Why do some dogs not interact well with other dogs? By Dr. Kristin Kahdy

A lot of dogs are adopted at the age of 6-8 weeks.  They then go into a dog free environment to avoid infectious diseases, due to a weak immune system, until they are fully vaccinated.  However, 6-16 weeks of age prove to be one of the most important socialization periods for young dogs.  This is the time when they learn to interact with other dogs and learn how to act in a pack.  Therefore if they are not socialized during this period of time, they may not know the dos and don’ts associated with pack like behavior.

So, how do you go about solving this?  Puppies should still interact with healthy dogs during the most important socialization period in their lives.  However, this does not mean to take them to dog parks and to pet stores.  The interaction periods should occur during a controlled environment with only healthy fully vaccinated dogs.