Nature Versus Nurture

The very first time I took Prince to the veterinarian, for his puppy shots, she told me the most important thing I could do for him was to introduce him to as many people as possible.  The magazine she gave me emphasized the same thing, instructing owners of breeds like German Shepherds, Rottweilers and Doberman Pinschers (among others) to introduce their dogs to as many different types of people as possible.

Prince on the prowl

Both the veterinarian and the magazine emphasized that socializing a puppy as early as possible was the best way to end up with a dog that was good with people outside of its family.  I must admit, however, that I had my doubts about this, especially in view of my experience with my first dog, Pasja.

Pasja was adopted from the local humane society by my older sister, but she gave him to me when he displayed a marked (and inexplicable) preference for me.  He was a Labrador/Border Collie/Husky mix, which made him look like a very small, blond and somewhat fluffy Lab.  His personality, however, was nothing like a typical Lab's (or any of the other dogs that contributed to his heritage).

Pasja hated absolutely everyone except for the people in our family.

We had unintentionally done everything to ensure that Pasja was as well socialized as possible.  Countless people had visited when he was a puppy, oohed and awed over him, picked him up, cuddled him and even held him on their laps.  Pasja's response to all of this was to stare at them in a stony manner, which at the the time we thought was evidence of his stoicism, but later figured was his way of reacting to the unwanted attention before he was big enough to defend himself.

As soon as he became a year of age, he began to display his hatred toward almost every member of the human race.  Men, women, children were all the same to him...he hated all of them equally.  He attempted to attack neighbors, veterinarians, veterinary technicians, and once even went after a group of almost twenty adolescents who had happened to gather at the end of our street (who all wisely fled).

The only theory I could come up with to explain his behavior was that it was genetic.

As such, when Prince was very small, I actually wondered whether I should even make the attempt to socialize him.  However, the extremely rapid pace at which he grew, and the fear people displayed around him even when he was a mere 4 months of age, made me resolve to follow the professionals' advice.

I decided I would do this in two ways:  First, by walking him frequently and letting him see as many people as possible (even though this had never accomplished anything with Pasja) and second, by letting him meet a wide range of people at our home, mostly friends of my boyfriend.

I hoped for the best...but the outcome was something I had never expected.