Mas Little Paws Kennel

Steps to Socializing Your Pup or Dog

As pack animals and social beings, dogs need interaction with their owners, other people and other animals. The more you isolate the dog, and the less you interact with the dog, the more likely she will develop negative behaviors.

Companionship is vital to a dog's emotional well-being. Integrate the pup into your family from the start. Place your pup's crate or play pen in a room in which your family spends considerable time each day.

Raise a dog in an environment that doesn't allow him to be teased, tormented or attacked by other dogs. Tying a dog up or fencing in a location where other dogs can agitate him leads to dog aggression. People who want their dogs to live outside should not get dogs.

Part of interacting with a dog of any age involves consistently rewarding all desirable behaviors - thus increasing the likelihood the dog will repeat those behaviors - and to take steps to prevent the development of undesirable behavior.

The latter is usually accomplished by redirecting the dog's energy into a positive behavior for which you can reward her, and when she does something "bad", to ignore the undesired behavior. This is based on the principle that dogs typically engage in behaviors to get attention and/or obtain something they desire such as a treat, toy, special privilege or higher status.

And this is why pushing off a jumping dog usually will not stop the jumping behavior; even though pushing the dog away seems like a negative reaction, to the dog seeking attention, any interaction she achieves seems better than none. Therefore, it is far better to get your dog to "sit" before she tries to jump. That way, you can reward her with the attention she wants, while reinforcing only good behavior. It is important to think about why your dog is engaging in a particular behavior.