Caucasian Ovcharka Society of America 

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SOCIALIZATION

Socialization is key to having a well-rounded dog that can handle a variety of situations, such as car trips, fireworks, and more! So what exactly is socialization? Contrary to popular belief, socialization is NOT throwing everything at your new puppy at once. Socialization is the slow exposure to varies sounds, places, textures, and situations all while remaining below the threshold of the dog. Okay, so what is a threshold? This is the point at which a dog becomes stressed by a stimulus. The goal with socialization is to expose the dog to stimuli at levels that don't upset or stress the dog, getting the dog comfortable around items, sounds, and situations that occur commonly in life. Slow is fast with socialization.

Exposure to a variety of people is a very important part of socializing a CSD due to their innate distrust of strangers. When exposing a dog to people, do not force any interaction between them. This has the potential to make the puppy feel unhappy, which can lead to people in public being seen as Bad to the dog.

Above is a photo of a CSD being socialized in a pet friendly store. Though she is not interacting with anything but her owner, she is being exposed to tile floors, a myriad of smells, and other people. Going to a variety of pet friendly stores allows you to expose your young pup to all sorts of smells, textures, and noises, but it is important not to over expose the dog, or expose it to too much too fast. Again, slow is fast with socialization.

TRAINING

Like socialization, training is essential for peaceful coexistence with your CSD. Without basic manners, your dog will run rampant over you, jumping up, counter surfing, and refusing to come when called. 


Basic behaviors that will make your CSD a good housemate include come when called, sit, down, stay, leave it, and drop it. Coming when called, stay, leave it, and drop it are potentially life-saving behaviors for your dog. What happens if you drop a Tylenol on the floor and your dog goes for it? With a solid leave it you can stop the dog from consuming poisonous items, rather than having to visit the emergency vet. Similarly, a solid stay helps to keep your dog from charging out the door and potentially into traffic and other dangerous situations.


The Caucasian Shepherd Dog does not tolerate a heavy hand in training, and correctional items such as e-collars can cause unwanted and dangerous behaviors. Prong collars can be a backup to have on walks should the dog decide to drag you off after something, but they should not be used in training, as they too can cause unwanted and dangerous behaviors. The best tools in training a CSD are clickers, treats, and praise. This way you can train utilizing rewards (positive reinforcement) and removal of rewards (negative punishment), rather that the application of physical discomfort that CSDs do not tolerate.

Crate training is a must with these dogs. If they don't want to be in a crate, there aren't many that can hold them. While standard wire crates run between $100 & $200, and heavy duty ones run $250-$500, the kind that can hold a determined CSD generally are $1200 and up. With proper training, the crate becomes a good place, one that they don't mind being in for a few hours. But even then, if they were to get bored or angry, they will find their way out of all but the sturdiest.

Training Aids

  • Clickers
  • Treat Bags
  • Training Treats
  • Whistles
  • Targets
  • Cones