Day 2 -- Settling In

Part of the reason we socialize dogs is so that they are more comfortable going into new situations, meeting new people and being around other dogs. Zoltie is starting to settle in now and get use to the new things around him. It's taken a bit of time though. He's just now starting to take treats from me which shows me that he's starting to gain some confidence. He's much more comfortable meeting new dogs and he's eager to play with them.

We've worked on building his confidence while in a new environment. He may show confidence at home but in a new situation it's a whole different ball game. He was nervous about the stairs at first but we slowly worked through that and had big celebrations at the top of the stairs when he made it all the way up. He probably goes up and down the stairs just fine at his house but these are different stairs. Dogs don't naturally generalize things. So, if he's met one breed of dog and plays well with that breed, he may not be comfortable with a different breed. If he's comfortable on carpeted stairs, he may not initially be comfortable on wooden stairs. If we expose them to different things, smells, sounds, surfaces, people and animals in a way that is not overwhelming to the dog, they can usually transition to new situations much easier.

And once he is more comfortable, taking treats, and playing with toys, we can start to work on things like his recall (coming when called). He responds well to praise and pets which works well for some things (like sit) but, in order to get a nice speedy recall, he needs something a little more enticing. I still use a lot of praise, especially as he is running towards me and once he gets to me, but he also gets some tasty treats when he arrives. Because a recall can be so important, we really want it to pay off for the dog.

Since he is relaxed enough to play with toys now, we can also start teaching him to drop things. I like to practice this a lot with his toys before I move onto really hard things like stinky socks.

I start off by saying "drop" and putting a treat to his nose and give him the treat with lots of praise when he drops the toy.

Then I'm going to give him the toy back right away. I want him to start thinking that dropping things is REALLY going to pay off for him. Not only does he get a treat and praise but he also gets the toy back. If we practice a lot with him, giving up something that is really valuable and exciting to him (like stinky socks) is really worth it to him.