Puppy Behavior—How Well Does Your Dog Get Along With Other Dogs?

Early in your dog’s life they may get along well with other dogs and then suddenly you notice they no longer seem friendly with or, are interested in, other dogs. Your dog may have grown shy or somewhat aggressive when around other dogs. This may be the result of a lack of regular socializing with other dogs and not because of some physical or medical issues. Like humans, even dog behavior can change as time passes.
Some dogs, like people, seem to be a natural at mixing and mingling with others. For others it may have to be a gradual and learned behavior. Either way, if you have allowed your pet to stop socializing, for whatever reason, their friendly manner may change. There are things you can do to help them regain their acceptable social skills.
The way a dog interacts with other dogs at a dog park may not be indicative of their behavior around other dogs in general. It’s considered to be normal for a mature dog to not be able to interact nicely with strange dogs then the other way around. Dogs in the wild don’t make it a habit of becoming friends with other dogs they meet. It’s not natural for them to mingle with strange dogs. Humans, by ‘forcing’ the issue can be the cause of some problems. If you’re at a dog park keep a close on your dog to monitor their behavior and mood. This can be a way to determine the dog’s likelihood of accepting other dogs and your level of interaction in the socializing process.
If any of your friends have dogs try to schedule a get-acquainted date with one dog at a time. Start slowly and don’t let one dog dominate the other. This should be a low-pressure meeting just to see how both dogs get along. Trying with one dog is going to be easier than with a bunch of dogs at a dog park. If that works well try to schedule other times with the same dog to go for walks and play some games of fetch or other activities.
Another good controlled situation would be dog obedience classes. All the dogs are in a controlled environment and your dog will be around others but not so close. If your dog already seems timid or scared around other dogs this can be a helpful, controlled transition experiment.
If the obedience classes go well and you have the time and desire to take it a step further you may want to try agility contests. Your dog will be around a lot of other dogs and get the benefit of exercise and time with you. Dogplay.com may have some good ideas for different organized activities for socializing and exercise.
If your dog has a good personality and temperament you may want to consider training for them to become a therapy dog. The dogs and owners visit nursing homes, hospitals, senior centers and apartments, rehabilitation units, and other places where people aren’t allowed to keep pets or they just aren’t capable of caring for them.
A doggy daycare program is another option but may be the least desirable depending on the type of facility. Get some comments from other people that have used the program. You want make sure the staff is attentive, the groups are supervised, and there are different areas for dogs of different sizes. Your dog should be introduced to the pack slowly so everyone can get used to each other. Some of these places may require annual re-vaccinations for distemper and rabies for instance and you may want to evaluate the necessity of that. Talk to your vet.
And finally, one of the best ways for both of you is get out their for regular daily walks. Some of the personality issues with your dog may be from lack of exercise and the anxiety and frustration that can result from that. You both get what you need: interaction with each other and some fresh air and exercise.
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Puppy Behavior—Does Your Dog Eat Its Poop?

Coprophagia is the technical term for poop eating. Whatever you call it doesn’t matter; it’s still disgusting. And, it’s more common than you might think.
Dogs and cats sometimes do this instinctively. They will deliberately consume the feces of their puppies or kittens as a way to hide their scent while in their den and could be discovered by predators.
Your pet will eat its poop for different reasons. It’s more common for dogs to do develop this disgusting practice. Usually, it can be a medical issue like an enzyme deficiency known as pancreatic insufficiency. A dog’s pancreas excretes digestive enzymes to help the digestive process but, sometimes, the pancreas doesn’t excrete enough and the dog will be enzyme deficient. The poop of other animals are a source of the enzyme so a dog will eat that to try and get back into balance.
Other medical reasons are gastrointestinal parasites and intestinal malabsorption. They can get the parasites from eating the feces. This is a good reason to have the dog’s stool checked by a vet every six months.
If you don’t already have good reasons to reduce the rabbit population (they do carry fleas that like to latch onto dogs) their poop is a very rich source of digestive enzymes and B vitamins. Dogs will eat them like candy—can you picture that? One way to reduce that urge to eat poop is to feed your dog some human-grade protein, some supplements with digestive enzymes and probiotics.
There’s also a behavioral reason that dogs may eat their own poop. Dogs that feel stressed or anxious and dogs that are kept in a kennel for a long period of time are more likely to eat their poop. When they feel they don’t get enough to eat they may also resort to eating their own feces as well. Sometimes one dog can learn this from another dog that’s been doing it for quite a while.
This can also be a trait of dogs from puppy mills. If they are allowed to often go hungry, constantly have to fight to get food at the dish, are weaned when they are too young, or sit in a crate for a long period of time with nothing to do are more likely to develop this negative habit that you may never be able to get rid of.
Not all dogs have the same poop preferences or patterns. Some may only eat the poop from one certain animal (like rabbits), or only do it at certain times of the year. In winter, for instance, they may only eat frozen poop. (if it has a stick in it you can call it a popsicle—just kidding).
You can do certain things to try and stop this gross behavior:
First, clean up your dog’s poop immediately if you can.
Second, make sure your dog has a complete diet. You may have to add probiotics and digestive enzymes to his meal.
Third, keep them active; walk and play with them often to relieve boredom. Make sure they get enough exercise.
Fourth, there are some products you can buy at the pet store that you either sprinkle on the food or even on the poop if you can’t clean it up right away.
If that behavior doesn’t change you should talk to your vet to get their perspective. You don’t want to ignore any medical conditions that could be the cause of the problem.
Unfortunately, this can be a common behavior among dogs. Keep your eye on them as often as possible to nip this in the bud by using some of the strategies mentioned.

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A Guide to the Whys and Hows of Puppy Socializing

The importance of socializing a puppy can never be over-emphasised, but what exactly does it mean? And how does one go about it? This article will explain to you what socialization is and how to put it into practice to ensure your dog has few, if any behavioural problems later in life and is able to interact well with dogs and other species.

Socialization is the process whereby a puppy learns to recognise and interact with other individuals of its own species, with people of different ages, races and genders, and with other animals that she is likely to come into contact with, such as cats and horses. The dog will learn the skills necessary to communicate with and interpret the other animals’ intentions, thus avoiding unnecessary hostilities. The dog will also learn to cope with stress and will suffer less as an adult in stressful situations. When talking of socialization, we often include habituation, that is, getting a puppy used to different places, sights and sounds so that she becomes confident in new situations and gets used to as many different stimuli as possible.

There are certain periods in a puppy’s development that are more important than others. The most sensitive socialization period begins at around 3 weeks of age and begins to reduce by 12 weeks. Peak sensitivity is between 6 and 8 weeks of age. It is important to remember that many young dogs need continual social interaction to maintain their socialization and failure to do so will mean that they regress or become fearful again. The 6-8 month period is another sensitive time for socialization and owners and trainers can use this window to further habituate and socialize their puppy to different surroundings, people and animals.

So, now we know why and when socialization should be carried out, we must look at how to undertake this. It is recommended that your puppy be introduced to new stimuli and other people and pets in a systematic and controlled way. Remember that these formative experiences will shape the behaviour of your pet for the rest of her life, so the idea is that they should be pleasurable and fun. They may well also be challenging, but if done in the right way, the puppy will learn that there is no threat and that she is safe to explore and meet new friends and situations without being fearful. This ensures the best chance of her developing a sound temperament and capacity to cope in all circumstances.

Early socialization is, of course, in the hands of the breeder and if they are conscientious and responsible they will ensure that the puppies are handled frequently, as well being exposed to normal household stimuli such as the television, vacuum cleaner, washing machine, doorbell etc. Puppies who are raised in a quiet kennel or room will have trouble adapting to a normal family environment.

So once the puppy is at home with you, it is your job to continue carefully introducing her to different people, animals and stimuli. It is however important to introduce the puppy to new people, places, objects and situations only when you can completely control the experience. A frightening experience will be detrimental – avoid unfriendly dogs and adults and children who do not understand how to be kind and gentle with animals. Invite friends to your house soon after you bring your puppy home to teach her that guests are friendly and welcome in her new home. Give your friends treats to give to the puppy so she is rewarded. Introduce her to one or two other friendly, healthy, fully-vaccinated dogs – she can join in with bigger groups once she has all her shots and has learned some dog social skills and has over-come any fear. Always be ready to intervene if your puppy is scared, threatened or being bullied by another dog.

When socializing your puppy, you must evaluate your lifestyle and environment and assess what situations are lacking. For instance, if you live in the country, take your puppy to town and gradually and carefully let her become accustomed to crowds of people, noise and traffic. If, however, you live in a town and these things are no problem, take your puppy to the countryside so she can see and smell farm animals and become accustomed to them too. Make sure your dog meets some cats who are dog-friendly. Don’t let her chase them as this will start a life-long habit that will be difficult to change. If your household has no children, introduce your puppy to some children who can regularly play gently with her. Always supervise them to ensure the children are gentle and that your dog is responding well and not becoming nervous or aggressive.

Remember always to protect your puppy’s health, before she is fully vaccinated. Don’t put her down on the ground where there may be dog urine or faeces, and don’t let her interact with other dogs that may carry disease. You can still socialize your puppy by carrying her into different situations and taking her in the car, allowing her to see many different things in a safe environment and she will get used to trips in the car at the same time. Use treats and praise to reinforce good behaviour. Do not comfort your puppy if she is fearful as this can be interpreted as praise for the wrong behaviour. Simply change the situation (i.e. ask an approaching person to step back or pick up your puppy to get her out of a difficult situation) until she feels safe and secure once more.

All interaction with your puppy at this age involves consistently rewarding desirable behaviour which will increase the likelihood the dog will repeat this behaviour. It will also help to prevent the development of undesirable behaviour.

Another helpful step would be to enroll in puppy socialization and training class. This provides a great opportunity for puppies to socialize with other dogs, for puppies to learn obedience training in a playful environment with plenty of distractions and also for owners to learn training and communication techniques.