The idea of socialisation has become very confused over the last 5 years or so.
Speak to a trainer or experienced breeder and they will tell you that socialising a puppy is about exposing it to as many different enviroments, sounds, smells and situations as possible and trying to do this in as poistive a way as possible.
The biggest mistake that is made with regards socialisation is thinking that all that is required is getting your puppy to meet as many other puppies or dogs as possible.
The new advent of Dog Parks has only made this mistake more profound.
Many Dog Parks are now offering 'socialisation sessions' whereby multiple dogs 'play' together on their secure settings.
Not only is this a completly unatural situation but these sessions are leading to many of the unwanted behaviours clients or complaning of today.
Dogs are being trained in these sessions to be focussed on other dogs, sometimes even to the point of obsession whereby when you walk ypur dog they are desperate to get to other puppies and dogs leading to lead pulling and poor recall and worse dogs approaching reactive and nervous dogs leading to agression and even bites.
The worst outcome is that your puppy or dog has an unwelcome encounter during these sessions and starts its own journey to reactivity.
As experienced trainers and behaviorists we can advise on how to properly socialise your puppy or dog and we can help with this during our well managed group training sessions and ensure that your dogs main focus is you!
Contact us today for help with this and any other dog related questions you may have 🐶