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Originally Posted by 107barney  I disagree. The guidelines of the American Veterninary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB) also adopted by others such as the AKC regarding puppy socialization state differently. Animal Behaviorist Ian Dunbar also believes that a puppy meet at least 100 different people by age 12 weeks. Taken from the AKC website, this sums up the importance of early socialization to a variety of different people and other puppies-- "Because of the evidence that early socialization can prevent serious canine behavior problems such as fear, avoidance, and aggression, in 2008 the AVSAB issued the position statement that it should be the standard of care for puppies to be socialized in the first 12 weeks. An excellent means of early socialization is for puppies to attend puppy-kindergarten classes. Although many vets have held that puppies should not be exposed to strange dogs before 12 to 16 weeks because of disease risk, the AVSAB supports participation in puppy kindergarten classes before the full series of puppy vaccines has been completed as long as all puppies in the class are vet-checked to be healthy and parasite-free upon entering the class and are kept current on vaccinations" American Kennel Club - AKC Breeder The full position statement of the AVSAB is here: http://www.avsabonline.org/avsabonline/images/stories/Position_Statements/puppy%20socialization.pdf |
Also, get all that dominant pack leader stuff out of your mind. I think, to an extent, it's true. But to me, it's all about forming a tight bond with your dog and being a teacher and a friend, forming a mutual trust and respect between man and dog. Often people will blame everything on "dominance".... the dog is barking at a stranger at the door? Dominant? No, he's probably barking out of fear, or he's alerting you to an intruder. The dog walks out the door before you. He's being dominant. No... he probably is just really excited to get outside and explore the world and hasn't been taught otherwise. The list goes on and on. Too many people think their dog is being dominant, when they are really just unsure of what to do about certain situations because they have never been properly taught.
Check out youtube channels - zakgeorge21, kikopup, pamelamarxen, and heck you can even check out my own youtube channel -
brittanyjadexo to see a Yorkie who has been trained and socialized without the alpha mentality. I used to believe in all the dominance stuff (but never had to use it w/ Jackson) but have since been transformed by the power of positive training. More than anything I'm for relationship based training. It's not as simple as just using a click to communicate with your dog... you have to get on their level.
I personally don't have an issue with Jackson being over excited to see people that he loves as long as they don't have an issue with it. Generally if a person is speaking high pitched and happy tones to a dog, they are dog people and won't mind being licked, jumped on, etc. I have certain family members that Jackson adores and they love when he greets them with such excitement. However if a stranger walks in the door, and he barks at them, he does it for about 10 seconds and then I ask him to stop, I've always re-directed him with food. But out in public, he's very well mannered and won't bark at people walking by, or other dogs on leash (even if they are barking at him), etc, because since a pup, I've always socialized him and carried treats with me since he was always very unsure of strangers.