Recently I saw a colleague being brought down by a client who wasn’t happy with not allowing the dogs in the class to be off lead and “play.” This is not what socialisation is about.

Socialisation is not what it has been drummed up to be over the decades, socialisation isn’t even the correct term we should be using anymore, like many terms that we use within the dog world because people become stuck on words. 

Socialisation is the process of an individual’s skills, standards, behaviour, motives and behaviours changing to conform to societal expectations which are desirable and appropriate for their future role within society. Many agents play a role within the socialisation process, families, peers, media, religious institutions and schools. (1)

We do of course take terms from psychology and other human subjects of learning and apply them to dogs, to help to create a familiarity in learning. Whereas we have a direct source to cite for human socialisation we do not have this for dogs. We have lots of organisations and blogs describing their idea of socialisation for dogs, but nothing that is quotable as we do for humans. 

Like any industry terms are easy to be adapted to interpretation, I have more recently been questioning professionals within different industries. The main thing we have in common is that we are frustrated within our own areas of expertise and professionalism. 

Many professionals within their industries have demonstrated distress and frustration with the public’s perception of their role as an industry and the expectations placed upon them. 

I’ve actually found it quite refreshing and cathartic to speak to experts within their own fields and their frustrations, their industry lack of regulations and how their learning and CPD functions.

Instead what a section of dog professionals and experts are trying to create in this ever changing world of dogs, especially post covid. Is neutrality towards other dogs and the environment, through desensitisation and classical conditioning protocols, this is not to appease people but for dog welfare. 

Dogs are a social species, however today in the modern world, they are a species mostly confined to an urban environment and have to meet urban expectations. Such as suppressing their natural emotions and fears to not be rehomed. To keep their family and first secure connection since leaving their biological family.

This has been a problem for a long time. Bearing in mind we have seen double the following figures since covid of dogs being rehomed. 

In the UK 2009: 129, 473 dogs entered a rescue centre. 

In the US 2009: 4 million dogs entered into a shelter.

In Spain 2009: 100,000 dogs entered into a rescue.

In Australia 2009: 200, 000 dogs entered into a shelter. (2,3,4)

Problematic behaviours as deemed by the dog guardians was the reason for relinquishment, most of these problem behaviours were reactive behaviours or destructive behaviours. 65.6% of these dogs in 2009 were euthanized. Relinquishment to a rescue or shelter can increase behavioural problems and cause stress to the individual dog. (5)

A study was conducted to understand how providing behavioural support to guardians could in fact reduce or stop relinquishment. 69.2% of the relinquishing guardians refused behavioural help. 

Which focused on part of the problem being sharing of information to guardians. (6)

We are no longer in 2009 and social media has grown exponentially, far more than any of us could have thought. Many of us within the dog industry put out free information and knowledge for guardians to read and this information is free despite the cost to us for our education fees and time making this information or like myself and the Do No Harm Dog Training Group team volunteering our time to help dog guardians for free. 

Or YouTube tutorials.

The main problem is the conflicting information that is available to guardians and them not knowing where to navigate or learn from information. (I have this conversation with every guardian I work with). 

Instead we need to focus on education for the public properly, explaining why behaviour consults are needed and why previously learnt ideologies are no longer recommended. We have a duty of care to explain to guardians why they need to see their dog as an individual and why generalised information won’t work. 

Instead of a system of them vs us with tool usage we have a duty of care to protect our guardians and their dogs. We can do this by giving proper education and being on the same page for better dog welfare and understanding of dogs a species and not societal expectations.

Dogs were not bred to be our best mates dogs best mate, they were not bred to tolerate other dogs within society, dogs were originally bred for work and to aid humans in their work. 

Dogs have transitioned from being a tool of the workforce to sentient  beings. This does not mean we can pick and choose in the areas that they are sentient . We have to acknowledge and embrace that they have emotions just like us, our brains are essentially identical, the only difference is a dog is non verbal in the way of human communication as humans expect. 

Most dog professionals are well versed on dog communication and what it is that they are communicating and how they are feeling. We then pass this information onto dog guardians. 

We need to give dogs more agency and grace, dogs communicate with one another much better than we do. They are a species who through genetics know how to communicate with one another. This is not something we as humans teach, what we can do is give them agency and respect their choices in whether or not they wish to interact with other dogs. It’s not for us as humans to say, it is for the dog’s to choose. 

We have to step back and embrace and understand our role in offering them a secure attachment and knowing that their communications to us will be respected and listened to, much like a therapist we feel we can trust. It is not for us to say a dog is no good for being a dog and not meeting a Disney expectation.

No class or setting where dogs are set up to be overwhelmed, charged at, frightened or experience a trauma is going to help any dog with the right start to life. 

This will however ensure your dog doesn’t feel secure or safe and will be nervous of most other dog interactions and the risk of the event repeating again. This is why we then see the statistical figures of dogs relinquished because they cannot cope with the environment successfully with their guardian. 

Listen to your dog and observe them, in most cases with dog to dog interactions after a few seconds they disengage from the interaction, this is a cue for the guardian to move away, not to insist on standing by the other dog because this fulfils an ideology that is in fact harmful. 

Allowing dogs to play with all other dogs that they meet or interact with, especially within a closed setting builds frustrated adults who don’t know how to communicate with their own species, they may lunge and bark at the end of the lead until they get to the other dog, they may not listen to cues from the other dog or being uncomfortable and not wanting the interaction. 

This sets dogs up to fail, needless altercations and an unfair situation for the dog’s involved. 

As professionals we need to keep reiterating until the media and other sources of human brainwashing do come to understand that dogs are just as complex as us. To give them agency is to respect their emotions and needs and not force them into classes where they are overwhelmed and set up to fail, but to listen and take the learning opportunities from the dog.

References 

1. Parke, R.D. and Morris , L.S. (2008) Socialization, Socialization – an overview | ScienceDirect Topics. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/social-sciences/socialization
2. Protopopova A., Gunter L. Adoption and relinquishment interventions at the animal shelter: A review. Anim. Welf. 2017;26:35–48. doi: 10.7120/09627286.26.1.035. 
3. Fatjó J., Bowen J., García E., Calvo P., Rueda S., Amblás S., Lalanza J.F. Epidemiology of dog and cat abandonment in Spain (2008–2013) Animals. 2015;5:426–441. doi: 10.3390/ani5020364.
4. Chua D., Rand J., Morton J. Surrendered and stray dogs in Australia—Estimation of numbers entering municipal pounds, shelters and rescue groups and their outcomes. Animals. 2017;7:50. doi: 10.3390/ani7070050
5. Stavisky J., Brennan M.L., Downes M., Dean R. Demographics and economic burden of unowned cats and dogs in the UK: Results of a 2010 census. BMC Veter.-Res. 2012;8:163. doi: 10.1186/1746-6148-8-163. 
6. Dolan E.D., Scotto J., Slater M., Weiss E. Risk factors for dog relinquishment to a Los Angeles municipal animal shelter. Animals. 2015;5:1311–1328. doi: 10.3390/ani5040413.