The Negative Consequences Of Over Socialization

There have been many social dynamic studies done with monkeys.  (Now before you say, ‘Well dogs aren’t monkeys’, I get it, but they are still mammals and we can still see how these studies highlight more similarities than differences.)

One recent study, in particular, has been taking up a lot of bandwidth in my mind lately.

They used two groups of monkeys.  

Group A went to socialize with Group C, 5 days a week for several hours.

Group B went to socialize with Group C,D,E,F,G, etc… for 5 days a week, socializing with a new sub-group each day.

They then tested their cortisol and adrenaline levels, along with other social tests such as who faired better long-term in regards to immune system and resiliency.

Guess who it was?

Group A.

Let’s consider a human example.

Imagine Group A is a group of people at work.  Every day they go to mingle with the same other group.

Group B, however, mingles with a new group for a month straight.

If you were in group B, having to remember people’s names, learn their personality styles to avoid confrontation, learn how everyone in your OWN group fit in with this new group each day…wouldn’t you be exhausted?

Learning to navigate new social situations all the time expends a considerable amount of energy.  Not to mention, in these scenarios, we generally are asking our dog for more challenging obedience and behavior. It’s simply not setting your dog up for success and putting more stress on them than necessary.

Dogs can certainly benefit from other canine interactions, but consider a few things before doing so:

-Will they ever be interacting with this dog again? (Is this a random stranger at the park or a new roommate?)

-What is the energy level of this interaction? (Are both dogs pulling towards each other? is there a ton of dogs ready to rush a dog at the gate of a dog park? OR are both dogs relaxed and engaged with their handlers?)

-How many other novel circumstances have I exposed them to this week? (Have they been to the vet, had pain, been in a fight, had a resource guarding incident this week, etc.?)

-Can my dog be neutral around the dogs they currently know? (If they are already bullying or hyper stimulated with dogs they know, imagine how they will be with a brand new dog.)

If you NEED to put your dog in a high pressure situation where they inevitably will have to figure out how to navigate it, you absolutely need to understand your dogs body language, how and when to de-escalate a situation, and how to read other dogs before expecting them to not only be successful in managing themselves, but in trusting you to help them should the interaction begin to go south.