Far too many dogs these days end up in shelters or pounds because their owners did not understand their behavior and were not able to deal with it appropriately. Many of these dogs end up being euthanized when they could have been rehabilitated. Here are a few ways you can properly socialize your dog and avoid this fate.

#1: Start Early

It is essential that your dog learns about appropriate behavior from an early age. For best results, your puppy should be about seven to eight weeks old when you bring him home. This period (up until fourteen weeks) is a very fearful one for your puppy and they should be treated very gently by everyone. Gentle rebukes will usually be enough for the puppy to understand the rules. Avoid rough play at this age as well.

#2: Understand the Pack Order

Dogs have a natural instinct to make a pack. In the wild they lived in packs, and in your home they will create the same hierarchy of pack dogs. You and everyone who lives in your home is included in the pack. So it is crucial that you and everyone else in the house establish themselves as a more dominant pack member. This doesn't mean you have to be mean to the dog. It's the subtle things you do that the pack leader would do in the wild. Such as the pack leader will eat first, and sleep in a higher area of the den. Also, avoid your dog growling at you, sitting on you, or putting their paw on you since this is a dominant action. Plus, table scraps are a big no-no. The pack leaders always eat the better food. The other dogs get everything else.

#3: Dog Parties

First make sure your dog is up to date on their shots. You don't want them catching anything, just as when a kid is taken to school. There are a lot of germs out there, and your dog needs to be protected. Then, as often as you can, take you dog to dog parks, or take them to a doggy daycare. They need to see other dogs as fun and not as intruders, or as a threat to themselves or any of their pack members. After time passes they will get comfortable and enjoy going to these places.

#4: Don't Chase the Mailman

You need to acquaint your dog with the idea of visitors coming to the house every so often. Your dog needs to understand that it is not appropriate for them to bark at or bite people such as mailmen, repairmen or delivery men. Despite this, your dog will instinctively know when the stranger does not belong and will still react appropriately to intruders.

#5: Exercise

Exercise is a necessity not only for dog aggression but for their health as well. Make sure to take them for a walk or play with them at least once a day for a 15 minute minimum. If you can't do this you may want to have a responsible one of your kids do it, or you can even hire a professional dog walker. This will keep your dog from getting bored and frustrated, so they don't take out their frustration on people or any other dogs.

In the end, just remember that your house is your dog's world unless you let them know that more is out there. Your dog doesn't have the everyday opportunities to learn more like you do, unless you show them. Your dog has to be shown the ways of the world to be properly socialized.

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