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Socialization- the concept of socialization for dogs has been misinterpreted and has caused many issues with people’s pets. Majority of people think socialization means to get them around dogs and people as much as possible so they are happy interacting with them. When they do this they flood the dog with that stimuli. The main topic of this blog entry is to talk about how it affects dog on dog interactions regarding daycare. Daycare can be a great tool, but people make the mistake of over socializing their dog to the point where they get sick of it and become reactive or even dog on dog aggressive. Imagine taking your child to a park with no parental supervision (yes, there is supervision in daycare, but just like school systems there is only so much we can do to redirect behaviors) Dogs can socially learn good and bad behaviors from others, whether that is barking, chasing, mouthing, jumping, playing rough. They are pack dogs so they can learn to be a bully. The more you keep bringing them, the chances of them getting confident and picking up these reactive dog behaviors increases. A good socialized dog should not be bouncing off the walls to see other dogs or people, they should just be content and calm if they see them or if they don’t. Socialization is supposed to be a neutral normality for them. They might be intrigued but not bouncing off the walls obnoxious.(This will lead me into another blog entry later) With that being said, everyone wants this bouncing off the walls dog that they are sending to daycare 2-5 times a week that is learning good and bad behaviors with no real black and white communication on what is right and wrong. Some dogs it takes weeks of that for them to become reactive, some less, some not at all. We often see this with our regular clients with puppies, it is convenient for them to bring their dogs everyday due to potty training mostly. In their head they think they are getting a win win, a tired dog and a great socialized dog. Eventually the owners tend to get settled on their routine that when they pick their dog up after a long day of work they do not need to walk them, their behavioral issues in the home most likely decreased due to being tired, potty training tends to go smoother as they sleep a lot, and who doesn’t like a quiet sleepy dog. Fast forward a few months and now they are getting naughty report cards from us saying their dog went after another dog or is becoming fixated and barking at another dog etc. Majority of the time the dog ends up getting a few naughty report cards, the owners are clueless on why and they might even get kicked out. All of this because of the misconception on socialization and honestly not living a structured lifestyle with your pet. Often times owners will say they cannot wrap their head around why their dog is displaying those issues here but not with them, or why their dog has been increasingly getting more reactive and then are convinced something happened here that made their dog that way such as their dog getting attacked. The misconception of socializing your dog is that every dog should be happy and overly playful with other dogs. Some owners think that bringing their dog more when they are reactive on a leash will magically solve their dogs reactive behaviors. More socialization is not the key. Proper communication and structure is the key to fixing reactive behaviors and preventing them. So, how do we properly socialize a dog? I believe that all depends on the dog itself. If you have a happy go lucky dog, then occasional interactions is all they need, more than once a week daycare I think can turn these types of dogs to be reactive. If you have a shy dog, again occasional interactions with communication on what is ok to help boost their confidence levels. Sending them to daycare 5 times a week might turn them into a puddle and be more fear reactive, you have to find the right balance for the severity of your dog. The bottom line is you do not need to overdo socializing your pet, you should take your dog out and get them accumulated to dogs, people, new places, noises, etc. Again daycare is one of those great socialization tools, just don’t overdo it and have your plan backfire. Set your dog up for success and fun.