Socialising your dog

Socialising your dog

Hey there everyone.

It’s Omega here with a new blog.

Today I want to talk to you all about socialising your dog. I LOVE other dogs. I love playing with them, chasing after them and barking at them. I have loads of brothers and sisters and lots of good friends who I get to see at our great doggy daycare: https://www.happyirishdogs.ie/daycare

But I know that some dogs live at home with their owners and they only get to see other dogs when they’re out for their walk. So sometimes they can be a bit over excited, nervous, scared or even angry when they meet a new doggy buddy. So what should their owners do? Never fear I’ve some great tips to help train owners to socialise their dogs safely and in a gentle and fun way.

Socialising your dog

1)Start them small

In a perfect world you would start to socialising your dog when it’s a puppy (as soon as it’s got all its vaccinations of course!). Puppies start to learn about how to get along with other dogs in the litter, so it’s best to keep up this kind of interaction when you take them home. But if you’ve adopted an older dog, then don’t worry, there’s plenty of ways that you can help them. Despite what they say, you can teach an old dog new tricks!

2)Go to class.

A puppy party is a great place to introduce your new puppy to other dogs in a safe and fun way. For older dogs an obedience course or dog agility training will also give them a chance to interact with other dogs. I learned loads at out training classes, if you want to find out more about them, click here: https://www.happyirishdogs.ie/dog-training

3) Allow them to look

When you walk your dog allow them to check out the other dogs in the area. Give them time and make sure they’re comfortable. If another dog approaches, give your dog a reassuring pat or a treat like this one https://mutts.ie/product/nobby-mini-bones-training-treats-500g/ to make sure that they know that this is a positive thing.

4)Try not to tug or give out to your dog.

Dragging your dog away or shouting at it or an approaching dog can create tension and make your dog nervous or frightened of other dogs. Stay calm and relaxed and always reassure your dog and make sure they feel safe. A dog harness such as this one https://mutts.ie/product/flamingo-step-in-dog-harness-black/ is a great way to control your dog while out and about. If your dog pulls on the lead when he sees other dogs then this Halti harness could be the answer. https://mutts.ie/product/halti-no-pull-harness/

I hope you’ve found my information how to socialising your dog helpful, but if you’ve any other questions you can ask my Dad (just type them into the chat box in the corner). We dogs naturally live in packs, so it’s really important that we get to chat and play with other dogs as well as our owners. There’s nothing I like better than a good game of tug of war with my brother. Especially when I win!

Have a great day and I’ll be back with more of my waggy wisdom soon.

Omega xx

Socialising your dog by Omega