How do I socialize-When people won't pet her !!

I am trying to socialize my nine week old APBT. But it seems every time I take her out I get negative reactions !! People are so ignorant!! They won't even give her a chance !! And she's just a puppy. Surely she can sense their fear of her- won't this do more harm than good for her ?? How will she learn to trust people outside her usual circle?? Mind you not ALL people are this way, but thier seem to be so many !! I just want to rant at them about all her attributes, but I don't want her to sense that mommy is upset. So where do I go from here ? How would you deal with this situation ?

 

Thats terrible....I can imagine how frustrating this must be for you. I am suprised that they are afraid even though she is just a tiny puppy. :? Do you have friends or family that you could socialize her with? Are there any puppy socialization classes in your area? If so, she would get to meet lots of people and other dogs. Best of luck.

 

I do have family and friends, but she sees them so much they are the norm to her. Most people come up to us gushing only to back off when I mention her breed. I haven't ever heard of classes for socialization.

Hmmmmm.....

 

There are various trainers in my area that offer these for puppies as well as adult dogs. I took Natalie to the adult group last year and plan to take her again this year....she seemed to really enjoy herself.

 

I'm new to posting on this board but have been lurking for over two months. Figured it was time to come out of the shadows. Anyways, I have a 4 1/2 month old APBT named "Rocko" and I take him to a local fleamarket. Everytime I have taken him he gets pets and compliments from people. He enjoys himself and I don't see near as many snooty people here as I do at the local PetSmart.

 

If you want, you're more than welcome to bring your pup down to Chattanooga. I have 3 adult ABPTs (all great with pups) and 3 pups (born 12/16/03, 01/07/04, and 01/16/04). It would be good socialization for my pups also. As for socializing her with other people - just overlook the jerks out there. With my oldest pup, when I'm out walking him, if he starts to pull towards someone I just ask them if they mind if he says hi. So far, no one has turned me down. I'm really surprised that people are afraid of a 9 week old puppy. Feel free to email me if you'd like to set up a 'play date'. redsnowflake@comcast.net

 

why cant all you people live in auckland new zealand LOL... you guys seem to have lots of fun socialising with ya dogs and other owners, i envy you all... My dog does have a fear or being around more than just 1 dog, after the attack, he doesnt trust pairs... need to fix the problem really, along with his attitude when hes in the car :O

 

Socialization is simply taking your dog out and exposing them to new situations, they don't necessarily have to be petted by people (though it's great if you can get people to pet them, as its a positive association for the dog). With a young pup, you do want to get them intoactual contact with as many pleasant people as possible, but as long as you have them out amongst people, and have them in contact with some strangers, the pup should develop fine. Its also not a bad time to start teaching her to mind her manners when someone doesn't want to pet her, so you won't end up with a 50 lb dog that strains on the leash and whines in disbelief when someone ignores her as you walk her by them :wink: . This can be done with positive methods, calmly tell her "no visit" or "leave it", and distract her with a treat/toy, then reward either by giving the treat or playing a little game. You might try getting her out to places where there are lots of people, that way, even if only a low percentage of people pay attention to her, it'll still be more than in a normal situation. I try to take Haley (the pseudo-attention starved little freak mentioned above as not believeing people who don't "visit" with her) to the school to pick up my nephews at least once a week, get out and walk up near the building to wait for them. Once the school lets out, kids (and parents) flock to her, and I've only gotten a few minorly bad reactions, the majority of the people there have been very friendly towards her. If you have kids (or know someone with kids), you could do that, if not, maybe take her up there just to play, then walk past the school about the time it lets out (I don't know about in other areas, but the schools around here are pretty small, and don't much like people standing around who aren't there for a kid, not that I blame them with some people today), and hope to run into some kids. Little league season is here, if you have any of that nearby, its great socialization for them, people, noise, movement, etc... and you might find some people for her to "meet" there as well. Places like petsmart, petco, etc are also usually decent, though there will always be individuals who will look down on your and your dog for what she is.

 

Let them gush before you tell them what kind of pup he is... He'll at least get that initial mauling wich is important...

Speaking of... I too HJ to the petco on Saturday...we met a nice lady (not that bright) and she raved about HJ...went on and on...her daughter then appeared and she had a young son...who immediately began "mauling" Hunnyjade (she's never really been around kids) but she took it all in stride being more curious about what the kid had on his face than that the kid had his arms around her neck... She didn't even scramble to get away! I was a proud momma!

You can always take the pup to Wal-mart and sit outside...enough people coming and going to do the job. Also...it's mostly exposure that's the key...whether or not people pet and ogle...is just a perk.

 

Thank you for the info. I thought the touchy feely part was the most important part , but just exposing her to people will work also!!Awesome! I will start taking her out all the time! The school and Walmart ideas are awesome-GOD knows I spend enough time at both anyway !! Two birds with one stone and all that. Our flea market has a you have to carry your dog rule-or I would have loved to take her there too(she's getting a tad too portly to carry for very long !!) I'm learnin'!!

...Now if I could only convince her to love her leash-SIGH...