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Promoting Socialisation

"I'm interested to know about promoting socialisation - my Ryan has very good doggie manners, but the new one, Bonnie, doesn't."

Dogs will learn from their interactions with other dogs. So encourage the two to spend plenty of time together, especially in mutual play. There is NO WAY for a human to teach a dog to socialize with a dog--the dogs must sort that out for themselves, and they will.

It would also help to broaden Bonnie's circle of doggie acquaintances.

Slowly, one dog at a time, do you have some neighbors, relatives, friends with a well-mannered dog? Since she is past the critical period of socialization, where meeting lots of new dogs would be the way to go, you should work on solidifying dog friendships one by one.

The nervous dog

"She has not been physically mistreated, but I'm fairly sure her previous owner found her infuriating and shouted a lot, which has exacerbated her nervousness and general 'airhead' lack of concentration."

Then it is extremely important that you use lots of rewards and positive reinforcement, and avoid corrections and punishments. Treat unwanted behaviors by ignoring them--unless they are seriousenough to threaten the dog or a human.

A good humane punishment,when one seems necessary, is a simple time-out. Without a word or any reaction, just pick the misbehaving dog up, gently carry it to a neutral and uninteresting room (bathroom works well, but make sure it is dog-safe), and place the dog in the room and shut the door. Wait exactly 3 minutes, then let the dog out and carry on as if nothing happened. Repeat as necessary.

When releasing a dog from a time-out room, never open the door if the dog is whining, barking,scratching, or otherwise complaining. Stand by the door and wait until the dog is quiet for at least 10-15 seconds, then open the door.

Can a dog learn to interact with other dogs?

"Does she stand a good chance of learning how to interact with other dogs as well as Ryan does?"

Most experts agree that the socialization that a dog misses out on between the critical age of 2-4 months can never be completely made up.

This does not mean that you cannot work to create a well-adjusted dog and correct many of her missing skills, but it will take more time and effort, and desensatizing (which is what you will be doing) will tend to occur one case at a time. For example, as I mentioned above, a pup between 2-4 should be introduced to as many dogs as possible.

But to remediate your older pup, you will probably do better introducing one dog at a time and getting her comfortable with that dog before moving on to another dog. It sounds like Bonnie already is showing some spirit and interest in overcoming some of her deficits, and that is a good sign.

Body Language

"I don't think she can make the sort of fine distinctions about body language that he does..."How to get a dog to focus on you?

If she has trouble focusing on you , practice this simple exercise.

Body language:

What to look for in a dog that is showing signs of dominance.

Very likely if she was taken from a litter early and/or missed canine socialization between 2-4 months, but again, you will not be able to teach her canine body language. Only other dogs can do that, so again, I emphasize the need to get her to become friendly with other dogs, but slowly, one by one. Reward and treat her for good behavior around other dogs. Make it a party for all dogs involved. Healthy and friendly play = everyone gets a treat.

For now, if you find Bonnie really cannot get along with a particular dog, take that one off your list.

Eventually, once she has met and socialized for some months with say a dozen or more dogs (and try to have all sizes and different breeds represented), you can work on desensatizing her to specific dogs or situations that she reacts badly to. This is done by rewarding good behavior, ignoring bad behavior, and using distance as the variable.

There will be a "safe distance" at which Bonnie can approach any dog without starting to fuss, but there will also be a specific distance at which she will begin to show signs of fear, aggression, or anxiety. You want to repeatedly bring her up to that borderline, stopping just before you get close enough to provoke a reaction.

Then treat or reward her, play with her, distract her, etc. at that distance for a few moments. Over time, it is simply a matter of trying to descrease the distance between Bonnie and the other dog or person or whatever she gets nervous about. Literally take it a step at a time. The goal is for her ot have more successes than failures, so don't proceed too quickly!

Body Language

The best book on canine body language I have ever read is Stanley Coren's "How To Speak Dog." By far the most complete discussion of both body language and vocalization I have seen! Recommended!

You can identify some basic ideas in reading body language. The caution I would add is that a dog should never be judged on the position of a single body part, or even a couple. The entire body must be taken into consideration.

For example, in a recent situation I helped to analyze, we had a dog showing a snarl, a high stiff body position, standing motionless, staring directly at the other dog, with wrinkled forehead and a forward lean. It's tail was held low, almost straight down.

Everything about this dog's position says DOMINANT AGGRESSIVE--I AM SECURE, IN CHARGE, AND WILL FIGHT IF NECESSARY! Everything, that is, except the tail!

The tail says the exact opposite--a lowered tail usually indicates submissiveness or fear in such a situation. In this case, the tail had to be ignored in favor of the other 99% of the dog which said I AM NOT FEARFUL AND DON"T MESS WITH ME! (A lowered tail can also be a sign of intense concentration, which is what I believe was occurring with the dog I analyzed.)

So reading body language is not as simple as spotting ears that are back or a tail that is raised. The total dog must be examined.

There are also breed differences that affect body language. Some breeds tend to hold their tails higher all the time than another breed which may have a lower "normal" tail carriage. You cannot tell what is "high" or "low" unless you know where that dog's tail usually is!

There are individual differences too within a given breed. So before you can read body language, you must become familiar with the dog's natural postures and gestures. There are also age-related differences in gestures.

Puppies are often unschooled in normal canine communication until they reach about 6 months or so. They will misread or ignore clear signals from adults at times. (Luckily, most well-adjusted adults will be tolerant of this.)

There are also man-made problems that interfere in communincation. We cut of the tails of some breeds like Rottweilers and clip the ears of other breeds, or remove dew claws from others. Other aspects of a body signal may redefine its meaning. A wagging tail is often considered to be the universal happiness signal for all dogs, but many aggressive dogs will wag their tails in a narrow arc, very quickly, which translates to, "Get out of there now!"

So duration, speed of movement, distance of movement, changes in movement as time goes on--all can mean very different things.

And we haven't even added in the vocalizations yet--growls, barking, snarls, the pitch of these, etc. So the analysis of canine body language is something best left to an expert or a person with a lot of experience. Never depend on a single trait.

Learn how the same trait can mean different things depending upon the situation with the rest of the body. Consider what you see in light of breed characteristics and man-made changes in the dog's appearance.

The general trends are UP = CONFIDENT, FORWARD = DOMINANTLY AGGRESSIVE, BACK = FEAR OR ANXIETY, and DOWN = LESS CONFIDENCE AND SUBMISSIVENESS OR FEAR. But many signals can be subtle, sometimes "normal" signals can be misleading, and again, a single aspect of stance or gesture should never be the basis for a conclusion.