Puppy Socialization

Alvin Playing with Snowy, a Westie

All pups learn basic socialization (pack) skills when they're with their mother and the rest of her litter. But what happens after the pup leaves the litter? If there are no other dogs in the house, how will the pup learn how to interact with dogs?

We think it's important for Alvin to be with other dogs so we visit friends and family who have animals. On the July 4th weekend, he hung out with two groups of dogs. First, he played with Artie, a Wheaton Terrier and Lexie, a Carin Terrier. Artie's one of those laid back dogs who had no problem with Alvin's puppy playing. But Lexie is the lead dog so once she established who was boss, she tolerated Alvin. And she clearly outscored Alvin in the ball retrieval game. He just could not compete with her.

Next we picniced with friends who have three Westies and several cats. The leader of these Westies is a male, Scooter. He met Alvin at the front gate growling and did not stop until the ceremonial smelling of rear ends was complete. Even then he barely tolerated the pup. And the Prince decided he'd retaliate by barking at Scooter. Today we needed to supervise their interactions closely.

On the other hand, Alvin was able to play most of the day with the two Westie females Snowy and Zoey. He also met a cat for what must have been the first time. He growled at Oreo for quite a while, but nothing more.

What's interesting about these multi dog interactions is the clear dominance of one dog in a pack and the way the dominant dog interacts with a visitor (intruder). I guess that's what happens in a human group situation - a leader eventually emerges. Sometimes the human leaders are just as obvious as Lexie and Scooter!

I'm wondering if dog parks provide additional opportunity for positive socialization. Please comment if you believe there are any benefits to visiting dog parks.

Designer Dogs from a Historical Perspective

I literally stumbled on an article written in the NY Times (February 7, 2007) about the history of designer dogs. It's a long article, but worth reading if you want to know about the origin of this class of canines. The author, JON MOOALLEM, makes some important points such as the following:

"what we label a dog — how we brand it — doesn’t necessarily have much bearing on its quality. Ultimately, the value of any dog, purebred or hybrid, is bound up in the priorities of the people stewarding it through the hazards of nature and nurture. " My point exactly - I wish I had written this statement!

Should you choose to find out more about the class of dogs we call "designer" or "hybrid," this article is an excellent starting point.

Click here to read The Modern Kennel Conundrum by Jon Mooallen.

For those of you who aren't sure about the meaning of conundrum, here's the dictionary.com definition:
1. a riddle, the answer to which involves a pun or play on words, as What is black and white and read all over? A newspaper.
2. anything that puzzles.

Recall Training Tip - Lure versus Reward

Alvin's typical reaction to the Come Command

If you're new to training a puppy basic commands, you're going to make mistakes. If your pup is not responding the way you want him to, the dog's not stubborn or stupid, you're doing something wrong.

A Prince Alvin example
The Prince responds quite nicely to both verbal and hand commands for sit, stay, and down. The command "Come" is the problem. As long as he's fairly certain I have treats on my person, he'll come when called, even if there are distractions. But when there are no treats in sight (or smell), the reaction is what you see in the picture above.

So what's a newbie trainer to do? In the case of the Come command, my mistake is that I'm using treats as a lure instead of a reward. I finally remembered the discussion of lure versus reward in the training DVD I'm using (see Bringing Your New Pup Home continued). The trainer in "It's Pawsible" recommends phasing out the lure (treats in your hand) to the point where there are no treats in your hand. Once the phaseout is complete, you reinforce randomly with a positive comment or a treat as a reward (but not originally in your hand as a lure).

Over time the pup will associate the treat with the command even if he doesn't get a treat every time. According to this trainer, treats will always be needed as a reward. The trainer asks this question, "Would you come to work if there were no paycheck?"

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