Socialization for Your Pet

You don’t have to be Van Gogh to create a special painting of your pooch. When it comes from you, and you have fun doing it - that’s what it’s all about! All the more to immortalize your pet on canvas and hang it for all to see. We thought it would be fun to list some of the many paint your pet events happening in August. How about some wine or brew tasting with your pets? Even yoga classes! Isn’t Denver amazing?

Many of these events support other local businesses, animal shelters, pet food centers and adoption places. There’s a little something for everyone and many meet monthly, so make a date with your pet. Plus, it’s a great way to show of your well-groomed pet!

Sunday, Aug 6 Puppy Rescue Yoga               

Sunday, Aug 6 Paint Your Pet & Free Mimosa                

Sunday, Aug 6 Tails & Ales Monthly Dog Walk + Brewery!        

Monday, Aug 7 Paint Your Pet        

Wednesday, Aug 10 Tails for Ales (Raise money for local animal shelters)         

Wednesday, Aug 17 Terminal Bar & Yappy Hour          

Thursday, Aug 18 Sip & Paint Pet Portraits          

Saturday, Aug 20 Paint Your Pet    

Sunday, Aug 21 Day Of The Dog with Mockery Brewing (yoga)              

Sunday, Aug 21 Paint Your Pet           

Thursday, Aug 25 Paint Your Pet (limited spots left)               

Saturday, Aug 27 Puppies, Yoga and Wine 

Introduce Your Pet

These are great opportunities to socialize your pet with other people and other animals. While a dog’s sensitive period of socialization typically ends around 4-5 months old, we recommend continuing to socialize your dog for at least the first year of their life. Remember to continually introduce your dog to unfamiliar people so they feel comfortable. Also, by taking your dog to events as listed above, dog parks, play groups, play dates with friends’ dogs and simple leash walks, you are training your dog to be friendly and approachable. Without these experiences, dogs can lose their ability to know how to behave appropriately around other dogs.

Get Your Pet Familiar With Stranger Things

For dogs, meeting new people and other dogs can be scary. Don’t become anxious or chaotic when your dog expresses fear, and don’t punish fear. Most displays of aggression are caused by that. Owners can be caught off guard when their normally easygoing pup reacts fearfully to a new dog or person. However, this change often coincides with the end of the sensitive period of socialization. Starting around 5 months old, your dog may start to interpret anything unfamiliar as a threat and will typically either flee or confront what frightens him. Punishing this reaction will only confirm his fear, so instead remove your dog from the situation and ask for a different behavior (like “sit”).

Also, acclimate your pup to lots of different sounds, being careful not to overwhelm him with too much noise too fast. By exposing him to children playing, music, sports, buses moving by, and so on, they become adjusted and calm in time.

Don’t Allow Yourself or Your Pet to be Aggressive

When your dog is acting up or aggressive, there's no need to show the dog who’s boss or try to dominate him. Confrontational approaches like pinning your dog down or man-handling him frequently backfire and create the aggression dog owners seek to avoid.

Focus on rewarding correct behavior and preventing undesirable behavior to teach your puppy human rules and build a trusting relationship. Problems biting? Provide appropriate toys to redirect your puppy's biting. When your puppy bites too hard during play, making a sudden noise (“Ow!”) and end the game to help him learn to use his mouth gently. Never squeeze your puppy's mouth shut, yell at him, or hold him down. This will frighten him and likely make biting worse. Note that while puppies under five months tend to explore the world with their mouths, dogs past this age are considered adolescents and should no longer be play biting.

Using these tips will be beneficial for you and your dog especially for their wellbeing. It’s every dog owner’s responsibility to train, care for and develop their dog into a friendly well-mannered pet. It can make for a pleasant day out, socializing and having fun with others. With more and more pet-friendly events happening, you and your best friend could have a fun-filled social
calendar.