So I’ve been wanting a little walking buddy lately. Probably a shih tsu mix or something. Something small that has a good personality and is available at the shelter. I’ve never had a dog myself before though and I had a couple of bad experiences with large off leash dogs when I was a small kid (I don’t think I was hurt but I very much do remember being chased and being very afraid) so I find myself still a little nervous around larger dogs I don’t know, especially if that dog is feeling excited or jumpy. A couple of gentler breeds are excepted in my head (golden and labs) and once I get used to a particular dog, I’m perfectly fine. I can leave other situations just fine by myself but I’m here asking for opinions from more experienced dog people. I suppose I’m afraid that having a dog myself would be like a magnet for other dogs while on walks that I might be uncomfortable with or that my being nervous could make a normal meet and greet go poorly. I just don’t want to adopt a dog and wind up putting it in a bad situation by accident. It’s also super common that I see escaped dogs when I’m out for walks by myself and others who walk their dogs without a leash.
Also, to say out loud, I am addressing my dog fears in therapy. It’s just not an instant cure, you know? It’s also possible I am way over thinking this.
I agree with what everyone else said. I wanted to add that socialization is very important for dogs. You can have a happy dog without socializing, but they can become dog aggressive or generally scared of other dogs. That can be a huge inconvenience if you ever need to board them, do group training, or have them around dogs belonging to friends or family. The vet can be even more stressful, and you’re more likely to have issues while walking if your dog is reactive to other dogs.
No, that’s not true. Dogs generally are less social as they age. The vast majority of dogs are ‘dog selective’, just like people are. As in they only like certain dogs and dislike others. And a lot of the time the dog’s response is more about the owners response, than it is inherently if they are ‘social’ or not.
Very few dogs are actively hostile or actively friendly to ever dog, and often it’s due to their personality and training of the owner, than ‘socialization’. Proper socializing of a dog is not about other dogs so much as it is about introducing your dog to different environments and stimulus, of which other dogs are only one thing.
Not to mention many people ‘socialize’ their dogs poorly. I live next to a dog park and every couple of days some new dog owner dumps their 3 month old puppy into a crowd of dogs to ‘socialize’ it and shoves their face in their phone and chaos ensues. And they never come back.