A well-behaved dog at home doesn’t necessarily have to be good with fellow pets outside. Since you may have to travel outside with your dog too often, you have to ensure that they remain peaceful in front of other pets. Besides, a well-socialised dog tends to maintain good health as they are less prone to stress and anxiety.
Here are some highly useful tips to help your dogs have a harmonious bond with other pets.
1) Start Slowly
Don’t rush when you are introducing your dog to other pets for the first time. Rushing can lead to stress and anxiety in the dogs, which will delay the process of socialising. Take it slow, and let the pets become familiar with each other’s scents. To create familiarity, you can swap each other’s dog beds or dog toys which significantly helps in boosting the bond between the pets.
2) Choose a Neutral Location
A major reason why dogs become aggressive is their natural instinct to protect their territory. This is why a neutral location works best when you are introducing your dog to another pet for the first time. In an unknown place, it is more likely that your dogs will keep calm and not react in an aggressive manner.
3) Watch Their Body Language
You have to closely watch the body language of the pets while introducing them to each other. If you see the dog being fearful, or showing aggression, they are becoming hostile and you should separate them immediately. You should only bring them two together when you are sure they will not attack each other. Once they become comfortable with each other, you may see them wagging their tails, and their ears completely relaxed etc. These are signs of a positive body language.
4) Reward Your Pet
Rewarding your dogs during their socialisation with other pets can play a huge role in keeping them well-behaved. Next time your dog is with a pet and is keeping quiet, give them their favourite dog treat, so that they quickly associate the treat with good behaviour. In the future, they will be less likely to get agitated around fellow pets.
5) Try Parallel Walks
This is one of the best ways to socialise the pets with each other. Dogs often become aggressive when they are facing other pets head to head, so making them get to know each other becomes highly difficult. This is where parallel walking can help dog owners. When they are walking with each other at a certain distance, although not in direct contact, they are less likely to show aggression. You can gradually reduce their distance once they are relaxed during the walks.
6) Respect their Space
Dogs often turn hostile when they feel that their personal space is being intruded. In fact, this is one of the reasons why they can quickly get aggressive. Each dog owner should assign a designated space for their dogs where they can go and relax whenever they want. Also, do not bring a new pet to their resting place all of a sudden, as they can quickly become agitated. Respecting your dog’s privacy can prevent feelings of invasion, which gives them a sense of security that helps you in socialising them with other pets.
7) Be Patient
Socialising the dogs is a slow process and owners can take as much time as they need. It is important to not get discouraged in the initial few failures, and one should keep on helping their dogs during the training. Celebrate those small victories as they come, and motivate your dogs with love and rewards for fruitful results.
In Short,
Introducing your dogs to fellow pets for the first time can throw you a lot of challenges. Dog owners should know that this is a part of pet socialisation and it is not easy for others as well. By following the tips above, one can bear excellent results in helping their dogs make some good friends.
