socialization

[Ursa's daddy]

I decided my two needed some socialization. I had been working out of town, and they had not been out in public. This was made quite evident when the pest control man came over to spray. They did not think there was an insect problem and put on a big show about a stranger coming in the yard. And then, he wanted to come up to the door! Oh, no. So today, we all got in the van and headed out. First stop was the vet's where everyone got weighed. Ursa was 47 pounds and Malachi was 74 pounds (21 and 34 kg). A little overweight, but not excessive. The next stop was Petsmart. The animal shelter was there with their animals. The dogs barked at my two, but they ignored it. Malachi wanted to approach a cage with two kittens, and one arched its back and hissed. No problem. I had them lay down w hile I talked to the volunteers. The volunteers got to pet my two, several of the patrons came by and petted them. No problem. We walked around the store and met more people. No problem. It was really a great session, and then..........Ursa saw the rats in the cage. She instantly started to talk about them. YIP YIP YIP in a high pitched voice. (They have rodents here.....I want one!) OMG. Needless to say, that ended the socialization for the day.

[Auddymay]

Oddly, I have always shown mine the ferrets, and they could give a rip. Lil and Dil both hunt rodents in the artemisia, and I found an oddly placed mouse corpse that told me the rodents are not necessarily winning... Good job on socializing, except the finale.

[nnguyentang]

I can't wait until Violet is mature enough to walk around and socialize. She does love to go out.. but once a group of 2 or more people walk up to her to play or pet, she freaks out so i have to hold her while they pet her. ): I try to take her out more, but she seems to be more and more afraid everytime.

[Rory's Dad]

Now that is funny. Rory loves Petsmart so much he pulls me all over the store. I dont like those trips at all, and i cant find a way to settle him. He walks pretty nicely most anywhere else.

We actually have a teddy bear hamster that my 2 earlier dogs could have cared less about. We used to let him run around in an exercise ball and they would ignore him until he ran into their legs or something. They chased the rabbits in the yard, ran at the squirrels, and ignored the neighbors cats.

Rory stares at the hamster cage and licks his chops. He doesnt even care about rabbits and squirrels, and yips at the cats to no end.

Good luck trying to figure it out, i think they all trigger to their own special little interest.

[Ursa's daddy]

@ nnguyentang, you have to take her out a lot and always make it a pleasant experience. Ursa took forever to get used to being out in public. When I got Malachi, things were better because he was so outgoing, and she just went along.

This is the first time she noticed the rats. Usually it is the birds. They will want to snap at them, so I never go down that isle. We were on our way out when she noticed the rats. I think she figured out that they were squirrels without bushy tails. LOL

[Auddymay]

Take her to a park where you can sit and read a couple chapters and she can sit and explore near you. The walk there and back (if possible) will give her interactions, plus people walking by while you sit. Definitely take her out every day.

[Sirchow]

Sounds like you had a good socialisation session. I think a little and often is the way to go.
Mine never seem interested in the rodents in Pets @ Home so I thought maybe it was because they couldn't smell them through the glass. Bramble catches mice in the grass and the ones the cats loose in the house so I thought she might get excited by the rats and mice but she doesn't even pay any attention.

[612guy]

Keep it up and maybe try other places to take your chows. Any place outside with people like flea or farmer markets. Brutus is 15 months old but has been so calm from day one and could probably use him as a therapy dog. Showing his is easy because of his calm nature. I did see a chow about 4 years ago going in a hospital for therapy work and was surprised but happy.