Socialization E-Book

Kim Campbell Thornton

• Herausgeber: CompanionHouse Books
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Serie: Simple Solutions Series
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 21

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2013

Beschreibung

As author Kim Campbell Thornton begins this Simple Solutions guide, "Dogs are known as man's best friend, but they don't come ready-made to take on this role." Socialization unlocks the key to the human-dog bond and explains how well-mannered, well-adjusted dogs are made (not born). A term used by canine behaviorists and trainers, socialization is a fancy five-syllable word for "getting friendly," which doesn't come naturally to all dogs. This handy little book begins with a discussion of puppy life stages, showing how puppies developmentally mature and what their ever-changing needs are. New puppy buyers must be aware of the importance of the breeder's role in socializing a litter of puppies, a critical process of introducing each pup to people, other dogs, and common everyday noises, during its critical developmental stages. Puppies raised without socialization (typically in a commercial breeding establishment, sometimes called a puppy mill) have a decided disadvantage and may never develop into normal, well-adjusted dogs. The book gives the new dog owner advice about planning social outings for the puppy so that he has "People to Meet, Places to Go," ever expanding his social graces and comfort level with strangers and the not-so-scary-after-all unknown. The author also provides excellent guidance on introducing a dog to a new baby as well as introducing an adopted dog into an established multipet household.

Leseprobe

Karla Austin, Business Operations Manager

Nick Clemente, Special Consultant

Kendra Strey, Project Editor

Honey Winters, Design

Cover and book design concept by Michael V. Capozzi

Copyright © 2006 by I-5 Press™

Illustrations copyright © 2006 by Buck Jones

The dogs in this book are referred to as he and she in alternating chapters.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of I-5 Press™, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in an acknowledged review.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Thornton, Kim Campbell.

Socialization / by Kim Campbell Thornton ; illustrations by Buck Jones.

p. cm. — (Simple solutions)

ISBN 1-931993-78-5

eISBN 978-1-620080-77-1

1. Dogs—Training. 2. Dogs—Social aspects. I. Title. II. Series: Simple solutions (Irvine, Calif.)

SF431.T5346 2006

636.7088'7—dc22

2006002804

I-5 Press™

A Division of I-5 Publishing, LLC™

3 Burroughs

Irvine, California 92618

Printed and bound in Singapore

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Contents

What Is Socialization?

Puppy Life Stages

The Breeder’s Role

Picking a Well-Socialized Puppy

People to Meet, Places to Go

Meeting Other Animals

The Routine Life

Your Dog and a New Baby

Introducing Adopted Dogs to a Multipet House

Conclusion

What Is Socialization?

Dogs are known as man’s best friend, but they don’t come ready-made to take on this role. If they’re to become accustomed to life with people, dogs need to be exposed to people’s touch, sight, and sounds; this begins with proper socialization at birth. Socialization is the process of training a dog to live in a social environment—one that includes people, other dogs, and other animals such as cats or horses. Dogs are naturally social animals. Wild dogs live in packs that are similar to human families: they have a male leader (alpha male), a female leader (alpha female), and other pack members who fall under the alphas in the hierarchy. Alphas lead hunts, produce offspring, and decide where the pack lives.