24/10/2025
DON’T FORCE ME TO BE SOCIAL!
It may be really disappointing or frustrating when our dogs are not the social beings we expected them to be.
Many people assume dogs should just naturally get along with other dogs, after all they’re the same species.
Some believe the “unsociable” dog has a behaviour problem that needs to be “fixed”.
Early, appropriately timed and proper socialisation is really important, but sometimes despite all of this, some dogs are just not that sociable or socially selective to varying degrees.
Sometimes this can be improved, especially if the cause is from a negative experience, but genetics, breed tendencies, individual personalities, health and age all contribute to tolerance and sociability, which also change throughout a dog’s lifetime.
If we, as a human species, don’t get along with everyone we meet, how can we expect our dogs to?
Do we label or try to fix every person that has an argument; doesn’t make friends with everyone they meet, dislikes some people, or just prefers not to be social as having a problem that needs to be fixed?
Why is it so easy to accept that every individual person is different than to accept that every individual dog is different?
When we have done what we can to improve our dogs’ social skills, we need to accept and acknowledge our dogs for the individuals they are, allow and respect their choice of whether to be sociable or not and never force interactions that dogs are not comfortable with.
