Socializing

[Hazel]

Hi,

I have a 15 month old Pedigree Boxer ***** and I have a problem with socialising her with other dogs. As I got her when she was a few months old, the breeder had not introduced her to other dogs, the only dogs that she had come into contact with were her Sire & Dam and the rest of the litter, who had all gone when I bought her. She was the last to go because she has a scar on her head from being born and no one could show her at Crufts.

So, when I bought her, we started to go out on walks and every dog that she came to, she would pounce on them. She is in no way agressive but other dogs see her as a threat and warn her with their signals. She fails to understand the signals and carries on wrestling them to the floor in a playful way.

I do admit that I have done the wrong thing by taking her to somewhere that she will not come into contact with other dogs, as I fear that she will get hurt if other dogs become agressive with her.

The owners of the other dogs that I have tried to socialise her with have given up because the other dog usually gets too agitated with her. They do not like her jumping all over their dogs, which I totally understand!

I would really like to get her socialised but I really don't know how to go about it. Would anyone be able to help?

I am wanting to breed her on her next heat and I worry that she will not get on with the other boxer dog that I am planning on mating her with. I have met the stud dog that I would like to mate her with, although the two dogs have not yet met.

Any help on this problem would be so much appreciated

Many thanks,

Hazel

[Bea]

Hi Hazel,
Late socialising CAN be a problem, but mustn't be.

Do you have any dooggie-friends who are willing to work with you and your dog? You are saying she is not aggressive so it shouldn't be a problem. Ideally, try and find someone with a dog her size or slightly bigger, a dog who is socially competent and whose owner is able to predict and interpret his dog's reactions and who can explain doggie body language and reactions to you while the dogs are interacting. Ideally, the dog would be significantly older than your juvie in order for your dog to recognise the other dog as socially superior to her.

Have the dogs meet on neutral ground in controlled surroundings, a fenced in garden or park or maybe a riding arena or the like. Make sure they have room to run and fool around safely. Let them play but please bear in mind dogs may growl when they play from excitement (a lot of sighthounds or nordic breeds do that), growling does not necessarily mean "aggressive intentions".

If the older and socially more competent dog puts your girl in her place for having been to cheeky, please accept this form of correction. Your girl needs to learn to accept such corrections from other dogs. She will be allowed to approach the other dog again when implying proper doggie rules.

If they find common grounds to communicate on, why not walk them together? Your girl can learn to be with another dog without having to fool around and be boisterous, just enjoy the other dog's company.
They may sit next to each other and accept tidbits or a pet on the head and share positive moments.

Doggie rules do not always correspond with what we expect from dogs. We are trying to overrule dogs' instincts in order to adapt them to our livestyles. If you ever watch dogs approaching each other you will notice they never ever use a direct approach, e.g. walk towards each other in a straight line. They may curve or "miss" each other, delay the meeting by sniffing the ground or pretending not to be interested. Which is 100% "bang on" in doggie rules.
And what do we do? Walk them on the lead towards another dog without giving the dogs the space or the time to comply with doggie-manners ... and still expect them to "behave well".
How rude can we be?

Another problem I find with some dogs/breeds/types is while they try and communicate, other dogs may find it difficult to read them, e.g. a Boxer may have the disadvantage of having
- a short muzzle
- a dark muzzle
- slightly wide open eyes
which can give the impression of a reacion that does not necessarily correspond with their acutal mood as the dog may be restricted in facial movement.
If you take for another example an Old English Sheepdog, this can be another "communication problem dog" as their eyes often cannot be seen by other dogs, it may be difficult to read the positioning of the ears or facial expressions due to the fluffyness of the coat.


But more importantly:
"I am wanting to breed her on her next heat and "

Please do not breed from a dog who - for whatever reasons - is unable to behave socially acceptable amongst dogs as she may be unable to pass on proper doggie-behaviour to her off-spring.
While raising puppies MAY help her "finding her roots" and doing stuff right by instinct, maternity is NOT a guarantee this will work out ok.
Please bear in mind that she may not know what to do with the pups besides feeding and cleaning them.
She may trample on them while jumping up on you when greeting you. She may not get up if she sat on a pup and the pup is crying.
She may treat them as "toys" and pull them along and paw them and treat them roughly.

Hope this helps!
Bea

[Aidan]

Bea has already given such an excellent reply that there isn't much left to be said.

I'm a big fan of walking parallel with other dogs, on-lead, reinforcing calm behaviour (take lots of easily swallowed, healthy food). If you go for a long enough walk they'll get all the "sillies" out and should be able to have a good play off-lead.

If play gets too over-the-top, say "Whoops!" and calmly put your dog on-lead for a 1-minute time-out, after which you might go for a little walk, then let them play again.

Sometimes time-outs are timed poorly and as such, aren't effective at diminishing the unwanted behaviour. The "Whoops!" at the right time really helps to "mark" the unwanted behaviour, but it takes a bit of experience to know when too-much is really too-much. Certainly, if the other dog looks uncomfortable and tries to increase distance by either 1. becoming aggressive or 2. trying to leave, then you can be pretty sure that a line has been crossed.

It's better that you take responsibility for your dog's behaviour by setting him up for success (tired and accustomed to the other dog before playing), and giving a time-out at the right time if required.

That said, sometimes other dogs can be VERY effective at teaching good manners! Make sure the other dog has impeccable social skills if this is likely to happen, and don't over-react if it does. It should look like a correction and not a fight, not pretty, but no-one should get hurt or traumatised either.

[emmabeth]

Can only agree wtih Bea and Aidan here.

Have to second Beas thoughts about breeding. Sorry, DONT do it.

What you say the breeder said about the puppy being scarred rings alarm bells for a start, IF thats exactly what the breeder said.

No breeder can guarantee a pup will be show quality, but also there is NO reason scarring would exclude a dog from showing. A scarred dog is unlikely to get to crufts but to get THERE youd have to go through a fair amount of other shows and do well first. Since a scar is not a conformational fault, if your pup was as good or better than the competition theres no reason she shouldnt be placed.

So this tells me that the chances are you HAVENT shown her. If you havent, how do you nkow how she compares to others of her breed around at the moment? How do you know which sires would complement her?

If you dont know that and im afraid showing or at the very least, attendign shows without the dog and having other breeders assess her, is the ONLY way to do this.

If you dont, then are you really breeding to improve on your *****? If you arent breeding to improve on your ***** then you shouldnt breed. There are FAR too many dogs in the world as it is.

Em