Dutch Shepherd Forum

This is my first DS, I'm not sure if they require a lot, a little, any special work to make sure they are confident and self assured dogs. I have had a couple different GSD's (American bred) and a Pittie (who was bomb proof).

I can not stand a shy dog.

My GSD's were mostly good, but I wouldn't call them bomb proof like my Pittie was. With those dogs I started out taking them to Home Depot, Petco, Petsmart etc. I would take treats with me and anyone that wanted to pet them would also give the dogs a treat. It worked pretty good, we would go 3-4 days a week spend about a half hour and that was it. After about 6 months of this the dogs were very social and not much freaked them out.

I took Kitsune out to Home Depot for the first time today, she is 8 weeks 3 days old. The first 10 minutes she had some tail tucking, a little avoidance and even a couple incidents of barking at things that scared her. We hung in there and the last 25 minutes of our Home Depot trip went much better. By the end her tail was high and she was investigating people and merchandise.

Just curious if this is a good method, or if I should be doing different/more? Thanks!

I'm just hopping on right now to move your post, but there's been tons of discussion on DS socialization, including its importance as well as what to keep your eye on and tons of other stuff. I'm sure someone will chime in here, though. Even so, I'll always suggest combing posts when you can.

Thanks!

do some searching on here, this is a hot topic and there are tons of posts.

Socializing is over rated, dont make your dog like other dogs if they dont want to, dont make them be friendly when they arent. they are just like people,

Dutchringgirl wrote:

Socializing is over rated, dont make your dog like other dogs if they dont want to, dont make them be friendly when they arent. they are just like people,

hear, hear!

Thanks, I will slow down on taking her out specifically to meet strangers. We have only been going once a week. I don't do dog parks, the only dogs she will spend time with are those that belong to family or friends.

I am just so worried about ending up with a shy dog, or a fear biter. I come from a show GSD back ground...so maybe I don't have to worry as much about my Dutchie. That would be awesome, poor temperament and unstable dogs are the main reasons I moved away from the GSD and found the DS.

I could be mistaken, but I think when Lisa said that socializing is over-rated, she was referring to those who force their dogs to be social with other dogs.

IMHO, all dogs but especially certain dogs and certain breeds, such as protection breeds, need ample but proper (and continued) socialization with humans of all sizes. Handled with care, of course.

Same as exposure to different places, smells, noises, etc.