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Socialisation is the most crucial element of raising a happy, healthy, well-balanced dog. A lack of socialisation can result in a multitude of behavioural issues and can create anxiety within a dog, if a dog has ongoing high levels of cortisol as a result of chronic stress, this can lead to a weakened immune system resulting in the dog being more likely to have health-related issues. As well as the increased risk of behavioural issues this can then lead to dogs being given up for rescue which is quite commonly seen when they hit that 1-year birthday. Unfortunately, as a result of covid, there has been an influx of clients reporting their lockdown puppies with reactivity and bite history. Because of lockdown, puppies born at this time were not able to encounter people and other dogs as they normally would. Many owners worked from home and due to risks, many puppy playgroups were stopped with some still not running to this date. As a result, there has been an increase in dogs not only being reactive but also now suffering from separation anxiety now life is going back to normal.
Despite this, there is still hope and your clients can still socialise their lockdown puppies as they have grown into adulthood it may just be a slightly slower process. By encouraging clients to socialise their dogs born in lockdown, clients could reduce the chances of their dogs having serious behavioural issues, reduce the risk of future health complaints and reduce the chances of them giving the dog up to a rescue. Of course, it is always recommended that socialisation should begin the second the dog enters a person’s care, but the pandemic made this impossible, however, there is no reason why clients cannot start this process now.
Zoe was inspired to start training when she owned a highly reactive dog herself. She has a diploma in dog training, NVQ level 3 in daycare and boarding and is currently undertaking a psychology degree to progress onto an MSc in animal behaviour. She is also about to start the IMDT Ofqual regulated level 4 course in animal behaviour and has completed several CPD courses around dog behaviour, anxiety, nutrition, to name a few. She uses positive reinforcement instead of balance; however, she fully understands balance methods and how other trainers work and prefers to adopt a science-based approach. She predominantly works with reactive dogs (various triggers) and with dogs with separation anxiety and general obedience.