Social Skills - Dog Socialisation Meet

Service Description

As dogs move into adolescence, social skills and self-control can become a little trickier to manage. These dog socialisation meet sessions are designed to help your dog learn how to stay calm and focused around other dogs even when excitement levels rise. Unlike Puppy Conversations where we focus on allowing puppies to interact and learn how to interact with each other, this session emphasises the ability to be around other dogs without getting over excited, the goal is to be able to cope with exciting dogs being around whilst still being able to disengage when neccessary. While there may be some off-lead interaction, much of the session will focus on developing skills such as disengaging from other dogs, recalling away from play, and coping calmly with frustration or arousal. You’ll gain guidance on reading and understanding canine body language, recognising when your dog needs space, and how to help them make good choices around others. We’ll show you practical exercises for maintaining focus, building confidence, and reinforcing calm behaviour in real-life social settings. These sessions are invaluable for dogs in their teenage stage building their ability to interact appropriately while learning that calmness and connection with their handler bring the biggest rewards. They’ll also boost your confidence in managing social environments and recognising what your dog is communicating. Some dogs may benefit from just one session, while others will make the most progress through multiple visits. We’ll discuss what’s best for your individual dog during the class. Please note: Whilst there will be some time for dogs to play and interact the focus of the class will be on encouraging calm interactions on lead alongside regaining focus with you. This is NOT an off lead social session.