Nurturing Your Developing Dog Through Socialization and Exposure
As a dog owner, you probably know that socialization is an integral part of building a happy and confident canine companion. But did you also know that there’s a critical developmental period in a pup’s first few months of life that could have a lasting effect on how your pup handles these kinds of scenarios and entities in the future? And that it is when socialization needs are NOT met during this time that behavior issues, such as fear aggression and anxiety, are likely to appear later on in life?
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Between 6 to 20 weeks of age, a puppy is molding important associations and building his “reference library” for things that he will encounter as part of our human world. But it’s not just providing socialization that’s important to a pup’s future – it’s HOW the socialization is done. If done in a manner that is positive, low-pressure, and can keep your dog in a calm emotional state, socialization will have a lasting positive effect and your dog will be able to handle these scenarios and entities more positively and productively as an adult dog. If a pup is being forced to deal with things in an overwhelming manner, with too much at once, he can develop fear and stress rather than cultivating confidence and harmony.
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This is much of the reason why many rescue dogs, who spend the first several weeks or months of their lives in inhumane or unsanitary conditions, come with some emotional baggage. Experiencing abuse or neglect, or being forced to live in unfit conditions during their critical developmental period, has detrimentally shaped their behavior – even at only 8 or 10 weeks of age. As a result of these conditions, many rescue dogs may be skittish or fearful, aggressive (and there are various kinds of aggression), highly anxious or “out of control”, or untrusting of humans or other dogs. Now, many dogs can be turned around to build confidence and be accepting of new circumstances with positive, respectable leadership and enrichment, but it does take time and patience to work out what has already been programmed into their brains from early puppyhood. It does require a commitment and for many behaviors there is no “easy fix” that will result in a perfect little angel in merely a week or two - this is why I say that rescuing a dog can be one of the most rewarding things you could ever do, IF you’re dedicated to it.
Training the Brain and Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks
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It’s been scientifically proven that our brains respond better to environmental enrichment and stimulation, and that our brain cells are more primed for growing and learning, when we are younger as compared to when we are older – and the same is true for dogs. The older we get, the more fear and anxiety we are likely to show in novel situations – which is why you don’t see many older people partaking in extreme sports unless they’ve been doing it all their lives. If we don’t learn how to deal with stress when we are young, we will become stressed-out adults. When dogs are not subjected to appropriate socialization and novel situations when they are young, they are more likely to develop fear, anxiety and aggression later in their lives. When I talk to people who contact me for help with their dog’s anxiety or aggression, many say it seems to “come out of nowhere.” But knowing what we know about animal behavior tells us a different story… |
I really enjoy reading works by Dr. Stanley Coren, a well-known professor of psychology and expert on dog-human interaction. In one of his books, Why Does My Dog Act That Way?, Dr. Coren describes the studies of Donald O. Hebb (another professor of psychology from the 1940’s) and later studies by the University of California at Berkeley done in the 1960’s that observe how stimulation from the environment an animal was raised in made a difference in their behaviors, abilities, and brain functions. They took care to use animals from the same species, genetic makeup and gender to ensure there were no biases. In short, they found that animals reared in an environment with games (including frequently changing enrichment activities like ladders, mazes, and various toys and objects hanging from the ceiling – think “amusement park”) and complex social interactions with other animals, had more intelligence, better problem-solving skills, more confidence, and less anxiety later on in their lives. Animals reared in a restricted environment, however, with little stimulation and social interaction, were highly stressed in novel situations, not as intelligent or good at problem-solving, and developed fear and aggression later on in their lives.
Without getting too scientific on you, these studies and others that followed also concluded that those animals raised in an enriched environment had greater brain mass than those that were raised in isolation and were, therefore, more primed for learning. They also concluded, however, that even if animals had missed that critical socialization period during development, the animals’ brain cells could still improve later in their lives if they were given adequate environmental enrichment opportunities to keep their brains stimulated on a regular basis. This lead to improved cognition among older dogs and an ability to learn new skills and build the strength of their brain cells so they wouldn’t die (the way a muscle may atrophy if it isn’t being used).
So what does this mean for the dog owner who already has an older dog that has some behavior issues? That even if you missed the boat early on in the pup’s upbringing, you CAN still help a dog improve through his fear, anxiety, and aggression when the proper steps are taken to ensure positive connections through proper enrichment and exposure! It will require more time and patience to retrain an older dog’s brain functions, but it IS possible.
It's All in The Details
Our fast-paced society and bustling lives are difficult to handle for some people – so is it really any surprise why our dogs may have a hard time with it? Often, our lives move too fast for dogs to process adequately, which can lead to anxious dogs.
Our fast-paced society and bustling lives are difficult to handle for some people – so is it really any surprise why our dogs may have a hard time with it? Often, our lives move too fast for dogs to process adequately, which can lead to anxious dogs.
I agree with esteemed professor of animal science and consultant on animal behavior, Temple Grandin, when she says that animals are “hyper-specific”, meaning they do not generalize very well. Grandin, who is also autistic, is well-known for her ability to see things from an animal’s point of view. Dogs (and many other animals) pay a lot of attention to detail and the small parts that make up the whole, whereas most normal humans tend to “overgeneralize” and look at the “big picture.” It’s to no fault of our own really, it’s just how our brains work. As someone with autism, however, Grandin can relate to the noticing of minute details and easy overstimulation that a lot of animals exhibit in novel situations. If you ever get a chance, you should read her book Animals in Translation – truly, it’s fascinating.
Despite our ability to overgeneralize, however, many of us humans can learn to be more aware of what’s happening around us, process things better (and therefore relieve stress) through the practices of meditation and mindfulness. I feel it’s some of the same when working with dogs. We sometimes have to slow ourselves down, look at things from our dog’s perspective, speak his language, and then we’re more apt to enter into effective communication and socialization that has positive, lasting results. That includes bringing ourselves into a more “hyper-specific” state.
Despite our ability to overgeneralize, however, many of us humans can learn to be more aware of what’s happening around us, process things better (and therefore relieve stress) through the practices of meditation and mindfulness. I feel it’s some of the same when working with dogs. We sometimes have to slow ourselves down, look at things from our dog’s perspective, speak his language, and then we’re more apt to enter into effective communication and socialization that has positive, lasting results. That includes bringing ourselves into a more “hyper-specific” state.
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For example, many of us look at stairs as no big deal – we just ascend or descend as necessary and all staircases are pretty much the same in our minds. But when you really break it down to think about it – there are cement stairs, stairs made of stone, carpeted stairs, wooden stairs, wide stairs, narrow stairs, open-backed stairs that you can see through, spiral stairs, steep stairs, gradual stairs… do you see what I mean? To a dog, one staircase may not be like all the others! If you want your dog to live in our human society, it’s important to level the species barrier by meeting him where he’s at and seeing things from his perspective.
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Quality VS. Quantity
Proper socialization isn’t about how much you can expose your pup to at once, in an effort to get it all out of the way. If you do this, you run the risk of overwhelming the dog and creating negative associations that can impart fear and anxiety. Instead, it’s about the quality of the session. Is your dog in a calm and comfortable emotional state so he can process what’s happening and learn to build confidence? Are you there to provide calm, passive support to your dog while allowing him the time he needs to figure things out on his own, at a safe distance, without adding to the pressure by throwing it upon him when he’s not ready?
Proper socialization isn’t about how much you can expose your pup to at once, in an effort to get it all out of the way. If you do this, you run the risk of overwhelming the dog and creating negative associations that can impart fear and anxiety. Instead, it’s about the quality of the session. Is your dog in a calm and comfortable emotional state so he can process what’s happening and learn to build confidence? Are you there to provide calm, passive support to your dog while allowing him the time he needs to figure things out on his own, at a safe distance, without adding to the pressure by throwing it upon him when he’s not ready?
While it is important that your pup receives many socialization opportunities, it is best to provide them one at a time in short segments, making it easier for him to process and move on. For example, instead of trying to handle a town fair where your dog will encounter food booths, many people, other dogs, children, strollers, music, food on the ground, and noisy amusement games all at once (SO many things to process!), try doing the following things separately: sitting outside a playground so your pup can watch children at a distance, going to the quiet town farmer’s market early in the morning to observe tables with food present, have your pup in the room while your son plays video games so he can get used to digital noises, have your best friend and her significant other over for dinner.
If your dog has had the opportunity to process a given circumstance appropriately, chances are higher that he will need less or no processing time when approaching that circumstance in the future. Your pup is then better prepared when you start putting him in situations where there is more than one stimulus present because he has had the chance to process the parts of the whole individually.
If your dog has had the opportunity to process a given circumstance appropriately, chances are higher that he will need less or no processing time when approaching that circumstance in the future. Your pup is then better prepared when you start putting him in situations where there is more than one stimulus present because he has had the chance to process the parts of the whole individually.
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Familiar VS. Unfamiliar
Proper socialization requires a combination of new and repeat exposures to build confidence. If each exposure is a new exposure, and your pup never has a point of reference to refer back to, this can increase his anxiety level. But if you do some new experiences and even more repeat experiences in a given week, your pup will get plenty of balance and practice handling the situation more confidently. It may be a great idea to make your own Socialization Checklist so you can keep track of your pup’s experiences. |
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Be careful not to assume that because your pup handled something OK the first time, or previously had a problem but this time did fine, that your socialization work is done. It could be a fluke – maybe he didn’t really have the chance to notice it. When you visit a new city for the first time, do you notice every landmark and building you pass? Perhaps he did notice it but he is demonstrating slightly inhibitive behavior, which is difficult for the average dog handler to read unless you know what you’re looking for (lip licks, yawning, subtle changes in eyes/tail/body posture, etc.). Providing exposure over and over again to the same stimuli, whether an environment or object, and getting a consistent response during different days and times is the only way to know for sure.
Keep in mind that an environment is ever-changing, depending on what is happening within that environment. You might be walking around a corner and all of a sudden there’s a person coming right at you, or a squirrel darts across the pathway between the bushes. One moment it might be quiet and serene, and the next moment there’s a 747 airplane soaring overhead. An environment may also be different every time you visit. Some days/times of the week may be quieter than others, more populated than others, hotter than others, etc.
Remember how hyper-specific dogs are and how they don’t generalize very well? If they are only used to going to the park across the street early in the morning with the sun behind the trees, they may freak out the first time they notice the shadow of the statue cast by the late-day sun. Or if they are used to hearing the stereo in your apartment, they may not equate that to the bumping car base that is vibrating the ground as you and your dog cross the street. It’s best to try to have at least some sort of familiarity early on in the learning process so your dog can learn to adapt to novel situations a little at a time.
Remember how hyper-specific dogs are and how they don’t generalize very well? If they are only used to going to the park across the street early in the morning with the sun behind the trees, they may freak out the first time they notice the shadow of the statue cast by the late-day sun. Or if they are used to hearing the stereo in your apartment, they may not equate that to the bumping car base that is vibrating the ground as you and your dog cross the street. It’s best to try to have at least some sort of familiarity early on in the learning process so your dog can learn to adapt to novel situations a little at a time.
So there it is - When you can learn to “think like a dog” and understand the significance your dog’s emotional state has on learning, you are much more apt to provide your pup with the positive socialization and enrichment opportunities he needs to be a happy and confident member of our human society.
If you aren't sure how to implement positive socialization or enrichment practices for your dog, or if your dog has some residual fear, anxiety or aggression as a result of his early puppyhood, we can help you get your dog on the right track! Contact Maria at (845) 549-0896 or [email protected].
If you aren't sure how to implement positive socialization or enrichment practices for your dog, or if your dog has some residual fear, anxiety or aggression as a result of his early puppyhood, we can help you get your dog on the right track! Contact Maria at (845) 549-0896 or [email protected].
Written by Maria Huntoon, Maria G. Huntoon Canine Consulting Services
