Tags

I did everything “right.”

Or at least I thought I did.

After my first Rottweiler became dog selective, I was determined that I wasn't going to let that happen again.

So with my next dog, I SOCIALIZED.

And I mean...

I socialized the heck out of that puppy.

Four puppy classes.

Weekly puppy playgroups.

Playdates with friends who had puppies.

I recently had a conversation with a parent whose dog had bitten his child.

Twice.

Thankfully, neither bite broke the child's skin.

As we talked, I learned that their young child regularly crawled on the dog.

And the question the parent wanted me to answer was essentially:

“How do we teach the dog to tolerate this and not bite?”

I completely understand why that's the question.

I hear some version of this all the time:

“He KNOWS this.”

He sits perfectly in the kitchen.

Comes running when you call him from the living room.

Can stay while you're holding a treat.

Maybe he was even the star of puppy class.

And then you take him outside.

Suddenly, you apparently don't exist.

There's one more thing I noticed about dogs in Europe that I haven't been able to stop thinking about.

It wasn't actually something the dogs were doing.

It was something the people weren't doing.

They weren't constantly stopping to pet them.

Dogs were walking through busy cities, sitting at cafés, riding public transportation and going about their day...

And people mostly left them alone.

One of the things that really struck me while traveling through Europe was how much the dogs seemed to be part of their families' lives.

I talked last week about seeing dogs everywhere—walking through cities, riding public transportation, sitting at cafés and simply going places with their people.

But there was another part of this that stuck with me after I came home.

The dog at one of the homes where we stayed didn't seem to be something they had to fit into their schedule.

I recently spent two weeks traveling through Germany, France and the Netherlands.

And because I'm a dog trainer, you can probably guess what I noticed everywhere we went.

The dogs.

There were dogs on city streets, at restaurants and cafés, on public transportation, in busy shopping areas and just generally going about life with their people.

But it wasn't simply that Europe felt more dog-friendly that caught my attention.

Maybe you started the year saying:

“This is the year I'm finally going to work on this.”

The pulling.

The jumping.

The barking.

The puppy who still doesn't come when called.

The dog who loses their mind when someone comes to the door.

The backpacks are coming back out.

Bedtimes are getting earlier.

Sports and activities are starting again.

And before we know it, everyone will be rushing out the door in the morning.

For those of us with kids, back-to-school season means a pretty big change in routine.

But there is someone else in the house who may be about to experience an even bigger change:

This is a question I get asked all the time:

“How do I get my dog to socialize with other dogs?”

And before I answer, I usually ask another question:

Why do you want your dog to socialize with other dogs?

That question can feel a little unexpected, but it matters.

That question can feel a little unexpected, but it matters.

Sometimes the answer is:

• “I want them to go to daycare so I don’t feel guilty leaving them home.”

You drop your puppy off in the morning.

Then what?

Are they playing all day?

Are they practicing sit for hours?

Will they come home exhausted?

Are they actually learning—or is Puppy Dog School simply daycare with a little training added?

These are important questions.

When you are trusting someone with your puppy,

You cannot open the front door without chaos.

Your puppy launches at every person who walks in.

They bark at the window.

Bark at the neighbor.

Bark at dogs on walks.

Bark when they want something.

Bark because someone moved a trash can three houses away.

Then, when you try to redirect them, they jump on you.

They jump on your guests.

You wanted a puppy.

You imagined cuddles on the couch, family walks, puppy breath, and a new best friend following you around the house.

Instead, your puppy follows you around biting your ankles.

They chew on your hands.

Grab your clothing.

Attack your pant legs.

Jump on your back when you sit down.

And somehow, they seem sweet to everyone else.

You feed them.

Take them outside.