Al Curbow and Dennis Jones -- both known for packing the whole answer into as few as two words (sometimes one!) ... lol

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

Al Curbow and Dennis Jones -- both known for packing the whole answer into as few as two words (sometimes one!) ... lol

They'll be answering in grunts ( ala Tim Allen's form of humor ) soon......

Hey, I wrote four whole sentences on my last post

Jasmine, Socialization doesn't mean everyone petting your pup. It means exposure to as much as possible (environmental) & including people. That doesn't mean everyone petting them. I don't allow my dogs to socialize with other dogs, however. I took both my pups out & let people very occasionally feed them treats as very young pups.(9- 12 weeks old)Actually, most of these were kids of all ages, with parental approval. I don't have young kids in my family & wanted my dogs comfortable with the quick, erratic movements that kids make. But not after that. When people would ask to pet my pup, I just would say, no, I don't let people pet my dog. Both my dogs went everywhere with me as pups (my dogs still do most of the time) banks, stores, walks in public places, the beach, school fields etc. They would be in closed proximity to people all the time. Both dogs have grown up to be confident & fiendly dogs without looking to people to pet or feed them treats. In fact they completely ignore people when walking or out on the fields were I take to run & train them. People are playing foot ball, base ball, soccer, hitting golf balls etc on the fields within 10 ft or less away from them. They could care less. They watch them & are not anti-social but don't approach them or look to them for anything. Their eyes are on me. They won't even approach someone if they come over to speak with me. They will just stand there or laydown & wait for me to return my attention to them. In my home they are social & enjoy the company of visitors. They will say hello & then go lay down. The point is, in public they ignore people. My male is more aloof then my female. Even if I take them to a friends home, they won't interact unless I tell them that it is ok & to say hello.

Edited to say, if you need to discourage public interaction that you do not wish to have as an older dog, that can be fixed with training at that time like Al said. I do think that some breeds are more interested in interaction with people then others. I have GSDs.

 Quote: Dennis Jones

Hey, I wrote four whole sentences on my last post

How you do run on.....

Al's right.

Here's a thought to ponder. If you want the dog to be less focused on others, what are you doing to make the pup want to focus on YOU? YOU need to be super fun and BE more exciting than anyone else. Training is great, and the fun will just reinforce it.

While on a walk, if the pup looks over at the stranger, you ask for attention (or sit or what ever) and the pup gives it, you reward should be so awesome that the puppy completely forgets that there is someone standing there. I still do it with my four year old...