Are dogs today less sociable

Dobiegirl

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Ive been sent this article and I have to say I agree with most of it, growing up a lot of the dogs(not ours) were latch key dogs and you never heard of unsociable dogs and dog on dog aggression. I also think dogs are over feed, often fed rubbish food and under exercised. A lot of people today dont seem to be dog savvy and treat their dogs as babies, is this a fair assumption or do you believe its not true and have another theory for dog on dog aggression.
 

AmyMay

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My dog is incredibly socialable. She has a group of 'friends' she sees several times a week, and gets to interact most days with other dogs. She doesn't have an aggressive bone in her body. She is fed a healthy diet, and yes she is my baby. I adore her.

However, dog on dog aggression is not new. I remember quite vividly a neighbours GS killing another neighbours poodle when I was a child.

Being a new owner I have been really pleasantly surprised that the dog community around here is so fantastic. No dramas, no divas, no aggression. And there are a lot of dogs around here.
 

blackcob

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No amount of exercise or good feeding will ever replace the critical window of socialisation my dogs missed out on and I could weep when I see the same thing being repeated over and over again through work.

Very few dog owners give anything like the amount of thought to dog ownership that people like AAD-ers do - they either don't know or don't care about the nuances of socialisation, habituation, training, exercise, dog sports, nutrition... and so they continue the cycle, PTSing their ill/elderly dog that always had a few ishoos (oh, he doesn't like the vets/black dogs/going in the car, he's always barked/jumped up/ran off, we've never been able to clean his ears/walk him without pulling/call him back) and then proceed to obtain and gradually **** up an 8 week old replacement just the same.

Oh come on, since when have we not been allowed to write 'f e c k' ?!
 

TrasaM

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Oh yes..f e c k entered the banned list recently :eek:

I've just returned to dog ownership having avoided it whilst the kids were small and I was working full time. I took on a rescue GSP who'd been mistreated and starved and it would appear was never socialised to boot. I accept that there are some things I will never change about him. However he's come so far already that I am hopeful that one day he will be the lovely dog he was born to be before humans messed up his head. Are we too soft on dogs now and baby them too much? Possibly. I met a lady with a chocolate lab the same age as Sam ( 21 months) a couple of weeks ago. Pampered and loved and a nice dog but no manners and almost took my fingers off trying to grab the tube of primula I use as a training treat. Meanwhile my troubled boy was sitting nicely and waiting for his tasty treat :) owner acknowledged that she'd not done much training with her. Think she was waiting for her to grow up and get sensible all on her own :D
 

Dobiegirl

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Ive noticed and its getting more common, people trying to rehome their dogs and rescues who state they must go as an only dog, this makes the dog almost unhomeable and condemns them to live their life in kennels or pts.

Ive had 2 dog aggressive dogs, one was fear aggressive, Darcy and the other Fred was full on aggressive. Fred was fine with friends dogs but in dog training if another dog barked he just wanted to kill it and his intentions were very clear, I got kicked out of several classes because of it and luckily we found a trainer who owned Dobermanns and told me he was very protective of me, I had to step up and take charge getting him to watch me and after a lot of work he was totally bombproof with other dogs. Darcy would lunge at strange dogs and again I taught watch me and worked on desensitising her and she was fine, again she is bombproof and has a lovely temperament.


I think people are too soft with their dogs nowadays and it seems to me people would rather pts then reprimand their dog, Im not talking about knocking 7 bells out of your dog but being very strict and not allowing any bending of the rules, if I shout oi at my dogs they know they are in serious doo doo.
 

Clodagh

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Everyone has a dog now, I'm sure there didn't used to be so many. Now we can have whatever we want whenever we want it.
Listening to the 'Dog and Duck' man at the East of England show on Sunday - he had trained all his working collies from rescues, he said 'Your lifestyle needs to be suitable for the dog you want, you can't get a dog and expect it to fit in with you' although he was talking about collies that applies to all dogs IMO.
 

Clodagh

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DG - agree with too soft as well. I know CM is vilified nowadays but that noise 'tchk' he makes, I do it with my dogs and one tchk and they know it means STOP THAT NOW
 

C1airey

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We recently got a puppy and I've noticed when we're out on walks that so many owners seem to view another dog with deepest suspicion, often dragging their dog in the opposite direction and looking at me like I'm a numpty for not picking up my dog and doing the same. I can't help thinking that these people are unconsciously teaching their dogs to fear other dogs, which at some point down the line may well manifest as aggression.

Our puppy is a JRT cross, four months old, smaller than most cats and cute as a button. His stock reaction to meeting a strange dog on a walk is to sit and let them approach him. He's definitely not something to fear!
 

blackcob

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We recently got a puppy and I've noticed when we're out on walks that so many owners seem to view another dog with deepest suspicion, often dragging their dog in the opposite direction and looking at me like I'm a numpty for not picking up my dog and doing the same. I can't help thinking that these people are unconsciously teaching their dogs to fear other dogs, which at some point down the line may well manifest as aggression.

I'm an opposite-direction-dragger - reason being that for every person who calls their dog close or pops it on a lead, allows space to pass and continues on with a jaunty 'good morning' there are a dozen numpties who let their ill trained, poorly socialised dogs body slam/pin down/lunge/snarl/circle/rush/bite mine. I simply won't take the risk any more, my dog's thresholds have been hard won (rescue/rehome, both struggling socially for different reasons) and every time it happens it reinforces their fears and anxieties.
 

pippixox

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I'm an opposite-direction-dragger - reason being that for every person who calls their dog close or pops it on a lead, allows space to pass and continues on with a jaunty 'good morning' there are a dozen numpties who let their ill trained, poorly socialised dogs body slam/pin down/lunge/snarl/circle/rush/bite mine. I simply won't take the risk any more, my dog's thresholds have been hard won (rescue/rehome, both struggling socially for different reasons) and every time it happens it reinforces their fears and anxieties.

same! but also many people assume to give my GSD space any way as they are suspicious of big dog! and he has a comfy julius k9 harness. My boy is a 3 yo I got as a 2yo and he is reactive. has a few good 'friend' dogs, but unknown dogs cause a lot of anxiety to him. then if close to them he will react. again, from what i gather he only socialised with a few other dogs as a youngster- who were breeding males who bullied him, so he missed the critical socialisation period. I there for have to manage him carefully. He has been to classes, but mostly got better due to recognising the same dogs!

agree that now many dogs are not trained properly and are babied (I do call my dog my baby sometimes! but he has boundaries) and also do not have jobs. dogs used to mostly be working, so stimulated and trained from a young age to do their jobs. Too many people don't take their dogs behaviour seriously. just because it is cute or small or 'just being friendly' it should not be pulling your arm off, barking ect.
 

Elsbells

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I've observed in my long years of life and dog ownership that dogs nowadays don't get out and about as puppies and I mean puppies not yearlings. Everyone is so worried about disease and neutering( compounded by vets) that they are terrified to let little Roger play, the results of which are young dogs unable to read body language or understand the pecking order.

How many of us would keep a foal/youngster isolated? Or would we say no, let's put it out with a few others and the old mare who will teach it?

(Puts hard hat on!)
 

Annette4

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I'm very lucky in that Fizz has a gang of sighthounds she can zoom about with and has friends dogs she seems regularly but no one we have met on a walk has been willing to let her meet their dog. I always call her back, pop her on her lead then ask (having had a dog with issues I know how annoying it is) but it's such a shame when she rarely gets to socialise properly. I'm working hard on her ignoring other dogs but she is a puppy, being able to socialise when she's good should be a reward but I'm yet to meet someone who is happy to. I am always willing when people ask to let puppy's meet Jack, I do say that he will put them in their place if they are OTT but I am happy for him to socialise with puppy's when people ask.
 

minesadouble

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I've observed in my long years of life and dog ownership that dogs nowadays don't get out and about as puppies and I mean puppies not yearlings. Everyone is so worried about disease and neutering( compounded by vets) that they are terrified to let little Roger play, the results of which are young dogs unable to read body language or understand the pecking order.

How many of us would keep a foal/youngster isolated? Or would we say no, let's put it out with a few others and the old mare who will teach it?

(Puts hard hat on!)

I agree with this. We have an 11m old Vizsla and I believe nothing has taught him more than the time he has spent playing with older dogs who would growl or snap their teeth at him if he became too boisterous or rough.
He is still very boisterous when playing but reads other dog's signals well and will only play rough when his playmate is also up for a bit of rough and tumble. If a dog asks him to back off he will leave it alone without becoming worried in any way.
It is very hard when you are a one dog owner to ensure your dog is well socialised.
 

Cop-Pop

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My dog is incredibly social - it's me that isn't. He was quite happy having kisses from two, large un-neutered rotties this morning while I had a mild heart attack. I know I shouldn't judge but big dogs like that always make me worried. I do notice more dogs are aggressive these days, I just put it down to the fact that more owners these days seem to be somewhat lenient with their dogs ;)
 
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