HOW TO SOCIALIZE A DOG DURING THE LOCKDOWN?

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Socialization goes so much above and beyond raising a friendly dog. It involves a plethora of various experiences apart from teaching a dog to say Hi to someone. A socialization checklist must involve a vast assortment of different entities, places and situations that invoke all of a dog’s critical senses – smell, sight, sound, sensation and taste.

During the pandemic, it can be challenging to provide the socialization and stimulation that an outdoor, crowded environment can provide. However, with a little effort, we can do a lot even behind closed doors. It doesn’t matter that your dog is no longer able to play with his canine friend from the park or with his doggy day-care friend, because now he has his best friend around at all times. As his best friend, it’s your job to make up for his FOMO. You can still do a lot in terms of dog socialization by involving a few of the below-mentioned tips in your daily routine –

1. Varied experiences

A dog’s socialization needs can be fulfilled via varied experiences apart from meeting other humans and canines. These experiences can be carried out with the simplest of objects at home and can be done on a daily basis. This could include walking around with huge bags or suitcases inside the house, carrying out physical activities like yoga, skipping rope, walking around with a bedsheet, wearing a big hat, sunglasses etc.

2. Involve your dog in routine activities

Involving the dog in routine activities like throwing the trash out, cleaning the house, doing laundry, carrying light grocery bags, etc are also socialization opportunities. It’s also an amazing way to physically and mentally stimulate your dog while strengthening your bond with him.

3. Grooming and handling

Dog grooming salons and centres have obviously taken a hit during these times. However, it’s the dogs that are facing a bigger inconvenience, having to live with their matted and ungroomed coat. Now’s a good time to invest time and effort in opening your dogs up to being groomed and handled.

Especially in cases of pandemic puppies, exposing them to varied experiences, people and animals has been a challenge. A lot of puppies haven’t gotten a chance to go to the groomers even once. Grooming them on a regular basis will make sure they have a positive association with being handled by humans.

To begin with, if your dog is not very comfortable being groomed, avoid combining more than one activity at a time. Eg – Don’t trim your dog’s nails and clean his ears simultaneously. Spread the session out over 2 days. Also, keep grooming sessions short and fun with lots and lots of treats. Grooming regularly not only helps in improving your bond with your dog, but it also helps a nervous and a fearful dog to be accepting of human touch. It especially helps newly adopted dogs trust their humans a lot more and be exponentially calm around them.

For more DIY dog grooming techniques, Click here.

4. Sounds

Sound desensitization is a vital part of socializing a dog. I once witnessed an incident where 2 puppies were playing with each other in a park. Both pups were supposedly ‘well-socialized’ and were roughhousing with each other. Just then, outside the park, a car honked loudly. One of the puppies panicked and ended up biting the other pup’s ears, drawing blood.

This is not the only incident of sudden noises scaring dogs. With dogs who stay in high rises, relatively quiet environments and within soundproof doors and windows, these incidences keep occurring every now n then, thereby making them sound reactive.

We can avoid these circumstances on our dogs by getting them comfortable with different sounds and noises early on in life. Expose your dog to a vast variety of sounds on a daily basis. Consider subjecting your dog to the following every now and then (most of these sounds will be available on YouTube. Connect your device to a speaker and play away) –

• Loud thuds (vessels dropping, books banging, foot-stomping)
• Screaming/ yelling (in general. Not necessarily on the dog)
• Doorbell
• Birds chirping
• Cat meows
• Other dogs barking
• Car honks
• Different sounds on TV, Radio, Phone, etc
• Tire screeching
• Kids shouting
• Thunder, lightning
• Wind blowing heavily
• Firecrackers
• Loud music (loud enough for your dog to hear, but, soft enough to not disturb the neighbors)

Socializing or desensitizing (depending on your dog’s requirements) your dog at a time when he’s naturally calm, involving a lot of his favourite treats goes a long way in making sure the entire experice is positive for him. Believe it or not, sound socialization is also a kind of mental stimulation for your dog.

5. Take your dog for car rides

Taking your dog on a car ride is one of the best ways to expose him to a variety of stimuli. Not to mention the joy he’s going to get from sticking his tongue out of the window! A car ride gives your dog fleeting experiences of new people, animals, nature, sounds, various sights, wind, change in weather and what not! Imagine the kind of stimultion your dog’s sensory organs get in 15 minute car ride!

Several dogs have negative association with cars rides because mojority of the times they end up going to the vet in it. The motion sickness doesn’t help either! Frequent car rides help your puppy grow up to love going out for rides.

6. Spend a little time in parking lots of essential stores

Parking lots is one of my favorite places to hang out with my dog. Not only does it have new poeple and cars incoming and outgoing every now and then, but also the fact that people are minding their own business and don’t try to disturb me when I’m training my dog.

Typically on walks, in parks and several other locations, several people try to approach dogs without asking the owner’s permission. This can interfere in training process and can freak out dogs who are anxious.

While introducing your dog to new things and living beings, it’s important to take it at your dog’s pace. Parking lots can give you just that – Distance and space.

PS – Try not to hang out in a parking lot for too long. People might suspect you of fishy business. :p

7. Change the course of your walks every now and then

Walking the same path everyday can get mundane and boring for you and for your dog. Your dog needs a plethora of smells on his walks to make it interesting and tiring for him. Just a single route may not help.

Try going in different directions everyday. Explore new surfaces and new locations to keep things upbeat.

Setting up a routine even when it comes to socializing your dog is important. Over socialization, sometimes, can lead to overstimulation of the dog, resulting in the puppy forgetting to be in a calm state of mind for a prolonged time. Meaning, his impulse control is zero. While it’s important to keep a dog well stimulated and socialized during these times, it’s also your job to make the transition of returning back to normalcy easier for your dog by not overwhelming him too much as of now. Set a routine that includes a minimum of a couple of hours of crate time so that your dog does not develop any behaviours stemming from separation anxiety and/or isolation distress. You can read more about crate training here.