Why Socialize My Dog??

Being the owner of a new doggy daycare, I have met many dog owners and enthusiasts lately who run the gammet on whether doggy daycare is worth their time and money. I did not open this business based on a whim, and I truly believe in the doggy daycare concept and, even more importantly, the need for socialization in animals.

I had done a great deal of research on the topic of socialization before opening A Dog's Dream, and it seems relatively obvious to me all of the benefits that come along with sending your dog to daycare. It has been brought to my attention recently, however, that these benefits are not well known amongst dog owners.

When most dog owners buy or adopt a puppy, they do a lot of reading and are often told how important it is to socialize their puppy with new people and other dogs. Some believe the "formative weeks" of development last through 12 weeks. And new puppy owners are typically very diligent about bringing their puppies to puppy class or bringing them around new people often. The socialization during the "formative weeks" does not last a lifetime, though.

There are many things that can cause dogs to become agressive or extremely passive later in life. Among these reasons is the lack of continuous socialization with new people and new dogs. Although dogs and people have some very different behaviors, we may be relatively similar in this sense. Imagine what a human might feel or how he might react if he had not had any real contact with new people for months on end- only interacting with the same few people each day. You might guess that living this way would cause a human to go slightly insane and react in quite a strange way when coming into contact with someone new after a great length of time. The same is quite true in dogs; however, they need constant socialization with each other and new people in order to maintain some sanity.

Doggy daycare may not be for everyone, I understand that. But for the sake of your dog, please seek the appropriate means of socialization for your dog whether it be taking frequent walks around town, attending playgroups, doggy daycare, or taking trips to the dog park. I promise your dog will be much happier and will thank you for it!