Socializing Siggy in Town

We’ve been following Siggy (and Max) along for quite some time and I’m so pleased with the progress both of these awesome dogs have made.

I’m jumping ahead here because we still have some videos to post of Siggy’s basic training. However, I thought that you all might benefit from seeing how I try to get dogs out and about in town to get them socialized. This video is from last year, but it is quite relevant. Siggy has done great with his training at the park, and Yossi has taken him around his house for walks and such. BUT… you’ll see Siggy a little nervous in a strange environment. This is often times the case.

So in this session you’ll see how I like to expose the dog to new experiences, how much ocrrection I use and how Ihande the situation when the dog gets scared or confused.

This is a very valuable lesson for anyone with a young dog that needs to be socialized. Some things I don’t do are:

1. Over correct dogs during this phase.
2. Don’t let people meet the dog.
3. Don’t let other dogs meet my dog.
4. Don’t stress the dog on the walk by working for perfect obedience.

Things I like to do during these trainings are:

1. Let the dog be calm and enjoy the time.
2. Try to keep the leash as lose as I can.
3. Talk calmly to the dog when he Neds me, disconnect the other times.
4. Keep the session relatively short.
5. Always end on a good note.