07/10/2024
This is such an important post.
DON’T FORCE ME TO BE SOCIAL!
It may be really disappointing and frustrating when our dogs are not the social beings we expected them to be.
Many believe dogs should just naturally get along with other dogs, after all they’re the same species.
Some believe the “unsociable” dog has a behaviour problem that needs to be “fixed”.
Early, appropriately timed and correct socialisation is vitally important, but sometimes despite all of this, some dogs are just not that sociable.
Sometimes this can be improved, especially if the cause is from a negative experience, but genetics, breed tendencies, individual personalities, health and age all contribute to tolerance and sociability, which also change throughout life.
If we, as a human species, don’t get along with everyone we meet, how can we expect our dogs to?
Do we label every person that has an argument, doesn’t make friends with everyone they meet, doesn’t like every other person, prefers not to socialise - as having a problem that needs to be fixed?
Why is it so easy to accept that every individual person is different than to accept that every individual dog is different?
When we have done what we can to improve our dogs’ social skills, we need to accept and acknowledge our dogs for the individuals they are, allow and respect their choice of whether to be sociable or not and never force interactions that a dog is not comfortable with.
