Horse Socialization

Izzy checking out Lulu

There are horses where we walk. Emmi was really reactive the first time she saw one and never became very comfortable about encountering them. Fortunately, I was able to get her off the trail and give her the distance she needed to feel comfortable. Getting a puppy this young and having the opportunity to introduce her to some of the things she will inevitably experience later is one of the advantages of having a puppy. Up until 16 weeks puppies are highly receptive to new situations and can form positive associations. This time period is when the puppy's brain is most adaptable. If they don't get to experience new things during that time, they may develop fear or anxiety around things that are unfamiliar. And socialization doesn't end at 16 weeks. We will continue carefully exposing her to people, animals, experiences and places. I had a date set up with a friend for Izzy to meet her horse but unfortunately, she had to cancel as her dog underwent surgery. Since we only have about 2 more weeks of this really special time to work on new experiences, I decided to post on our neighborhood Facebook page and see if anyone had a horse I could introduce her to. I got two offers and even an offer for her to meet some kids and some other gentle golden retrievers. There are a lot of great people where we live. We had our first horse date this morning and it was perfect. Kylie had adopted a wild horse and she needed positive exposure to dogs. There were also 3 other horses there Izzy could see, smell and hear. Kylie was great and walked Lulu back and forth, slowly getting closer as they both got comfortable. Izzy got lots of rewards. She initially was a little nervous when she saw Lulu but quickly got comfortable. She was even unfazed when one of the horses started neighing and running around it's pen. Lulu got more comfortable as well with Izzy's presence. I knew we were successful when the manure became more interesting than the horses. We will definitely set another time to interact with Lulu and hopefully some other horses but glad we were able to get one visit in during that first critical window. Here's a short video from her meet and greet: