Trainer Tells Doggo Owner Not To Socialize Dog, Perplexed Dog Owner Seeks Advice

Adopting a doggo is no easy task! It's a big a$$ commitment and you better be prepared for it. Many doggo owners rely on trainers to help get their dogs in tippy-top behavioral shape, especially during the first year or two of the doggo's life, or life with its new family. Dog trainers all over the place have very different and unique methods, and it's important that the doggo owners feel aligned with the trainer's method of instruction. 

however, this is not always the case. Some trainers are so ridiculous in their practice that doggo owners cannot help but roll their eyes. Such is the case for the original poster of this interesting Reddit thread. Reddit users from near and far east and west poured in to offer their own two cents, and such the thread grows and grows. Now it's time for OP to make an important decision about the future of his or her dog's training. 

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  • 01
    Font - Posted by u/JakobiiKenobii 6 days ago Our trainer is against socializing dogs. Thoughts?
    Via JakobiiKenobii
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  • 02
    Font - We've had our dog in training since last July (she just turned 1 this month), and the trainer is great and all, but there are some things he "teaches us" that really bothers me and I just kind of say "yeah ok" but don't actually believe in it; for example, he says dogs don't love you because they're binary beings and love isn't in their nature. huh???

    Okay, we are left feeling like we have a collection of question marks floating above our heads. How could any dog trainer say that dogs do not love their humans? When we dog owners experience firsthand that our doggos do indeed love us, they show it in their own special canine ways.  

    Via JakobiiKenobii
  • 03
    Font - He's also very against socializing your dogs, like I get it if you're against dog parks and explain why it's not a proper way to socialize your dog, but he doesn't want ANY interaction with ANY other dog other than its "pack." our dog's pack consists of three dogs (from both our families), who she only gets to see MAYBE a couple of times a month. Right now we're really struggling to get her to not get so overly excited/react when she sees another dog, and I may be wrong, but wouldn't the

    "He's also very against socializing your dogs, like I get it if you're against dog parks and explain why it's not a proper way to socialize your dog, but he doesn't want ANY interaction with ANY other dog other than its 'pack'."

    Okay, so here's where we have a problem (one of many). Doggos may not NEED any interaction with beings outside of their pack, but who are we to deny our doggos the simple pleasure of playing in a dog park? Nope, it's a big ole no from us on this one. 

    Via JakobiiKenobii
  • 04
    Font - Yesterday, I told him about how our dog interacted with a lost dog we found on the street, and how I noticed she doesn't let other dogs "sniff her butt" but she does sniff the other dog. He answered me with "If another person walked up to you and sniffed your butt, would you be ok with that?!?" and I was like, "right... but that's how dog's gather information about each other...?" and he went on about how dogs don't need to do that, and in fact shouldn't even be interacting with each othe
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  • 05
    Font - TL;DR: Our dog trainer doesn't believe in socializing your dog with any other dogs other than its "immediate pack" even if your dog may only ever see its pack once or twice a month. This also includes ANY interaction with any other dog (like just saying hi and what not).
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  • 06
    Font - What experience have you guys had regarding trainers and their beliefs? or your own experience with how you socialize your dogs? Just wanted to hear some thoughts about this (: EDIT: I don't want my dog to greet every dog it sees, sorry if that came off that way. I understand the part about not letting my dog interact with just other random dogs. 112 Comments •..
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  • 07
    Font - waywardwhippet · 6 days ago Why is he comparing your feelings to a dogs (regarding butt sniffing) when he thinks dogs lack the emotional range that we have? (The answer being: your trainer needs to focus on learning a little more before he starts practicing/teaching others). I would get a new trainer personally. You may have to change multiple trainers until you find one that works for your particular dog.
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  • 08
    Font - ASleepandAForgetting · 6 days ago 6 y/o Great Dane Your trained sounds a little... batshit, to put it bluntly. Also am worried that he subscribes to the whole dominance/pack theory. Most science-based trainers avoid using the term "pack" because of how loaded it is, and because it's not an accurate representation of canine social dynamics. That being said, I think I'm on the extreme end of what I'd consider "reasonable" socializing. My dog isn't allowed to greet other dogs on leash, ever.
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  • 09
    Font - constant_craving · 6 days ago · edited 6 days ago Willow: German Shepherd mix Every dog needs proper socialization. (Though socialization is not the same as interactions, and there are some valid reasons to not let dogs on leash to meet.) Your trainer's use of the term "pack" makes me think he might be using dominance theory to guide his training. If that's the case, I'd find a new trainer who isn't so wildly out of date on his training.
    Via constant_craving
  • 10
    Font - Heysandyitspete · 6 days ago My goal in socialization is to have a dog that is neutral around all other dogs and people. So many people think socialization is teaching a dog to play nicely and interact nicely with everyone and everything and that's simply not true. You want to give them the exposure so that they're not scared or reactive when they see people and things that are part of living in the human world. Not all dogs enjoy interacting with strange dogs and people, and that's fine
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  • 11
    Font - not4u2no · 6 days ago Excellent post. I have a friend who is a trainer and the best advice she gave me was to introduce my puppy to everything that I could, men with hats, women on bicycles, fat people, thin people, other dogs, cats. She said she was working with a dog that would go bonkers when he saw a kid on a skateboard, she worked with him until he was desensitized to kids on skateboards but she said if you did that when they were young you would most likely never have to worry about
    Via not4u2no
  • 12
    Font - Its_Raul · 6 days ago When you have a reactive dog the last thing you want is to say "hi" to other dogs. This notion that dogs must love other dogs is a myth, the dog doesn't go to sleep at night wishing they could've said hi.
    Via Its_Raul
  • 13
    Font - Tough_Stretch · 6 days ago · edited 6 days ago Your trainer has some weird ideas about dogs and dog socialization, especially when she compared a dog sniffing another dog's butt to some random person sniffing your own butt and claimed that dogs can't love. I mean, maybe, being very charitable, she actually has some valid points regarding the specific issue of socializing dogs but sucks so much at communicating as a non-crazy human being that they get lost in the BS she's spouting.

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