LAST week I wrote about how important it was to begin socializing your puppy early so that it can develop into a well adjusted, adult dog.
A well socialized dog is a welcomed and happy dog.
But what happens if a dog isn't properly socialized early? Is it a lost cause if they are not given that opportunity early on in life?
It's a tricky question.
Most dogs that are
not socialized at a young age develop behavioural problems as adolescent dogs, such as a lack of proper canine communication skills that results in dog to dog conflict.
It can result in fearfulness towards people which may express itself in aggression, insecurity behaviours such as separation anxiety and food possessiveness, or low tolerance threshold which expresses itself in unpredictable aggression, to name just a few.
Unfortunately when many dog owners see these issues in their dogs they decide to give them up for adoption, blaming the dog, yet not realizing that they themselves were the cause of the problem.
There are many secondhand dogs that have been successfully rehabilitated and socialized, but it takes time, patience and in some cases great financial expense because you are literally trying to reconstruct an image in a dog's head where there is no place for an image to go.
If the DVD is full of information you can't erase it and add more. You literally have to teach the dog a new way of looking at the information it has in its head - regarding whatever subject it is behaving inappropriately towards - so that it makes a more appropriate choice in how it expresses itself.
Working with recycled canines to the degree I do now has given me great appreciation for those who take on the challenge of giving a dog a second chance while taking on the responsibility of someone else's mistake.
Some of these dogs come with so much baggage it's like an onion, as soon as one layer is gone another presents itself.
But the rewards at the end of the rehabilitation process are great.
The recycled dog is often so grateful to have found a calmer way of living life they become incredibly devoted companions.
The same rewards hold true for those who didn't socialize their pup very well and now have a troubled adolescent dog yet choose to keep the dog. The time, patience and financial expense is great but the rewards are many and easily outweigh the effort and expense of the process.
The benefit a dog owner gets from keeping their troubled dog and putting in the rehabilitation effort is that they have the ability to learn what they did wrong once they begin to work with a professional trainer.
This makes the rehabilitation effort so much easier for everyone, especially the dog.
If the dog was to be given up for adoption the history is rarely given to the rescue group and trainer. They have to start a process of weeding through the issues one by one to figure out what is wrong and why. This makes the rehab that much longer and more challenging.
More importantly, the owner becomes a more educated and responsible dog owner. Whereas, the dog owner who gave up the dog will likely get another puppy and start the uneducated process all over again, creating another dog with behavioural problems.
Great dogs are not born, they are raised with proper training, socialization, time, effort, patience and financial expense.
It is far easier to prevent problems than trying to fix them once they develop. Put the effort into socializing your puppy early. Spend the time with a qualified trainer during its adolescence.
Apply your educated skills during your dog's adulthood and you will have a faithful companion that makes you and everyone around you proud.
If you do find yourself at the end of a leash with a dog with behavioural issues, don't give up on them, take responsibility for your part in their development.
Give them - and you - a second chance at being a good canine companion and leader-respectively.
