social process. Most times, Pandora doesn’t like being on unfamiliar turf. So, she’s extra cautious meeting dogs in parks. She’s definitely not the aggressor type.
These small meetings with dogs here and there, were very helpful toward her socialization.
Socialize Your Dog with Other People
Once our area let up on pandemic restrictions, I started taking Pandora to the pet stores. This has helped her in more than one way. First, she gets to meet people in the store, and they all give her love. Two, she hates being anywhere near roads with vehicles. Knowing she can get out and go inside a place has helped her a wee bit.
Plus, she’s taken it upon herself to greet all customers as they come in. She’s definitely nervous as she does the wag and drag. That’s what I call the dropping low and scooching up to people with her belly just clearing the floor, her ears half back, and her tail wagging so hard, it’s basically Swiffering the floor behind her.
I would act excited when we met people she knew but hadn’t seen a while. This worked well. However, now we are working on not jumping to shoulder height in excitement when she sees them.
As for little kids, we haven’t had much of a chance to socialize her there. I met one child on a trail that wanted to pet Pandora. Other than that, Pandora has only been around two other sets of kids. One set were my friend’s kids. They were elementary aged at the time.
The other two kids were at the park. And they were hyper and loud. I knew Pandora was not having it and even though she didn’t show any aggression, we left. It was best for her to know that I wouldn’t force her to deal with them.
A Few Other Tips for Socialization
Go slow. Don’t take your dog to the dog park during the peak hours. Slow introductions to a lot of the typical fear areas can be beneficial.
Pandora hates the loud sound of the garbage trucks, so I attempted to desensitize her by playing an hour-long YouTube video of garbage trucks on repeat. In stereo. If your dog is terrified of fireworks, maybe look for videos of fireworks and start at low volume and each day increase the volume a little more.
A few other sites that give great tips on socialization of your dog:
DrMartyPets.com – socialize dogs
Rover.com – Socializing your pup