Dogs love people and people love dogs; it’s a dynamic that has persisted since time immemorial. However, while people and dogs have relied on each other more or less since dogs have been around, the primal bond between man and dog is something that must be fostered on both ends. While dogs are naturally prone to bond well with humans, you must take care to acclimate your dog with other people, as well as other regular occurrences of modern life, so that it knows to feel at ease around humans and human environments. This is best done at a young age, but there are still methods to help an older dog along if it was never acclimated while it was younger, or, through some means, a developed bond to humans was severed.
Dogs learn the most between the ages of roughly 3 weeks old and 12 weeks old. This is the best time to expose your dog to other people, as well as other dogs or environmental conditions your dog may be exposed to on a regular basis. While it is certainly possible to socialize a dog after this period has ended, this valuable time can imprint strong impressions about people and places for the rest of the dog’s life and should not be wasted. However, these early life experiences are not the be-all and end-all of correctly socializing your dog; you will need to follow up on the experiences had by your dog during this developmental period with further reinforcement as they develop.
Beyond the initial stage of development, dogs continue to grow until they reach adulthood, which is reached somewhere from 1 year old to 3 years old, depending on breed. Repeated exposure to people and places outside of the home environment during this period allows dogs to become comfortable in a wide variety of settings. A great way to accomplish this goal is to take your dog to dog parks regularly. There they will meet a wide variety of people who are used to being around dogs, as well as, of course, many other types of pooches. If you cannot manage that, then simply taking the time to interact with passersby while you walk your dog is a great alternative method.
Even if you socialize your dog well, they can still react negatively to unfamiliar people. Many dogs have a natural instinct to guard their homes from intruders; while you may or may not wish to encourage this behavior, do not mistake it for fear of an unknown person (though these behaviors can overlap, of course). An unknown environment can also make a dog more uneasy around strangers. When in one of these situations, it is important to remain calm and interact with the unfamiliar face in the manner you normally would, in order to show your dog that there is nothing to fear from this new person. When your dog has a positive interaction with someone that they were previously scared of, give them a treat, or better yet, have that person give your dog a treat. This will teach your dog that interacting positively is rewarded.
Once a dog has reached adulthood, it can be hard for them to change their ways. However, there are still methods of teaching old dogs new tricks. Like previously mentioned, exposure to unknown situations is key, but you will need to be especially careful with how much stress you put on your dog at one time. Slowly introduce your dog to new people one at a time instead of meeting them all at once. Keep treats or their favorite toy with you when you go on walks and try and use them to diffuse any difficult situations that may arise. If your dog has problems with biting, you may need to use a muzzle as you work up to more normalized social interactions. Patience is definitely the key here. If all else fails, you may consider taking your dog to a dog behavior specialist, who can use a specialized training regimen to help guide your dog to better behavior.
