Episode #224 From Social to Socially Savvy: Walking a Dog Who Reads the Room

Is your puppy a social butterfly who wants to greet every dog and human on walks—but not every encounter goes smoothly? In this episode, we dive into the reality of socializing your puppy around neighborhood dogs, especially when some dogs aren’t as friendly or welcoming. You’ll learn how to handle tricky walk-by situations, what to do when other dogs react poorly, and how to help your puppy develop calm, confident social skills. We’ll also share simple training exercises you can do at home to prepare your pup for successful outings. Socialization isn’t just about play—it’s about building a dog who’s socially savvy. Let’s talk about how to do it right.

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction and Topic Overview
• 1:26 Understanding True Socialization
• 2:58 Handling Unfriendly Dog Encounters
• 4:32 The 90-10 Rule for Dog Greetings
• 6:04 Home Training for Better Social Skills
• 8:52 Key Takeaways and Episode Closing

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Today's topic comes from a question sent in on. Sometimes other dogs are not as welcoming to my puppy, who loves to be around other dogs and people. How can I help my puppy be around neighbor dogs and meeting on walks? Let's talk about it, because this is kind of a tricky situation. Welcome to the Puppy Training Podcast. I'm Amy Jensen, founder of Baxter and Bella, the online puppy school. Here we are all about helping you create the best possible experience raising a puppy, from training tips to practical tricks, all aimed at fostering a happy, well-behaved dog who truly feels like part of the family. So if you are ready to enjoy the journey and strengthen the bond with your dog, let's get started. Hi you guys. Thanks for tuning in to the Puppy Training Podcast. I'm so glad you're here. I hope you're having a great week.

Speaker 1: 0:51

Spring is definitely in full swing and we are loving it. Bella wakes up every morning, heads straight out to my backyard, rolls around in the grass, exposes her belly to the sunshine and just lays there. She loves it, so we are definitely enjoying that, even though today we did get a little bit of snow, but it's supposed to melt and the weekend looks sunny again. All right. Today we are talking about those tricky situations when your puppy is super excited to see other people and other dogs, but other dogs or people maybe are not as excited to see them. How do we handle this? So first I want to talk about socialization, because socialization is one of those really important aspects of raising a well-adjusted, confident dog. It's really important, especially during your puppy's early months when they're forming opinions about things around them, the world that they exist in. Right you know. If your puppy naturally loves other dogs and people, that's wonderful, that's great. However, socialization is about more than just exposing them to fun play dates. It's also about teaching our puppy how to behave calmly and respectfully when they are around other kinds of dogs, even those that may not be as friendly in return. So it's easy to think that socialization means let's just let our puppies play freely with all the other dogs, but really it's about exposure with positive associations and appropriate behavior, not necessarily interaction. Okay, that's important to note. In real life, not every dog wants to meet our puppy, and that's okay, and not every dog wants to play with them. Some dogs may be nervous or reactive or simply uninterested. That puppy might be a little high energy for them, because puppies do have a lot of energy Think of little kids and the older the adults get sometimes it's harder for them to handle that childlike energy. So some dogs may be again nervous and anxious about this, and we need to respect that. So helping our puppy learn to observe, to watch and look and coexist calmly around different temperaments is just as important as the playful moments.

Speaker 1: 2:53

All right, let's go through some common scenarios that you might encounter and how to handle them. So, number one, let's say you're walking past a dog that's unfriendly or possibly reactive, barking and lunging towards your dog. Okay, so either this is this dog is just not wanting to interact with your dog Sometimes your neighbor's dog barks or lunges at the end of the leash or your puppy may want to rush over, unsure why that dog is acting that way. Here are a few tips for you. First, let's teach a let's go cue at home. So I'll teach you that in just a second. But let's use a cue that says we're just going to keep walking. So I'll say this as we're walking to just calmly move my dog past the tension. Next, I'm going to reward my dog for checking in with me instead of fixating on the other dog. It helps. As you move away and you create that distance, your puppy will be able to check in with you and they will be able to take a food reward.

Speaker 1: 3:42

If you're too close to the tension, those two things might not happen. So make sure that you're walking away. That distance is an advantage, right? So we can cross the street. We can make a gentle U-turn before getting too close. So be aware of your surroundings and when you see that dog that's not friendly, just U-turn or, you know, cross the street. Let's get out and around them rather than having to confront them. Okay, so practice calm watching from a safe distance. If you're now far enough away, maybe you cross the street. Your puppy can then watch that dog pass and you can reward them as you're doing so or as they are seeing this other dog, and that way they're seeing it more as a. This is okay. I can handle this situation rather than a stressful event.

Speaker 1: 4:26

Another situation you might encounter is your puppy pulls to greet every dog, right, is that your puppy? They just want to go up and say hi to everyone and everything they see. So a sociable puppy might think every walk is party time. But not all dogs want to meet and not all people want to meet and not all greetings are safe. So here's a few tips on this one.

Speaker 1: 4:48

First, I have a 90-10 rule when it comes to walking. 90% of the time, my dog and I are not going up to people and dogs on leash. We are simply seeing them and walking happily past them. It's not party time. It's not time to stop and say hello to everyone. We see, if we do that more often than not, our dog expects that more often than not. So 90% of the time, oh yeah, we see them, that's great, let's go and off. We go in the direction we're heading. And then 10% of the time, yeah, I might see a friend. I need to stop and say hello or talk to them. That's okay, but it's not happening the majority of the time. My dog is not expecting to stop and say hello to everyone. We see that's super helpful.

Speaker 1: 5:27

Next, if you do decide to go up to someone and say hello, make sure leashes stay loose. We don't want to add any tension on the end of those leashes. When we do go up and greet someone, I would also keep a bit of a distance between me and the other person, as well as between the dogs and obviously watch body language. If either dog does not seem friendly, we're not approaching. If a greeting does happen, keep it short, three seconds. Then call your pup back to you. So let them go sniff the other dog, lure them away and back to you. Let them go sniff and back and away again, keeping those leashes loose, so there's not any tension or frustration involved and that brief interaction can keep it positive.

Speaker 1: 6:06

Another situation you may encounter is that the other dog is not interested. So, talking about that body language, you see clearly that the other dog does not want to greet or meet up with you. Maybe they growl, maybe they cower, maybe they try to hide. Sometimes that other dog's body language is very clear stiff posture, turning away or a warning growl and we do not want to get closer to them. So some training tips would be stay calm, don't scold your puppy for trying to be friendly, but use it as a teachable moment. We can use your body to gently block and guide your puppy away and then reward your pup for following you and disengaging easily.

Speaker 1: 6:40

What are some things you can do at home to prepare for these situations? First, you can practice focus and engagement around distractions. I like to teach my dogs a look at me cue. So watch me or look at me. Practice in quiet settings first and then increase the challenge. Maybe we add some television noise or a family member walking by. Maybe toys are being tossed on the ground. Add some difficulty in there and see if you can still get their attention on you. Eventually bring that training outside with mild distractions before trying around other dogs.

Speaker 1: 7:11

Number two would be to build a reliable recall and a let's go cue. So let's go, tells my dog, we're about to move, let's go. It's a casual cue that helps you move your pup away without any pressure. Practice indoors, say let's go, turn and walk and reward your puppy as they follow you. Add this to walks as a way to leave behind something that's exciting or stressful. Number three is we can desensitize our dog to sounds and movement. You can use videos or recordings of barking and dogs playing at low volumes during mealtimes or playtime to help create neutral to positive associations for your pup. We can set up safe short practice sessions with a calm or neutral dog. So find a neighbor's dog or a friend's dog that you could interact with and you can use a baby gate or use, you know, a fence between the dogs initially, to introduce them and practice some of these behaviors that you've been working on.

Speaker 1: 8:04

Number four is you can teach a check-in behavior. Reward your puppy every time they voluntarily look back at you on a walk. So you're not even cuing them to look at you, but if they check in with you, reward that. This builds a habit of checking in with you before reacting to other dogs or distractions. Your outgoing pup has a great headstart, but life will bring all kinds of dog-to-dog encounters. Some will be friendly, some will be neutral and some will be unfriendly. Teaching your puppy that not every dog is a playmate and that you are their safe, fun leader in all situations will give them the confidence and control to navigate this tricky world with a little bit of grace. Now the goal isn't just a social puppy, it's a socially savvy one. We want to help your puppy be educated on how to greet dogs or not greet dogs in certain situations.

Speaker 1: 8:50

Thanks for tuning in today, you guys. I hope you learned a new tip today that will be helpful to you on your walks. Have a great week and happy training. Thanks for tuning in to the puppy training podcast. I hope today's tips help you feel more confident and excited about raising your dog. Remember, with a little patience and consistency, you can create a loving bond and a well-behaved pup who's a joy to have in your family. A loving bond and a well-behaved pup who's a joy to have in your family. If you found this episode helpful, be sure to subscribe, leave a review and share it with fellow puppy parents. For more resources, visit Baxter and Bella online. Until next time, happy training.