“Dogs are like teenagers – they often have a pack of friends that they love but will not likely get along with everyone”.
That is the basic premise you should think about when you think about how social your Golden should be with other dogs. My experience has told me that this breed has a high drive to be social with other members of the canine community, but that doesn’t mean that they will get along with every dog they encounter. It just doesn’t work that way.
“Josh” was the type of Golden Retriever who sniffed and walked away. When we rescued Alanis, the dogs met in a dog park (no other dogs were around, thankfully). Josh simply sniffed her and started prancing around the park. That was his stamp of approval. Looking back on it now, it is surprising that Alanis didn’t even think about chasing after him! Something was communicated during that brief encounter.
“Jeter” was interesting when it came to socialization. Even though we work from home, I enrolled him in “doggy daycare” a few times a week after we brought him home to get him used to all kinds of different personalities. He came out of that fine but whenever Jeter met another dog, he was often “skeptical”. He did not enjoy being approached at all – he was much better doing the approaching. When he first met Alanis at that dog park, he wasn’t even fond of her…for a few seconds. Within a few minutes of the meeting, they were running around the park liked crazed lunatics, wrestling and chasing each other. Dogs simply had to earn his trust that they meant no harm. Once another dog earned his trust, it was game on.
“Alanis” is the dog that has likely changed the most when it comes to socialization. She used to be shy. When we brought “JJ” home, she let him get away with everything. She never corrected him. From my perspective, it was annoying! I was hoping she would help us train him by showing him that certain behaviors weren’t acceptable. She just didn’t care. However, after I started bringing her to dog play dates, her confidence completely changed. She is now a confident dog that can fit into any situation with any dog. I can’t say she is a “tough” girl, but she is no longer a pushover and she will engage a lot more now than she used to. As is the case with humans, dogs can change their social behavior. You hope it is always for the good.
“JJ” is likely the most solid dog we have ever owned. It is the word I use for him all the time. He gets along with EVERYONE. He doesn’t need to be the center of attention. He is just as happy prancing around the yard by himself as he is wrestling and playing chase. If Alanis and Tucker are playing, it is almost a 50/50 proposition as to whether he will attempt to join in or walk away. If push came to shove, I think JJ would certainly defend himself but I can’t see why any dog would think that JJ is trying to push and shove.
“Tucker” is insane. I can’t put it any other way. His rough style of play will forever not make him a perfect match for every dog…and that is OK. When he first came home, he did try to push and shove JJ and that was the first and only time I have seen JJ react in a “Get the heck away from me, dog!” manner. That is for another post (and they are best friends now anyway), but it just shows that Tucker’s high energy, high drive, and need to play as if he is the dog version of Hulk Hogan can sometimes be a lot for other dogs to handle. Alanis does not take any of it (another sign of her maturity). If he gets too rough during play, she has no trouble throwing him to the ground. This has mellowed Tucker somewhat, which is what we want to see.
As you can see above, we have owned five Golden Retrievers and each had their quirks on how social they want to be with other dogs. Don’t get caught up in what you THINK your dog should be. Instead, pay attention to how your dog ACTUALLY behaves.
“That is fine – but you have several Golden Retrievers. We only have one. How do we know how our dog will behave?”
The answer to this could be rather simple: You might not know until your dog starts to interact. If you do socialization on a neutral court, that will help ease typical behaviors such as a dog trying to defend their turf. If you have a relative or a close friend or a neighbor who has a dog you think your dog would be a good fit for, give it a try. Walk them together, for example. Don’t force anything and monitor it closely. If all else fails, you can enroll your dog in a class and see if the instructor will allow for any interactions after class (or even during class as an exercise). You can do what I did with Jeter and give a dog daycare a try – though you will want to trust that the people running the daycare can separate out the dogs in social groups.
“I am afraid my Golden will get into a fight if I have them interact with strange dogs!”
That is always a fear, right? Nobody wants to see a dog fight. There are a few things that will help prevent fights – and it could be as simple as whether or not the dogs are neutered/spayed.
When Tucker came into this house, we suddenly had two maturing intact males in our house. That can lead to problems – and (as suggested above), it initially did. We did some exercises to correct it and Tucker was eventually neutered. Even though I have never owned an intact female, I understand that two intact females can be especially mean to each other. So, my advice is simple: If you have an intact male, try to find a play partner who is neutered. That simple step can prevent issues all by itself.
What is the bottom line?
I am a big supporter of dog socialization. I understand that if one owns a dog that simply is horrible with other dogs that they may not want to socialize (though some socialization under the PROPER supervision can help reverse the problem) but I can’t imagine a world where I would ever keep my Goldens away from socialization opportunities. You just never know when that socialization will come in handy. If you walk your dogs enough, the odds are rather high that you have encountered a loose dog roaming the neighborhood – a properly socialized dog, in my opinion, will handle this situation better than one who is never given a chance to interact with others.
It is easier for us because we have several Golden Retrievers and we work from home. They can work on their skills 24/7 and we know that any fires can be put out in an instant. If you don’t have that kind of luxury, find ways to get your dog to interact with others. It will be worth the effort.