Socializing Kushi

When we first got Kushi, we quickly found that:

1. She LOVES people. All people. Big men, little babies. On our walks, she'll often do that doggie dance where she'll hop around on her hind legs, straining against the leash and whimpering in frustration that she can't run to and vigorously lick that random stranger 100 feet away.

2. She was afraid of dogs.

Apparently, she was well socialized with people, but not with dogs. In fact, before we got her at 17 weeks, she had not been taken outside yet. So, from day one, every day, we got her used to walking on a leash, climbing up and down stairs, exposed to a busy urban environment, going potty outside, riding in a car, basically showing her how to be a dog. Although uncertain at first, she quickly picked up on everything.

People comment on how much Kushi behaves like a "real dog," as if in surprise that a little dog could be friendly and not yapping/growling at them. It seems like there are many little dogs that are not well socialized, probably because it's very easy to just keep them inside all day.

Socializing her to dogs took a bit longer, though. We went to dog parks every day and even went to supervised "teen puppy" playgroups to socialize her to dogs. She would bark at the dogs, cower and try to jump up on us for reassurance. We did not give her reassurance or try to soothe her. Instead, we gave her a constant stream of treats whenever a dog would come and meet her to show her that "new dogs = it's raining treats." Over time, it worked, and now, two months later, whenever we enter a dog park, she forgets we exist and runs off to romp with her new doggie pals.