24 Hour Socialization With Mini.

The hardest thing you will ever do with your reactive or aggressive dog is learning to trust it. I don’t use any treats or tools at all, it’s all about the dogs choices. If you invest as much time in your dog as possible for a few days, let them choose, learn to trust them – they will change so fast that it will make your head spin.

Yes, I do make leaps of faith with dogs, but I’m watching their body language carefully. If you are consistently blocking your dog from making choices because you’re afraid – then wonder no more as to why it takes months and years to overcome simpleissues. I’ve already spent time with the dogs I work with, getting to know them, learning the little idiosyncrasies that are a part of them. Dogs will always show their intentions if you know what to look for.

So, with Mini being so insecure with no confidence, and she tends to be stuck to her owner like glue. This is affecting her ability to come out of her shell, so the owner agreed to let me take her for an overnight. We spent the majority of the day together, and she did really good. There were a few times that she really showed her insecurity but she overcame and moved forward. This day is all about her choices, she’s taking the lead and I’m following her. Mini is not an aggressive dog but I need to learn to trust her choices – and the only way to do that is to push her to make choices. She’s not food motivated at all, some people tried to give her food but she didn’t want it.

Mini was also terrible in a vehicle, she would whimper, pant, drool, just really anxious. In the van for the first time, she did the same. I ignored her for the most, but when she sat down finally, I would reach behind, pet her and give her encouragement. Every stop we made, she got better. On the way to Terwillegar dog park, she was relaxed and laid down. On the half hour drive to Deermound Dog Park, she fell asleep. She’s getting tired now, more relaxed. When the owner picked her up the next morning, I got a text shortly after he left – Mini was having a nap on the passenger seat. Not anxious at all. He was surprised.

I don’t know at this point if Mini will ever be an outgoing and social dog, but the owner now knows that she’s not aggressive at all. She can get grumpy if you corner her, but I would fully expect that. Very few dogs are truly aggressive. Aggression is overdiagnosed and aggression isn’t a diagnosis any way – it’s only a symptom – the outcome of a problem. If you can’t understand a problem, then there isn’t much chance of fixing it.

First stop, Jackie Parker Dog Park – there are some 50 dog parks in this city, and this is the best. The owners and their dogs are very friendly for the most, and many people want to help out a dog in any way they can. Mini was nervous starting out, had a bad reaction to a Husky when we first entered but she overcame. I am calm for her sake, not making anything a big deal.

Took her to a friends printing company, it’s noisy and smelly in the back shop but she walked in like she owned the place. Still skittish around people, but I would squat down beside them and call her in. She made the right choices, came to me and people showed affection.

Next, we hit a friend machine shop. It’s noisy, smells different but she strutted in again like she owned the place. Her confidence is starting to come up with new places – just not with people yet and that’s ok. Took her around back, she’s not nervous, just checking things out.

Entering another machine shop. Again, she’s getting more confident – and looks to me for reassurance. All she gets from me is calm and encouragement. Notice that I talk to dogs alot, they don’t understand what I’m saying but the tone of voice is calm and encouraging. Again, with people I would squat down and invite her in. It’s her choice to join me, to meet these people and more and more, she’s choosing to do so.

Lets try a pet store, another place she’s never been. She walks in a little nervous, but she’s choosing to move forward. She trusts me now, and that’s the only reason she’s choosing to move forward. She knows I have her back, she knows that won’t let her get hurt. I trust her, I’m respecting her by allowing her just to be a dog – and in return, both our confidence is building in each other. I’m developing a solid relationship with Mini.

Note the mannequin dog. She wasn’t too sure of it, but I squat down beside it, touched it and invited her to join me. She smelled it – and it’s not a big deal anymore. I’m trying to make everything “not a big deal” and that’s what true socialization is. She needs to choose to approach and make things “not a big deal”. The more we do this, the more she trusts – and eventually, I won’t need to squat down and invite her in. She won’t need to be afraid – because she trusts me – she trusts my choices.

Now it’s off to PetSmart to do some exploring. It’s all pretty much the same thing. I’m being social, meeting people, meeting dogs and inviting her in. It’s all about her choices – within reason.

And the big one – Terwillegar Dog Park. Beautiful park for a walk, it’s about 80 football fields in size surrounded mostly by river. The people aren’t overly social and it reflects in the dogs. At the 1:05 mark, she has a bad reaction to an Aussie cross. The Aussie did the typical stalking and Mini couldn’t read it – she reacted with growling and barking. I was calm, took her by the collar til the other dog passed and she settled quickly. Again, I’m trying to make everything “not a big deal” by encouraging her to explore and make choices – that’s socialization.

Off to Deermound dog park. Another beautiful park that’s wide open but has nice trails in the back. It’s evening now, and she’s getting a little tired. She had a nap in the van on the way, which was great because she’s always anxious in vehicles. She mostly said yes when I invited her in, but sometimes the answer was no. I have to accept that – totally fine with it. She doesn’t need to meet every dog. Again, it’s about her choices, but I’m encouraging her to make the right choices.

At the 7 minute mark, we came across another Aussie Shepherd – and that interaction at Terwillegar made her unsure. The Aussie took the same stand, but the owner took her by the collar and made the introduction much better. Again, I squat down, I interacted with the dog, and she took it like a champ.

At the 8:48 mark, a group of people came by with a bunch of dogs. If she’s going to flip out, this is the time, getting swamped. But, she took it like a champ – and I’m keeping a loose leash watching her every move. She was unsure, but she dealt with it and moved forward. Believe it or not, she’s doing great. She would have defended herself big time before I met her.

And back to Jackie Parker for the last trip of the day. It’s late, she’s had a really busy day and she’s getting tired. It showed toward the end, she let me know it was time to go. Heading back to the van, she stayed behind me walking on my heels. But again, she did great. She had a nap in the van on the way back and we hung out in the back yard for a bit. Friends were coming and going, she barked a few times due to unsurety, but she looked to me for reassurance and she calmed. She was actually approaching people in a different back yard now.

She went down hard and slept all night, didn’t make a sound, not a single bark. We got up at 8, took her for a long walk, fed her and we chilled in the back yard til her owner showed up. She was happy to see him.

As an update. The owner sat with his kids last night and watched all the videos, they are all amazed. Watching her choose to come to me, to choose to take affection from strangers in so many different environments without feeling the need to display any aggression. To see her interact with dogs in 3 different dog parks. His confidence is coming up, and is able to start trusting her because he knows she’s not aggressive. He knows what to do now, to be social for his dog and encourage her to join in.