The socialization

Dog owners often hear that their dog is "poorly socialized" if they refuse contact with strange dogs for their dog. Mean sentences like: "Oh, is he incompatible"? or “Do you have an aggressive dog?” This is accompanied by the accusation of having failed to train your own dog.

The feeling created: You don't fulfill the expectation of having a dog that is completely friendly and friendly in every situation. Dogs are pack animals, but on dog meadows it is not a "pack" that meets, but strange dogs. If there are several dogs that know each other, it is called a pack; the term "pack" is only permitted for dogs that come from a family group. Dogs know nothing about the human definition of social compatibility. They also don't see any point in having to "play" with strange dogs. Just between us - is it different for people?

Which person wants to have something to do with every other person? So here we have a higher moral standard for our dogs than for ourselves.

Our dogs should do what we would never do ourselves - be good friends with every stranger, without any getting-to-know-you phase. Dog encounters need management! A dog owner who hopes that his own dog will always remain friendly without any management or guidance from his human , who never gets into a conflict and is completely "suitable for the dog playground", has unrealistic expectations of his dog.

This behavior is mostly pronounced in single dog owners. They mean well, but the consequences are fatal. Dog encounters are only enriching if the four-legged friends have time to get to know each other and are also allowed to decide which dog they like and which they don't. Before you plunge into dog encounters, you should do the following:

Train a safe demolition command, study the body language of dogs and acquire a realistic view of your own dog's needs and preferences. Socially acceptable dogs approach slowly and respectfully, they walk in arcs, they give other dogs space and retreat when they notice that the other four-legged friend doesn't want any contact. They are neither pushy nor overexcited. Anyone who allows their dog to behave like this is anything but “socially acceptable” as a dog owner. The social compatibility of one's own dog begins with the owner with the attitude of not wanting to bother anyone, it means the dog's neutrality towards its environment and it means communication between dog owners. You cannot teach compatibility! You cannot control your dog's attitude towards other dogs Change education. You can't train him to like every strange dog. You can never change character through training. What you can do is train a dog to be obedient so that you can moderate dog encounters and possibly break them off or avoid them altogether. A socially acceptable dog is a dog that avoids conflicts and avoids them can. But by no means a dog that seeks contact with all other dogs. A dog also has the right not to like other dogs. He has the right to his individual distance.