Tips on how to socialise older dog

[tarl]

We have got a rescue cocker, 6 years old. She’s lovely. She wasn’t well socialised as a pup, and basically had to learn it all from scratch last year when she was first taken in by the foster carer. She has also been attacked in her previous life, and is very loyal to her humans so can be a bit guardy of me from other dogs.

She lived with other dogs at the foster home, and she lives with our other dog happily now, but I want to help her be a bit better with meeting new dogs out and about.

She is fine with a dog once she’s got to know them, and we walk often with friends, it’s just the initial meet she can get a bit barky about, especially with other female dogs. She’s also much better when she’s not on her lead, but obviously she does need to be on her lead sometimes.

We take her on shoots in the winter, and she is surrounded by dogs all over the place there, but I think because there are also so many humans giving her attention, and so many other exciting things happening, she’s not bothered by them at all. Same at the beach, if a dog comes running up to her she just ducks out of the way and carries on to the water. She’s probably worst when I’m on my own walking her without the other dog - almost like she thinks I’m less safe so she needs to up the guarding.

Does anyone have any tips on how to help her socialise or be more polite when meeting other dogs?

I am doing gundog training with her at the moment, and I’m hoping I can get a reliable heel from her so we can walk more without the lead, and also so she has more focus on me giving her ‘jobs’ on a walk rather than focusing on other dogs.

Watching this. I also have a rescue dog that is a bit unpredictable with dogs, can love to play with them or panic and escape, she has been attacked twice while by dogs their owners brought near to hear to “say hello” even when I insisted not to get near... she is such a beta dog even “friendly “ dogs can go for her.

She doesn’t know how to be in the car without getting into a right panic, and I am feeling very constrained about not being able to go anywhere with her because she gets so nervous...

At home is the most affectionate, interactive, always ready to play dog I have ever had 😕

Our dog just never seems interested in other dogs, I’m not sure if it’s a bit weird?! She doesn’t ever want to play with them, she just wants to get on and do her own thing. When I walk both mine with a friend’s dog, the two others charge about after each other and the cocker will bark at them likes she telling them off if they run about too close to her. If we walk with the same dog but without my other dog, the friend’s dog will try and start up the same play with her and she will swerve away politely.

I wonder about putting her yellow harness back on her. I don’t want her to just avoid dogs completely, but if she doesn’t actually want to interact with them maybe I should just let her carry on...?!

Absolutely let her carry on without dog interaction. Most dogs do not need the company of other dogs.

If you have a dog that can work (eg gundog work)and not be bothered by other dogs you are onto a winner. If you have a dog that you can walk that chooses to stay with you rather ( than be a pain in the arse!) and rush up to all dogs you see you are onto a winner.

However I do understand your need to make sure your dog is happy in the company of dogs and the way to do this is not to force any interaction and to prevent dogs becoming in your dogs space. Try to protect her having interactions where she has to step in and bark to removed the other dog - this will only escalate. If she knows that you will prevent her space being invaded she will not need to react.

So when out walking turn away from approaching dogs, ensure at all times especially when on the lead that there is a good distance between her and other dogs.

The first thing I would work on with her is eye contact (not a serious "look at me" command) just every time she looks at your face I would give her a treat. Do this first at home just sitting down, do not give the treat for looking at your hand, give the treat for looking at your eyes.At first sit this out it can take time but all dogs get it.

When she realises that just looking at you gets rewarded try it when you are standing up,then move to moving one step, move to the left, a step backwards,every time she looks at you treat her.

Soon she will be looking at you nearly all the time, this will also make heel work a piece of cake to teach what is also happening is that she will be looking to you when in a difficult situation eg dogs approaching and you can then walk her in another direction whilst she is totally relaxed looking at you.

Thank you Vall - very wise words!

She is getting good at the looking at me thing in training, I can place balls down and walk away from her and you can tell she is using every last shred of self control to keep looking at me to wait for a command but she does it. I hadn’t thought about using it on walks, i will try that.

She loves working. It’s been a bit of a shift for us because our other dog isn’t interested in training, as long as he can get a good run and then sleep in peace, he’s happy. It’s nice having a dog who desperately wants to learn, but it’s taken some getting used to to realise she would much rather spend an hour in the garden with my sole attention, hammering away at jobs I give her, than running aimlessly for miles. The foster carer said she’d never known a dog more keen to work - I think she was right!