Socialization training is a part of dog training that involves exposing your dog to various sight, sounds, and smells in a positive or neutral manner so that they do not develop an aversion or fear to it. The goal with socialization training in the beginning isn't to interact, but rather to simply learn how to experience a stimuli or event without developing an averse reaction. All socialization training begins at home, then your neighborhood, and is expanded to more places as your dog becomes ready. In this post, I'll explain why desensitization/socialization training is important for either a service dog or a companion dog, and 10 tips to help you introduce your dog to the world around them without accidentally overwhelming them or creating negative connections. 

Rushing training will get you nowhere. Training a service dog takes 1 - 2 years, because there is so much material for both the dog and handler to learn. Taking shortcuts will cause problems later on, like your dog struggling to heel through crowds, being unsure of new situations, not being able to be out of sight from you, and the list goes on. Training will be boring at times, but going slowly through everything to be sure that both you and your dog are capable at each level is vital to your success as a team one day, and their ability to do their important job day after day, under any circumstances. Tasks, especially, are very complicated actions for a dog to learn how to do, and that takes time. 

Not all dogs have the drive to help people, or the energy to be on alert for several hours during the day. A service dog not only needs to have the desire to please their person, but also be capable of focusing in high distraction zones, lay on uncomfortable surfaces, ignore temptations like food or other people's attention, be on their feet moving several times a day, or go to work and be on duty in a strange place for 2 - 8 hours in a day. Some dogs just want to romp in the yard and snuggle on the couch, and that is okay! What isn't okay, though, would be trying to force the snuggler into a rigorous life of working when they don't have the heart for it. When looking into dogs, you want a dog with medium to high energy, and a desire to be with people or their person. Checking out specific working breeds is a good idea. 

Recently disabled/diagnosed? Give yourself a year or so to acclimatize to what life as a disabled individual is like, before adding a service dog to the mix. Besides - if you're new to being disabled, it may take you some time to figure out how you need a dog to help you. 

Moving soon/new baby coming soon/getting married soon? Wait for the big life change to happen, for life to smooth out a little, and then talk about bringing a service dog into the mix, especially if you want to owner-train. Adjusting to always needing to account for your service dog's presence, their needs, and how they help you, into your daily routines can be a challenge in itself at first. Working with a service dog is a big life change. You don't want to stack big life changes if you can stagger them. 

Medical condition in a constant state of turmoil? Be prepared for owner-training to feel like you're being road hauled until you find your feet. Trying to force yourself out of bed to train, play with, feed, and exercise your service dog in training will be a hefty task for yourself several times a day, every single day for 1 - 2 years. There are no days off from taking care of your dog. Days off from training, yes. Days off from giving them structure, playtime, feeding, and general care are not a thing. Once your dog learns how to help you, your condition will likely stabilize, and things get easier with your dog's care and your interests/hobbies. Until then, you need to have a way to drive yourself into action to give your service dog's training and care everything you got. 

It's easy to get bogged down by training. When you make the decision to train a service dog, your whole world changes. Everything you do becomes a training experience for the dog. You feel immense pressure to get things done, and to get them done right. At times, you may forget to stop and admire how far you and your dog have come together.