Socialization is word that gets tossed around a lot when it comes to dogs, but most people don’t understand what socializing means, so its hard to recognize bad from good.
Many mistakenly believe it is letting their dog go meet people on or off leash and basically seeing what happens, if they don’t like something that happens, they get emotional and yell at the dog.
Before you can socialize a dog properly you need to have a relationship and communication system with the dog. Think of it like having a relationship with a significant other. You are going to public place together and will leave together. No matter who you meet you don’t forget who you are with. How mad would you be if you went somewhere with your SO and they paid more attention to another person than they did you? That is the idea of socialization, the dog only gets to interact with other people and dogs when they are calm and on a loose lead, this lets you know that they are still more interested in you than other people and dogs. You control all interactions because you are responsible for the action of your dog. This keeps you, your dog, any everyone else safe.
A best practice is that your dog never approaches another person or dog without being directed by you to do so. We don’t let our kids rush up to strange people and animals because it’s dangerous, so why is it allowed with dogs.
What I hear from people all the time is that their dog is “pretty good” until they see another person or dog. Well…yeah. All the sit, down, and come in a controlled environment will not change that. This is why were pressure test your dog’s focus after we show you how to effectively communicate with them.
The Immediate Correction Lead is not used for control, because if you need a lead to control your dog you have no control of your dog. It is used for safety and communication only.