Jewlieee
Posted : 11/5/2007 10:03:08 AM
spiritdogs
I never bring strange dogs into my dogs' territory to meet - I always conduct meet & greets on neutral territory. If Neiko is only well socialized to the two dogs he knows since puppyhood, it is unlikely he would nicely tolerate other dogs coming in to his house. This is why I always suggest that people expose their dogs to play groups, day care, group boarding, classes, etc. from puppyhood through adulthood. It's the dogs that go to puppy class, then never meet other off leash dogs again, save one or two companions, that are the most likely not to be very social as adult dogs. I would not correct Neiko - this is not his fault, it's yours (sorry, no offense intended). One thing you can do to try to ameliorate this is to see if he does well at a small group class with off leash dogs that he doesn't know. Regular obedience trainers or obedience clubs don't normally have this, so you would have to seek out a trainer that does - many positive trainers do it, but you need to check. That way, you can tell if he would be more likely to accept a dog that he doesn't know at all, never mind in his home.
Oh, he's been extremely well socialized, believe me. First he started out with 19 puppies and 5 adults in his pack (they were not kept penned outside, but were part of the family inside the house he was born in). Then when I brought him home, he was not only socialized with dogs in my family, but friends dogs as well. I took him every where. I also had him enrolled in puppy socialization class AND an obediance class starting at 10 weeks old. After those first 2 classes, we moved on to intermediate obedience at one club, then advanced obedience at a different club. We also did agility at a different club and now we're in another agility class at the club he did his first obedience class at. Plus he goes to the dog park daily and doggy day care once a week. So socialization outside of the home isn't the problem. I think that he's had more socialization than most dogs get their entire lives. Where I fell flat is bringing new dogs to his home.
My other problem, I'm finding out, is that he's very attached and protective of me. This is partly a breed trait but also probably because I tend to reward his velcro-ness. He doesn't like other dogs sitting in my lap. He believes that is his place. So practicing a little more NILIF is in order around my house these days, I think.