Episode 1 – Socialising
Hi Guys,
Our 6 year old beagle here, Mika is great with humans but just the opposite with dogs.
When we take him on walks, he gets in a defensive pose and starts barking immediately without any provocation. He had not other dogs when he was younger and now when we introduce him to dogs he is very difficult to handle.
He tends to get stressed out, pulls his leash and barks until they are gone. He has also bitten 2 dogs in the past for no reason.
We would love for him to:
1) Interact with other dogs without fear of him attacking them.
2) Be kept off the leash in safe areas like our building or park, to see him happy and free.
– Payal
Dear Payal,
It’s great that you want to give Mika off-leash freedom and interact with other dogs. It is very healthy and important for dogs to play and have fun with their own species.
Here are a few ways in which you can support Mika:
- Understand Mika’s behaviour from his point of view
Try this simple exercise:
Close your eyes and become Mika for a few minutes.
Imagine your entire body turning into Mika’s body with a tail, paws, fur etc. Now allow yourself to settle and become comfortable in that body, it may take a few seconds or minutes.
Now imagine another dog standing in front of you. Observe your thoughts and emotions.
- What is making you aggressive towards the other dog?
- What would make you calm down?
- What would you like your human family to do when another dog is present around you?
When we understand from the animal’s viewpoint, it makes things simpler and provides a solution for the way forward.
- Never try to calm Mika by touching him or talking to him gently when he is reactive.
We only pet our dogs or talk to them nicely when we want to encourage certain behaviors.
If we want to discourage a behavior, then its best to ignore the dog completely at that time – no eye contacts, no taunts, no yelling.
Continue the walk and do not give Mika any attention: positive or negative.
If he refuses to walk, don’t look at him and get into a tug of war.
Face the direction you want to walk in and pick up the pace, he will automatically follow.
- Check how you feel when you are walking Mika and you see another dog.
If you get anxious or nervous then Mika will pick up on that and will get more triggered.
For e.g. you see a dog and start thinking “Oh my god, there’s a dog, Mika will try to attack him and it’ll be a blood bath.” And your thoughts just create the worst situation; Mika will pick up on that and do exactly the same.
When you are calm and relaxed on the walk, Mika too will start calming down. Find different ways to calm yourself before going for the walk like meditating, deep breathing etc.
- Start socializing Mika in a safe and supervised environment.
Socializing doesn’t mean you let your pet off the leash and say “Go Play”. You have to ensure the dogs Mika is interacting with are social, used to meeting new dogs and not aggressive.
Always check with the pet parents about their dog’s temperament before getting your dog to socialize. Make sure the area is secure and safe. Don’t force your dog to become friends with another just because you want him too. Allow Mika the freedom to choose who he wants to play with.
Start with the above and Mika will slowly start becoming a calmer and happier dog.
Socializing your pet helps he/she learn how to behave with their own kind. The whole idea of socializing is to let your pet have fun and be free without any human controls.
It is also the best form of exercise for dogs – it gets rid of excess energy and mentally tires them out.
If their energy is not channelled constructively it comes out in the form of behavioural issues and aggression.
We let our children play with other kids and adults. This helps them learn how to behave, understand and express themselves in a healthy way.
If a child has not had any social interaction, they grow up with behavioural issues and find it difficult to mingle with others.
It’s the same for our fur babies.
