Your neighbor’s 10-year-old shows up at your back door, ready to enter your yard to retrieve a baseball that inadvertently flew over your fence. Before the child can make a move, his puppy flies at him with bristling hair, barking furiously. The boy runs away, thinking that no one needs a ball so badly to face Cujo.

The dog’s behavior has just been rewarded with the child’s hasty withdrawal. Without a training intervention, this unpleasant response will become an ingrained habit, one that is sure to make your home insurance company quite unhappy one day.

At first, young pups boldly approach strangers in a friendly and investigative manner or shyly back away, adopting a wait-and-see attitude. As they age, their repertoire may expand to include alarm barks, charging, and possibly even aggression.

For some, it is their genetic birthright and property. German Sheepdogs, Rottweilers, Akitas, Belgian Sheepdogs, and Doberman Pinchers are some of the breeds created to have a greater instinct for protection. Between 8 and 18 months of age, these protective instincts begin to surface.

For other dogs, these behaviors are not protective, they are manifestations of fear. By looking at canine body language, it’s easy to tell the fearful from the bold. The fearful dog puts his ears back and his tail lowered. This puppy is uncomfortable with direct eye contact and carries his weight on his hind legs. On the contrary, the unsuspecting guard dog’s tail is held high and the ears tip forward. Its weight is more distributed on its front legs.

Any of these types of dogs can bite. The fearful dog is more likely to bite if he is cornered and is not allowed to escape the situation. The fearless and protective dog may bite when he feels his property is being invaded.

Whether your puppy was obtained with family safety in mind or not, it is imperative to socialize him with people of all ages, colors, and sizes, starting at a young age. Take your pup to greet the gas company meter reader, postman, and pool keeper with doggie treats in hand.

Invite children in the neighborhood to throw a toy at your new puppy, whether he has children of his own or not. A puppy has to learn that jerky movements and high-pitched squeals in toddlers and children are normal behaviors and there is nothing to fear.

Expand your pup’s horizons by going on expeditions to shopping malls so he can observe humanity at its most diverse, always rewarding friendly and appropriate encounters with treats, games, petting and praise.

By exposing your young canine to a wide range of normal human behaviors, while at the same time making him fun and rewarding, you create a stable dog, one that will keep him out of the hassle of dealing with angry neighbors or potential injury to children. . jump over your fence, not to mention the legal troubles that go along with it.