Socializing: Where Did You Go?

Lizmo

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#1
Where did you take your dog/pup?

Little shops in town? Wal-Mart? Grocery Store? Did you ask the manager before going in with your dog? Did they let you?

Did you have a problem with kids/adults running up and not asking to pet your dog? How did you overcome that?
 

vanillasugar

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#2
I currently take Sierra pretty much everywhere. The bonus advantage I have over most is she gets to come to work with me, where she interacts with people, kids, other dogs, and gets an experience of noises, smells, etc.

Whenever I'm going somewhere I'm sure she is allowed in (when I'm going to school for any reason other than class, when I'm picking Matt up at the college, the hardware store, etc I bring her. Not to mention our walks are always downtown with lots of people and distractions around.

I've had a few people pet her without asking, but only a few who I couldn't fend off before hand with a "She's actually in training right now, please don't pet her." (I don't mind people petting her, but I hate rude people who just assume, so they don't get to touch her lol)
 

AgilityPup

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#3
I am going to have to watch this thread... Seeing as I've got a pup to socialize now..

I took Zoey to agility classes, and since that was dog people ,they didn't just pet her, they asked, and they only pat her outside of the agility ring.
 

darkchild16

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#4
Everywhere that I could I'm lucky to live in a very dog friendly town with lots of outdoor events like Art Shows and Dog activity days, all kinds of intresting stuff. Plus all of downtown dunedin will let a dog in the store as long as they are well behaved adn they dont sell food. Plus we took him to Petsmart every weekend with our foster greyhounds to meet and greets and we fostered greyhounds. He also went to all my hockey games and practices.

And yes I do. I actually had a problem with it today. The only kids I didnt care about were the hockey kids and thats because he knew them and they knew him. He was basically off leash or running free the whole time because there were only 4 teams in the league (always played the same people) and everyone loved him and him them. But if i dont know the person i put him behind me and tell them to please not touch my dog and if they precede I tell them if he bites I will not be held responsible since there are witnesses that they ran up on him after I asked them not to.
 
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#5
I take her to Petsmart/the quiet park, where no people are at, but TONS of scents are at, (distraction training there!) (people are mainly there when softball/baseball is going on) and Rickers, but she stayed in the car. Thats all I take her. And yes, I have had trouble with people not asking me to pet her, but kids didn't seeing how entergetic she was!! :p Energy is a plus sometimes!!! :) Hershey we took him to puppy classes, and I took him to the school petting zoo, he did awesome! All but the pigs. LOL and the chicken. And to get his CGC!!!!! He is very gentle with the kiddies.
 

shazbot

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#6
I have 3 but have only had 2 since they were 8wks and 7wks (from the spca). I lived in VA when I got them so I took them to Colonial Williamsburg all the time. The people in the different shops kept doggie treats with them so it was perfect. There was always a ton of people there. Even parades depending on the time of day. I took them to softball games all the time. There were always people there with other dogs for them to play with also.
 

Toller_08

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#7
Everywhere. Dance has gone to various really busy parks, transit systems, downtown, outside of Wal-Mart and other busy stores (can't go in), dog shows, dog & puppy classes, pet stores, other peoples' homes, a farm, etc. She goes pretty much anywhere and everywhere with me.

I didn't have a big issue with people touching her without asking up until a month or so ago, mostly because most people thought she was ugly as a young puppy (which made socializing with people really hard), but now that she's older (and prettier) it's become more of an issue. I usually just try to stop them and tell them either "yes, you can pet her" or "no, I'd rather you not pet her" and then I explain to them how to go about it if I wanted them to pet her. She's pretty shy and thinks it's rather rude of strangers to touch her without having a chance getting to know them first, so really doesn't appreciate somebody just bending down over her and touching her. Sometimes people touch her without asking because I didn't notice for whatever reason and didn't get a chance to intervene. Afterward I tell them the proper way to approach a dog and how I don't appreciate what they just did (in a nice way). In a way though I don't mind, because she does need to get used to ignorant people as well as people who are going to be a little more rough than gentle while touching her.


*sigh*, even with all of that she's still quite skittish and shy with people though. Slowly we're overcoming that, but I think she'll probably always be like this.
 

adojrts

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#8
I take them to agility trials when I am competing, lessons that I take and also to classes that I teach. Petstores, the bank, hardware stores, farm supply stores etc. Baseball etc that our son is in. Our son's school, right into the class and often with a stop at other classes.
I often take young puppies to the post office and weigh them on their scales, safer than taking them to the vets for a weighing.
 

Brattina88

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#9
I took Maddie a ton of places - petsmart or the local owned stores, and other pet stores at least once a week. I also took her to stores like TSC and Lowes, and many many parks. A couple farms. I didn't limit myself to these stores in town, every time I went out of town to visit relatives Maddie came with me. New parks, new stores, new houses, new people, etc. I took her to a friends house because she had a pet rabbit :eek: She also went (and we continue to go to a lot of these places) out to eat with me with restaurants that had outdoor seating (always asked before) and drive thrus; fast food, banks, etc


I still have a problem with kids running up to my dogs... I think almost everyone does. Maddie was afraid/skittish with kids for a very long time. Actually, I am just now becoming comfortable that she will be okay with children in just about any situation. I had to learn to be very blunt, and sometimes very loud (probs speaking up) -- basically had to take control of the situation. I used to be waaaay too shy to do anything like that (with people, could take control of a room full of dogs haha) but now I don't have that problem.
I used to make my friends go with me places and they would back me up when I said something to the kid's parents. The parents really irritate me because they should be watching their children! :mad:
If its just one kid, and its simply a lack of knowledge, I know how to talk to children. That's my job :lol:
 

noludoru

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#10
Didn't have him as a puppy, but I take him into town and we hang out in quiet places and watch the traffic for the first few visit. Once he got used to fast-moving, scary cars and knew they were normal and safe, we got a bit closer, slowly getting into more populated areas. We took him to the ice-cream place and tied him to the tables on a short lead while we had ice cream, and he got to share my cone with me and meet the dogs there briefly and have many little children petting and coddling him. He pretty much takes anything from a small child.. they can fall on top of him and he doesn't seem too perturbed. It's when they get bigger that leaning over him starts to bug him, though once he's comfortable he's still very laid back and will take all manner of harassment and tormenting. (One kid was trying to pull his ears off for souvenirs, I think, and he acted like he was enjoying it. O.O I would have bitten that kid's hands off. It's very clear that my dog is nicer than me.) I have only taken him into petsmart once... very recently.. when they weren't busy with a belly band. He was pretty darn good, only tried to mark three things--I got him in time for the first two, but the second got his band wet. Not that I blame him, it was fresh pee from a little leg lifter on a carpet covered cat tree. :mad:

I do not take him inside any other stores than petsmart, though. I don't always have a belly band on me and even if I do most proprietors would NOT like to even see him lift a leg on their merchandise. Besides, he drools, tries to jump on things, and leaves clouds of hair behind him wherever he goes.. can't imagine that being appreciated!

I'm still not at a point with him where I will feel comfortable having him in crowds, however. I'm really afraid he'll act out, lol.
 

Lizmo

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#12
I know of many places, I'm just not sure if a dog would be allowed there? So I assume everyone that says "I take my dob everywhere" you just bring the dog in? (assuming of course it's well mannered, ect)
 

showpug

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#13
I know of many places, I'm just not sure if a dog would be allowed there? So I assume everyone that says "I take my dob everywhere" you just bring the dog in? (assuming of course it's well mannered, ect)
There are very few stores that allow dogs inside. You could try Home Depot. Their door says "no dogs allowed" but people take their dogs in non-stop and no one seems to have an issue...
 

Whisper

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#15
I take Millie almost everywhere, every place I can obviously because she's in training as my service dog.

One place I don't take her is horse therapy, because I can't work with the horses and her. She's great with horses but I would think it would be inappropriate and useless to either of us to leave her somewhere and then go to the arena.

She's prettydamnreliable, but I still take things very slowly with her and try to judge what kind of stresses there will be in a place and how long we'll be there, what places we'll be afterwards, etc. My mom says I underestimate her, but I just don't want to mess up doing this.

She's gone to the grocery store, department stores, the mall, the theater, the bookstore, people's homes, doctor's appointments, therapy appointments, the insurance company, pet stores, a school, and lots more places.

Yes, I still have problems with people wanting to pet her. I usually intercept them and say "Please don't pet her, she's working and needs to focus." Sometimes when people ask I put her in a sit- or down-stay and let them. I have problems with adults and I can always count on when going into a busy store that there's at least one small child screaming to their parents about the puppy. Luckily Millie is very good and just leans into me and I take her away from there.

The only time I ask for permission is when in a private home. Sometimes I won't go or will wait until a different time if I can't take her. One exception was when visiting a friend's mom in hospice care.

I take Lucy everywhere I can, to private homes, pet stores, and other places dogs are allowed. Incidentally, I'm taking care of the animals of 4 different households and I take them along with me when I do my jobs, excluding when I'm lunging the horses.

While I'm not as adamant about petting as I understandably am with Millie, Lucy gets distracted much more easily. I try to let people pet her as much as possible when I'm not trying to do something in particular with her. She loves petting and when I take her out people stop me constantly.
 
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#16
I'd like to say everywhere, but probably should have tried harder with loud areas..
We'd been to senior homes, school yards, busy parks, I took him to parties with me (and I mean PARTIES), work, many outdoor events with loads of dogs and people, flea markets, we've been to countless random areas like lakes, beaches, forests, and so on.. been to many friends houses, 4 different vet offices, in a restaurant.. and so on. He'd meet new people daily.
I was never able to get him to bus loops or train stations because he was deathly afraid of loud foreign noises right from the get go and any sign of those sounds would send him into spaz mode. Slowly working on that. I work right next to a train track and he comes to work with me 5 days a week and he's STILL afraid of trains.

*sigh*, even with all of that she's still quite skittish and shy with people though. Slowly we're overcoming that, but I think she'll probably always be like this.
I thought I was the only one. I've been almost ashamed to post about it for advice because I was thinking I didn't do enough socializing with Pit.. He's very skittish around people despite my efforts, especially kids, which I find very strange because there are so many kids where I live and all summer long he'd play with them every day. I live right next to a big park and we'd visit the kids, sometimes they'd come to my door to ask to play with him, sometimes I'd go visit the children with Pit. He was bonkers about kids up until about a month ago where he just literally all of the sudden changed opinions of them. We were in puppy socialization class (of all things) and a child was sitting on a sofa. Halfway through the class he looked at the child, raised his hackles, cowered behind me and started barking. Since then he's done that to about half the children we see. The other half he acts as though he's got no issues with them. :(
 

Whisper

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#17
I had worse problems with people wanting to pet when I was out with Millie today.
Once I was bending over Millie, getting my money out of her vest and all of a sudden there's a hand right on her, under me, and some lady's face right up in mine saying "Nice dog!"
She scared the freakin' bejeezus out of me.
Millie came to a doctor's appointment, the mall, Borders, the grocery store, and Walgreens with me today.
I'm lucky I didn't lose 20 bucks when didn't notice I dopped it because she picked it up for me. She got a lot of laughs when she was trotting out the door with a bunch of money in in her mouth. :p
 

Lilavati

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#18
PetSmart and other pet stores, parks, and Mt. Vernon (George Washingon's estate) which allows dogs every where but in the mansion. Its a great place to meet a variety of people, because its a tourist attraction . . . and for some reason people are well behaved there. The staff is really nice to . . they keep water bowls for dogs (General Washington would have approved) and tried to recruit Sarama to chase the geese of the lawn.
 

PoodleMommy

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#19
Go as many places as possible... Elle and Bella only went to the normal places that dogs can go like PetSmart and outdoor events... but I got Armani since I moved to the city and here dogs are ALLOWED everywhere (as in the workers actually say they are allowed... no flaming thank you)... so he has been in the bookstores, department stores, outdoor cafes, along with the normal parks and stuff... he is the most well adjusted dog I have ever had... he can walk right past a great dane and barely lift an ear... since he is a puppy people still tend to excite him as he isnt sure if there may be some loving for him, lol... but if I call him back he comes... Im working on training him off leash now in my apartment complex, he goes to the garbage and laundry rooms with me and I make him follow me... its going great.

So anyway... just go as many different places as you can possibly think of as soon as possible... I started taking him from 10 weeks and just carrying him around so he could see things but not be exposed to too much risk.

Good Luck.

ELissa
 

Whisper

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#20
-off topic alert-
I didn't know you had a new pup, Elissa! Pics? ;)
 

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