19/11/2025
Love this 👇 We put a lot of work into our doggos being more neutral, and able to coexist in a group setting 🐾
Socialising your dog — what it actually means (and what it doesn’t).
Puppies do need early exposure to stable, balanced dogs. It’s how they learn “how to dog” — how to read signals, make small mistakes, recover, and grow into confident dogs who understand the world.
But socialising an adult dog is very different!
It doesn’t mean letting them drag you across a path to greet another dog, run up to dogs uninvited, or attending “socialisation” classes.
Between adolescence and adulthood, what your dog needs to learn is:
how to coexist without needing to say hi
how to walk past dogs without tension or excitement
how to stay neutral whether a dog is near them or not
how to regulate their arousal instead of acting on impulse
So what does socialisation actually look like for an adult dog?
On-lead coexistence: calm, steady walking around other on-lead dogs.
Pack-style walks: off lead with stable dogs, no manic play, just moving together and sharing space.
For the happy-go-lucky types: controlled play sessions or classes — but only if they can cope and aren’t tipping into silly, chaotic behaviour.
Your job as an owner isn’t to force interaction.
It’s to help your dog learn to coexist.
Not every dog needs dog friends. Not every dog wants to greet. Some dogs are happier simply getting on with their walk, knowing you’re handling things.
And for this to happen, your dog needs:
solid basics
good recall
impulse control
early and continued exposure to stable dogs
and a relationship with you that feels calm, consistent, and trustworthy.
If your dog is reactive — frustration, fear, or genuine aggression — it usually means the foundations above either haven’t been built yet, or haven’t been reinforced consistently enough.
Hard truth:
If you’re still in the mindset that your dog needs to say hi to every dog, please stop.
They don’t.
If your dog is dragging you over to dogs, it’s not because they “love everyone” — it’s because the balance in your relationship needs attention. Your dog should want to stay with you, take cues from you, and feel settled with you.
Socialising isn’t about random greetings.
It’s about raising a dog who can walk past another dog and stay calm, steady, and connected to you.
If you need help with your dogs reactivity or aggression towards other dogs, please get in touch.
🆘️ Breakthru Behaviour
📲 07817 407218
