Socialization

Socializing your dog should be a life long process. You want your dog to be exposed to as many people, pets and situations as possible so he learns how to behave and react to different things. Take him to new places every few days or so and introduce him to family and friends.

Introducing To Other Pets

If your dog has been socialized growing up, he shouldn't have problems meeting other dogs. But you still want to take it slow and see how things go before letting him loose. The best way to start is by introducing your do to other dogs that you know are friendly and socialized. When introducing your dog to new dog friends, keep him on his leash so he can sniff the other dog, and you can reel him in if you need to. Try to keep the leash slack; if you pull too hard, you can trigger his "fight or flight" instinct. Always introduce dogs on neutral turf, so neither of them feels threatened.

How You Can Help

Attitude

Dogs pick up on our attitudes and feelings. If you feel stressed, your dog will notice and react to it. If you sense a potential problem, try not to tense up or give your dog reason to panic.

Diversion

Another tip is to divert his attention. Many dogs are hams and love to please their families, so ask your dog to sit, or give you his paw, or some other easy trick he has mastered. Give him lost of praise and attention (and treats if you have some!).

Set Your Dog Up For Success

If you don't know how well your dog has been socialized, always go slow and set your dog up for success. For example, don't take your dog to a park with lots of pets and people if you don't know how he will react. Start slowly, with one or two other people and one or two other dogs, for just a few minutes. Don't take your dog for a car ride only when going to the vet or dropping him off at a boarding facility. He will soon learn that car trips aren't always pleasant. Take him for a ride to get gas in your car, for example, or the drive through ATM. Your dog gets to stay with you and you don't have to worry about leaving him alone in the car.

Exercise

Whether you take your dog to the park or for a walk around the neighborhood exercise keeps your dog's mind and body healthy. He can meet other people and dogs and burn off some energy. Less pent up energy means less distraction from you and overall, better behavior.

 

Great post!

 

I don't mean to take anything away from your post but it needs to be said. You can socialize your dog all you want and the dog will still be dog aggressive. The dog may be able to respond to situations better and may not lunge at every dog but socialization does not change genetics. I socialized my dog since he was six weeks of age until a couple of weeks ago (He is now 11 months). He would meet up to ten new dogs a day sometimes. He always played with them and never got aggressive. (I used to walk him on a Chatahoochee nature trail 2-4 hours a day. He has had an extreme amount of socialization.) Yet, it made no difference, I cannot let him around dogs anymore. It is as if he never seen another dog in his life. Dog aggression is in these dog's blood. Please, do not fool yourself into thinking that you can train a dog out of its genetics. This mindset will cause you and the breed alot of trouble.

 

I never said you can change there genetics. But dogs do need to be socialized. If they get to that piont were they cant be around dogs so be it but that does not mean oh i have a pit bull so lets not socialize it.

 

Good post...

 

I never said that you shouldn't socialize them either. If I felt that way I wouldn't have socialized my dog at all.
Socialization can be good for any dog. But, it needs to be pointed out that genetics can not be changed. Too many people get these dogs under the impression that they can train animal aggression out of the dog. There are countless stories where people thought that they raised a non-aggressive dog due to socialization and then have the dog run loose and raise hell in the dog park, killing people's pets and further raising people's fear of these dogs. People have gotten the idea that dogs are trained to fight and not born with it. They feel they can get a highly animal aggressive dog and make it into a loving foofie dog. They are fooling themselves and people need to be very aware that you can socialize a dog all you want but the genetics of dog aggression will always be there and it can exhibit itself at any time. These dogs are not to be trusted around other dogs, regardless of socialization. That is my point. As I said, I am not trying to take away from your post but this is a very important point and everyone that is considering purchasing a dog from this breed needs to be highly aware of this fact.

 

That Is Why When I Am Out With My Dogs I Watch Them Like A Hawk And They Are Never Off There Leash. Dog Parks And No Leash Dog Parks Are Stupid And An Acident Waiting To Happen I Do Not Approve Of Them Nor Do I Take My Dogs To Them.

 

I agree with you. They need to know what they are getting themselves into before they go and get something they can't handle. However, I would be willing to say that 99% of the people on this forum allready understand what these dogs are capable of and would be aware of any situation they put their dogs in. If they don't know that then they don't need to hae this breed of dog.

 

Yeah, the members know what to expect. I agree. But, go to the bottom of the website's homepage and compare the number of visitors to actual members. You can pretty much guarantee, at any time of the day, there are around 3x the amount of visitors as there are members online. (At this moment, there are 72 visitors and 20 members online.) I am pretty sure that a large portion of these people are searching for information on these dogs and are not highly knowledgeable in the breed. I feel it is necessary that posts should be written for these people as well.

 

And your right on with what your doing, reps to you good posting

 

Socialization Is Not Just About Socializing With Dogs But Humans Too. Don't Want A Man Bitter Unless It Is Needed. This Breed Is A Very Good Jugde Of Situations. But You All So Need To Watch Your Dog.

 

Oh boy here comes Gadog again. I agree with most of the above post and think that they give good advice. What i would like to see more of from medium to large breed owners is professional training in obediance. You may not be able to always trust them but you should always be able to handle them. I see a large number of 100 to 150lb women with 50 plus pound dogs bullies and not. I also see to many being pulled around by their dogs and not being able to control them properly. I do not mean to pick on women I also see larger men being pulled around as well. The other thing I see is chokers and pinches being used improperly and either not controling the dog or possibly causeing it injury. Pet stores should require proof of knowledge before selling potentialy dangerous equipment. A social dog is a better dog but it should also have a knowlegeable owner.
Forgive the spelling