We must help our dogs learn how to cope and respond, in a healthy and acceptable manner, to new people, animals and places. It is important for all breeds but the most important for bully breed.

By exposing our dogs to different kinds of people, animals and environments, which involves everything from dog obedience classes to vet visits to walks to the park, we can help them develop confidence.

No matter when you adopt your dog, you can apply canine socialization principles to help him or her be a more stable, happy, trustworthy companion.

Socialization does not end at puppy hood. While the foundation for good behavior is laid during the first few months, good owners encourage and reinforce social skills and responsiveness to commands throughout the dog s life.

Veterinarians, dog trainers and other dog professionals urge new puppy owners to take their dogs to puppy classes and to provide other socializing experiences. Although this is excellent advice, a puppy class by 4 months of age or a basic training class at 6 months shouldn t be the end of a dog s social training.

Bring your puppy to the local leash free park and let it meet other dogs and people. Make sure you teach your puppy appropriate behavior. Watch for domination signals and make sure to step in if your dog plays to rough with smaller dogs.

This entry was posted on Friday, October 19th, 2007 at 10:35 pm and is filed under Advice for American Bulldog Owners, American bulldog training. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.