How Dog Socialization is Important in Maintaining Healthy and Active Life
For your dog to enjoy a healthy and happy life there are essentials you need to provide such as a balanced, nutritious diet, weight management, regular vaccinations, and veterinarian examination. However, are you aware that dog socialization is key to holistic pet wellness?
A typical dog is as smart as a 2-year-old toddler, and we all know two-year-olds are very active. While it wouldn’t be ideal to liken your baby with a dog, the idea is how socializing your dog helps them experience and fulfilled and joyful life.
Signs and Dangers of a Poorly Socialized Dogs
Every dog is calm and collected in a familiar company or environment, though some dogs are just social. But poorly socialized dogs can’t stand strangers and often become very fearful and agitated in an unusual or new environment. All the restlessness is brought about by hormone secretion which increases the dog’s awareness and response. Indicators that your dog needs socialization include.
- Fearfull and restlessness
- Skittish and terrified
- Constant barking or growling
- Threatens to bite strangers
- Anxiety and Boredom especially when put in boarding for dogs
Remember that even with such characteristics poorly socialized dogs are still good, it’s just that they have some trust issues with new surroundings or people.
Benefits of Well-Socialized Dogs
Calm and Behaved in New Environments
Socialization may or may not help your dog overcome a particular behavior problem because dogs are different, but well-socialized dogs adapt to changes quickly. Like meeting new your neighbors for the first time, socialized dogs are also excited about meeting new people and other dogs. They are not afraid of cars and noisy conditions, and can calmly mingle in dense crowds without exhibiting restlessness.
Quick Veterinary Examination
Regular vet exam is necessary for keeping your dog healthy, but these sessions are not entirely smooth especially when examining poorly socialized dogs. Such dogs are hard to examine because once they develop fear they respond with aggression making it a challenge to conduct a thorough physical exam.
Without the medical results, it would be hard for the vet to treat or at least know what your dog is suffering from. Struggling animals force their owners to abandon veterinary care altogether just to avoid the distress of their dog’s behavior.
Proper Dog Grooming
The reason why most pet owners seek for professional dog grooming services is because of the benefits it offers. Generally, grooming is aimed at achieving a healthy skin coat, removing damaged hair and nourishing your dogs’ skin. Well-socialized dogs can stay calm and enjoy the grooming session while poorly socialized dogs make the procedure nearly impractical.
If you try to groom an aggressive dog you might end up injuring the dog or even yourself. You’ll either have to apply drastic restraint measures or settle for an incomplete cut. Use of sedation has also helped when grooming dogs but the drugs can also have adverse side effects on poorly socialized dogs.
Early socialization is necessary to ensure real behavior change. Don’t wait until your pup is fully grown to learn new tricks, start as early as when they’re 3 to 12 weeks. All is not lost if you’ve adopted a fully grown rescue dog because simple socialization routines such as exposure to new people, dogs, and the environment can help your dog adjust and become more social.