[Smeagle]

How old is Kenya?

Remember that socialisation is not just about meeting other dogs and learning how to interact with them correctly. Socialisation is giving the puppy a new experience and assigning it a value - it should be about introducing your pup to loads of new experiences like meeting a variety of people, hearing loud noises, going up stairs, hearing the vaccuum, going to the beach, the park, shops, riding in the car etc.

The other thing that a lot of people forget about is that socialisation is about having a calm, confident dog who behaves appropriately in a range of situations. This is why training and socialisation go hand in hand. If you have a dog who lunges on the leash and barks when it sees other dogs - it doesn't need MORE socialisation it needs training and it needs to learn HOW to act appropriately in those situations. Heightened arousal/excitement is not part of having a well socialisation dog.

Do not let your pup meet or play with other dogs when it acts like you outlined above - that will only teach him that acting like that gets him what he wants (to meet the other dog). He needs to learn some self control, and needs to learn to focus on you. I would be doing lots of training with him around other dogs and teaching him that not every time he sees a dog he will get to play with it. Make yourself higher value to him than the other dog - play with him near other dogs, use toys, high value food, make yourself exciting so he starts to focus on you.

I would also be teaching him that he only gets to meet other dogs when he is calm and well behaved. Get him to sit and focus on you calmly not the other dog and then let him greet the other dog as a reward for his good behaviour - so he learns that if YOU allow him to meet the other dog, it is because he was calm and focused on you.

 

[Smeagle]

Originally Posted By: Kenya2009Kenya is 12 weeks old as of tomorrow. It's very difficult to restrain her, because she just tries relentlessly to break loose from the leash, and in turn if we were in a public place, we look like dog abusers because of her constant baying. The best we could do is to pick her up, and I know that this is a big no-no, but it's the only thing that works without her causing such a scene.

Ok - she's at an age where it is crucial you teach her the right behaviour now, or it will only get worse.

She needs to learn some manners so she can grow into a well socialised and in turn a well behaved beagle

First of all - don't worry about what other people think. I've had people think I was cruel because I don't always let my dog play with others. They can think what they like, because the most important thing to me is that I do what's best for my dog.

If she's lunging on the leash to get to another dog, turn and walk in the opposite direction. She's only 12 weeks old so she's not too big and strong yet - if you let this behaviour continue now, she's only going to get bigger and stronger and it will be harder to control her. If you think she's difficult to restrain now, just wait until she's six months old!

Don't indulge her bad behaviour, the instant she behaves like that, walk her away. Do everything you can to make yourself more exciting than the distraction - take some high value food, her favourite toy, make yourself fun and exciting. Reward her for focusing on YOU and not the other dog.

Remember too that she's only young so her focus is not going to be great. Don't expect too much from her, start doing some training in low distraction environments and move from there. Don't worry if she can't focus easily on you when she's right next to another dog - the basic training rule is distance before distraction, so walk her far enough away that she is less focused on the other dog and you can get her attention. Then you can gradually decrease the distance between you and the other dog as her focus and behaviour improves. Play games with her near other dogs and give her big rewards for having focus on you. Teach her to sit calmly and look at you before she is allowed to greet another dog. If she loves playing with other dogs then use that as the reward for her giving focus and being calm - because as soon as you let her think that pulling on the leash/barking/carrying on is going to get her what she wants, it will become a habit and one that will become harder and harder to break.

Quite simply - make it clear to her that if she's misbehaving then she does not under any circumstances gets to meet or play with another dog. Also, that she doesn't always get to play or greet every dog she sees or walks past - remove that expectation she has that she can greet/play/engage with any dog she sees. She can play with other dogs when YOU give her the permission to do so. She needs to learn that jumping/barking/lunging = no fun and calmness and focus = fun

 

[Smeagle]

Also meant to add, that the thing a lot of dog owners seem to forget when socialising their puppy is that they teach their puppy that distractions like other dogs are more exciting than what they, the owner, have to offer the puppy.

I train my dogs to see me as the most exciting thing out there, I don't want to train them to think that something else is higher value than me or what I have to offer.

I found it helps to think of it in terms of increasing your dog's value for YOU.