You’ve decided to go for a walk with your best friend back from work so that you both get some exercise and, why not, meet new people. Once you get to the park, however, you have to go home in a hurry because your dog has no intention of making friends, quite the opposite. A similar thing can happen when you have guests at home. How can you make your dog friendlier? In this article we explain it to you.
Tips to help your dog become friendlier and more sociable
Animals are said to resemble their owners, but this rule is not always confirmed. Let’s think about the case in which your idea is to make new friends or to be a good owner, but you run into your dog’s bad mood or unsociable character. If this is your situation, rest assured. There is a solution.
1. Punishment and reward
If you are walking down the street and when another dog approaches your pet suddenly begins to behave aggressively, you must tell them a clear “no”, in a high and serious tone, so that it understands that this is not the right way to behave. Instead, when it interacts without any problem, sniffs and lets himself be smelled, compliment him by giving them some cookies. That way it will know what is good and what is not.
2. Less tight leash
Perhaps your pet is very aggressive and unsociable because you walk them around keeping them too close to you. When the dog feels the leash excessively tight and short, it relates it to a danger or problem, and therefore reacts accordingly. If you hold them that close to you, it won’t have a chance to get close to other dogs and be friendly to them. Remember that you must keep control of the situation and not the animal, but you must not limit its freedom of action too much either.
3. Permission to be sociable
Your pet will act exactly the way it learned and doing what you (wanting or not) taught it. If since it was a puppy you have avoided them interacting with other dogs, it will be more difficult for them to become the life of the party overnight. For this reason you must allow them to get close to other dogs, albeit gradually.
You could perhaps go to the dog areas in the parks and let them free for them to come into contact with the other animals. You will of course observe closely in case he wants to bite, growl or show his teeth. If it’s just an acknowledgment, allow it to continue until you consider it dangerous.
4. A companion even at home
If you have the possibility and the means to adopt another animal (a dog or a cat perhaps), do not hesitate. This way your dog could become friendlier. Many times dogs become unsociable because they are not used to sharing moments with others belonging to their species and for this reason they are reluctant to play with others. At the same time, you are also giving a home to one of the thousands of abandoned or stray dogs.
5. Get it integrated into the party
When we have visitors and the dog is aggressive or hides under the table, we must not allow them to continue with this attitude. What to do then? We could help them introduce them to the guests and convince them not to be afraid. Your task, as the owner of the house and the dog, will be to prevent the animal from biting and barking.
Make it clear that those who have just arrived are friends and that they love them. If it hides under the furniture we can try to give them some time to get used to it, and then call them softly to not scare them and not push them to attack.
6. Socialization lessons to make the dog more friendly
Although it may seem a little strange to you, there are also schools that teach dogs to be friendlier. Classes of this type are offered in community centers, private salons or parks, pet stores and veterinary clinics.
Thanks to them, dogs come into contact with other animals and people, play, have fun and relate the interaction with something positive. Also, it is a perfect opportunity for owners who are shy or who have trouble making friends because they will meet a lot of nice and animal-loving people.
