Socialization....is important!

945 Views 13 Replies 7 Participants Last post by 3212, Mar 23, 2009

3212

Discussion Starter · Mar 21, 2009

This is mainly just a vent because I was so appalled with this lady today at work. She has been bringing this puppy into the clinic since it was 1.4 pounds (now 18). They found the pup and we all thought it was wonderful that they decided to keep her and nurse her.

She is now 13 weeks and appallingly un-socialized. The dog not only cowered at the site of me entering the room she tried to bite me when I took her temperature! At 13 weeks! Every time the dog winced in fear she pet her and told her it was okay and that she was a good girl. The owner left the room when we gave vaccines because she couldn't watch (which is fine) and the puppy went nuts! She peed everywhere, tried to snap, cowered in the corner when the vet and I put her on the ground. I've seen puppies be scared before, but I have never seen such a young puppy act like this. And we were nothing but slow and careful with her.

I would give ANYTHING to have had Bridgette that young just so I could socialize her properly and much more easily. The doc tried to give her advice on socialization, but she didn't really seem to see a problem. It was pretty heartbreaking because it's easy to see this poor baby turning into a nasty dog down the road.

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Pepper

· #8 · Mar 22, 2009

Everytime she pets the dog for being afraid, she's just reinforcing it.

That is actually a myth.

Fear is an emotional state-a reaction to the presence or anticipation of something highly aversive. It is not an attempt at manipulation. If terrorists enter a bank and order everybody down on the floor, the people will exhibit fearful behavior.

If I then give a bank customer on the floor a compliment, 20 bucks, or chocolates, is this going to make them more afraid of terrorists next time? It is stunningly narcissistic to imagine that a dog's fearful behavior is somehow directed at us.

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Pepper

· #10 · Mar 22, 2009

Well a lot of dogs are afraid of the vet, someone looking in your ears, in your eyes, etc.. can be very frightening, and intimidating.

The person would need to have one friend at a time come over and sit on the floor and drop treats on the ground without saying anything or making any sudden movements.

They shouldn't try and pet the dog, and the owner shouldn't try and force the dog to get close to anyone it doesn't want too.

If your kid was afraid of dogs you wouldn't throw them in a room with 10 dogs, or push them towards dogs they see on the street. They would start with gentle introductions from across the room, and show the child nothing bad will happen when they are in the same room as a dog. They would gradually move a little closer, and if the kid got scared, back up.

It could take days or weeks, but you don't want to push fear.

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