Dog Health Questions: Ways I can get my dog to interact with other dogs??

I was thinking of Dog training but I'm having a very difficult time finding a good school (I live in LA) I was thinking of going to my neighborhood petsmart, I passed by there training classes, and the people seemed to be having fun and the dogs did too. but everything the dog trainer was saying I already knew. I can train my dog myself. He is just lacking in one thing... Interaction with other dogs, he gets fine with his other two dog room mates. but I just want him to be calm around other dogs.... should I take him to dog parks???

Dog Training - Most Common Mistakes While Training Your Dog

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One big reason many people enroll their pets in dog training classes is the need to socialize the dog to behave well around strangers and other dogs, and to interact in a well developed way. The training of any dog is ultimately the responsibility of the pet owner, even when the dog participates in a formal class.

A lot of dog socialization issues relate to puppyhood. Ideally, a young pup leaves his or her birth "litter" at seven to eight weeks of age. Most experts agree that this is an acceptable age to separate the pup from the mother and that the young dog is at a point when he or she will integrate comfortably into the new human family and permanent home at that stage of development.

Puppies who remain longer than eight weeks with the birth litter often associate well with other dogs, but sometimes experience disruption in their contacts with humans-- people are often strange or unfamiliar to them, especially if the mother's family members did not spend a lot of time interacting with the puppies. By contrast, a puppy separated from the birth litter and taken to a human family before the age of seven weeks may tend to miss canine interactions which most dogs receive as they grow and develop. Young puppies play together in the litter and they learn how to communicate with other dogs during this formative period.

In real life, and not ideal terms, puppies often leave the birth litter for a human home or a shelter environment a few weeks before or long after seven to eight weeks of age. In those cases especially, formal dog classes involving a number of dogs and their handlers may be very important in assisting a dog to develop and improve socialization skills.

Dog parks sometimes offer a way to permit a dog to interact socially with other dogs, but they can be a potentially dangerous environment if a dog is not already well socialized and/or under the direct voice control of a handler. In order to obtain voice control of a pet, a handler must participate in a very extensive obedience training program with the dog (usually years, not simply a few weeks, in duration). Voice control is defined as the dog obeying every single command of the owner when off leash 100% of the time and most pet owners never achieve that level of control.

Many people take their pets to dog parks specifically to allow the pet to exercise off leash. It can be critically important in a dog park environment to remember that: (1) not all dogs there will be well socialized, (2) some will possibly have bad habits (running away or becoming aggressive with other dogs or people) ,(3) not every dog park restricts small dogs to one enclosed area and large dogs to another and (4) dogs in groups will frequently behave differently than dogs as individuals.

I think you are very wise to obedience train your pet because this process will greatly assist your pet throughout his life. If he requires socialization skill improvement, there is really no substitute for an organized dog obedience group class in my opinion. You can teach your pet obedience commands one-on-one, but socialization is a group process and group dog classes permit a pet to learn to obey your commands in the presence of other, potentially distractive dogs in an environment in which everyone is focused upon socializing one another's pets.

Good luck with your dog training, and best wishes!

Which One of These Four Dog Training Mistakes are You Making?

• I teach dog training - but still take my puppies to puppy and beginner classes.
  Just because a human has a parent that could teach them all of the factual knowledge at home doesn't mean that "home schooling" is the best alternative because of the need to develop social skills. IF you don't take your pup to classes then you have to work very had at finding socialization options for your pup. Good day care programs/ nursery schools can be excellent for child development - puppy kindergarten can be excellent for puppy development.


• It depends on how the parks are in your area. Near me, dog parks are full of lazy people who let their dog off the leash and chat with their friends while sitting on benches. My dogs tended to get rushed at by a group of dogs, then picked on.
  
  Edit: Sorry, I changed my mind on recommending what to do. It's better to just not let your dog pick up on others' bad habits.
  
  Maybe you could find some friends who have dogs and get together for walks and doggy play-dates. Start smaller, with people that you know and trust with their dogs. A friend of mine lives in San Francisco - she has some dog-hiking group that they participate in. She also does dog yoga.


• i'd say best way for that is to go to a dog park or a dog beach maybe but keep him on the leash until you can trust your dog around other dogs i'm pretty sure if you go to a dog park there are other people holding their dogs on leashes just go over to them and see what happens you can't make your dog like other dogs its just them being them if your dog enjoys other dogs then you youll be fine but if he doesn't you will know almost instantly i'm pretty sure of it but any signs of aggression just squirt him tell him no and go from there.


• I've seen far too many dog fights break out in dog parks to ever trust them. Too many people bring their poorly trained, under exercised, poorly socialized animals to "let off some steam" while the owner takes advantage of the "time off" to read a book or chatter.
  
  This is NOT a good option for socialization, ever, period, and your dog will NOT "learn to be calm around other dogs" when he's running around like a maniac playing with them.
  
  Look around your area for a small, experienced doggy daycare center. A place that has EXPERIENCE placing groups of dogs together in controlled surroundings. Visit a few and choose the one with the most experienced employees. Notice i keep saying "experienced"? Yeah, that's important - experience will be what helps socialize your dog.
  
  Keeping him calm on walks or outings is all going to boil down to training, though. Training him to keep focus on you, training him to know that barking or bouncing isn't appropriate, things like that. Regular socialization in proper settings will teach him proper boundaries and interactions, but he will still need training elsewhere to keep him calm.