Socializing rescue puppy

[AnnGartner]

My husband and I have recently adopted a puppy who is probably 7-9 months old.  We think she's a lab/pit mix and had a bit of a rough start.  She had some injury as a pup and as a result the rescue had to have her left eye removed.  I don't think she had much socialization in her early days.  She's doing well with us - she plays vigorously with our other 2 dogs.  Initially she seemed a little fearful of my husband but that too is gradually getting better.  We're doing multiple short training sessions with her each day and she is very smart and food motivated. 

We live on a farm so she doesn't have a lot of exposure to other people but when she does she starts barking and acting pretty stressed.  I'd like to start taking her out to get her more comfortable but I'm not sure if it's too soon to try that.  She is definitely more comfortable with me but has been starting to bond more with my husband as he's been doing daily walks with her.  What are some signs that she might be ready to start meeting more people?  We've been working on the targeting and "watch me" games which she is getting very quickly.  Are there other games that would help in this regard

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hi there! I hope your holidays were fine. Congrats on your new puppy and thank you rescuing a pup who has had such a rough start.  I am glad to hear that she is warming up with your husband and it seems like she is enjoying the training sessions. 

If she missed out during the critical socialization period which takes place roughly between 3 weeks and 3 months, there are still chances for remedial socialization. Remedial socialization must be done very gradually and carefully. It's important to keep an eye on her body language to ensure she doesn't get stressed.

I would start with some distance work, like going on car rides, sitting with her in the car and feeding treats upon seeing people. This would be the car version of the Look at That Game which uses a window to watch people or dogs walk by https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/university/look-at-that/ Of course, you can do the indoor version at home too if you happen to have somebody working in the yard or volunteer helpers. 

I would aim for a positive conditioned emotional response: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/conditioned-emotional-response-cer/

Once she's doing fine with that, I would put the leash on and get her out of the car and do the same exercise of feeding treats upon spotting people while sticking nearby the car. Again, strive for a positive conditioned emotional response upon spotting people. 

As she does better with that, you or your husband can keep on creating positive associations upon seeing people on walks. There are several exercises you can do on walks that can help form positive associations with seeing people. 

-The “Find It” Game

In this game, as soon as your dog spots a person, grab a handful of small tasty treats and toss them to the ground, saying, "find them!" as you enthusiastically point to them. This should keep your dog busy, provide an alternate behavior for your dog to engage in, and at the same time, create positive associations with people.

-The "Attention Heeling" Game

In attention heeling, your dog must look at you and glance into your eyes while walking. You will need to use your smacking sound and keep a treat at eye level to have your dog glance into your eyes. Once your dog masters this, you can practice cueing the behavior while walking, starting with just one or two steps. I like to practice this off-leash, using a long hallway, and then practice this off-leash in a fenced yard with the dog glancing up at me as I praise and reward the dog.

Progressively, you can increase the duration of the looking-at-you-while-walking behavior by delaying when you provide the treat and then you can start introducing this exercise on walks, practicing with mild distractions first before adding the distraction of people at a distance and then more up close.

- The "Go Around" Game

When working around strong distractions such as other people, dogs etc., it’s important to avoid full-intensity exposures for which your dog hasn’t developed the necessary coping skills yet (in these cases, avoid certain areas or provide distance, such as by performing an emergency U-turn).

However, sometimes life throws surprises at you no matter how much you try to avoid them. In these cases, you may find the "Go Around Game" helpful.

I have used this method with horses who needed to calm down and be distracted. In the horse world, there is a saying, "Straight lines make them go, circles make them slow," and this applies to dogs, too. Ray Lincoln and Emma Lincoln mention about this method in their 2011 book Awesome Puppy: Activities & Training to Make Your Puppy an Awesome Dog where they mention that the walk-in-a-circle method "breaks the chain of thought and distracts him."

In this game, as soon as your dog shows spots a person and you think she may bark, act stressed, you will slide one hand down the leash while the other holds the leash higher and walk in a small circle as your dog is gently guided to do a larger circle around you. At the end of the circle, you praise your dog and reward. This helps reduce your dog's pulling power while also preventing her from rehearsing barking behaviors. As with other trained behaviors, it helps to work on this exercise in a quiet area and work on making the circling behavior fluent.

Here I am "circling" a young English setter who is "reactive" towards other dogs. 

-Working more up close

Once she's doing fine with distance work, you can work more up-close always very gradually. I personally like the treat retreat game for this. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/treat-retreat-game/

It may help to have people ignore your dog initially, until she's ready for getting attention. I would therefore instruct helpers to avoid looking at her, talking to her and trying to loom down to pet her. Once positive associations are formed with people ignoring her, it is possible to very gradually add little things like talking to her and tossing her a treat, looking at her and tossing a treat, getting up from sitting and tossing her a treat etc. 

As always, pay attention to her body language. If at any time you notice signs of discomfort/stress, plan on making whatever stresses her less worrisome (by increasing distance, making the action less scary, feeding a higher value treat). 

I hope this helps, please feel to reach out if you need help on a particular issue or want to post updates. 

Happy Training!

Best

Adrienne 

Disclaimer; If your puppy or dog shows signs of potential aggression (lunging, barking, growling, snapping, biting), please consult with a dog behavior professional for direct in-person guidance. Articles, videos, and general information provided online are not meant to replace in-person training/instruction. By using this service, you are waiving any liability claims or other types of claims related to any of your dogs' behaviors against you or others.