Can You Make a Dog Be Social?

Adam Katz

A Reader Wants To Know If You Can “Make” A Dog Be Social With Other Dogs…

By Adam G. Katz

Hi Adam,

I recently purchased and downloaded your book, Secrets of a Professional Dog Trainer and have found it very helpful.

My wife and I adopted an abused 5-month old Hungarian Visla cross, and found that she was very friendly with humans but vicious with other dogs, (Probably from being abused as a puppy by bigger dogs). We’ve applied your techniques and tips and have seen tremendous progress already in just a few weeks with the basic sit, stay and heel commands. Still, though our biggest problem is trying to get her to be “social” with other dogs, and trying to get her to not pull our arm off every time she sees another dog. That said here is my question, Is there any trick, tip or special way to get her to be social with other dogs and not jump over the fenced yard every time another dog walks by. Your advice is appreciated.

Cheers,
Rob

Dear Rob:

Thank you for the kind words.

Unfortunately, you cannot “make” a dog be social with other dogs. You can use the techniques to teach your dog to IGNORE other dogs… by correcting him if he shows aggression… but I would not recommend putting the dog in an off leash setting around other dogs that are off leash.

Ignoring vs. socializing with are two completely different things.

It’s like with humans. Some are poorly socialized. You can teach a person to be respectful around others, but you can’t always MAKE them LIKE other people.

As for “pulling your arm off” when you’re walking your dog on-leash, I would recommend you use the “loose leash/attention getter” technique I describe on page 175 (the section titled, “How Do I Get My Dog To Stop Pulling On The Leash”) and for the fence jumping, look at page 168 (the section titled, “How Do I Get My Dog To Stop Jumping On The Fence.”)

To read more of my dog training ramblings, read about my book:
Secrets of a Professional Dog Trainer!

By Adam G. Katz
Copyright 2006 By En El Blanco Internacional Inc., S.A.. All Rights Reserved.
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