Anyone who was a dog owner at some point in their life knows that dogs are very social and they tend to enjoy spending most of their time playing with humans or other pups.
It’s their favorite thing to do. I am sure that if they could spend the entire day just running around and playing, they would do it.
However, there are some rare instances where a pup is more socially awkward or just shy and doesn’t know how to play with other dogs.
Nicole Saulino’s dog, Cannoli, is one such example. When she and her husband realized that their dog needed to get better at making friends, they started thinking about the best options for her.
Well, That Didn’t Go As Planned
After realizing that her dog was not very good in social situations, Nicole thought it would be a good idea for Cannoli to go on training sessions or puppy events in New Jersey.
There would be a lot of other dogs there and she might feel a little bit calmer if she sees that every other pup there is having fun.
It was a simple plan and there was no reason to believe it wouldn’t work, so Nicole took Cannoli to a puppy event and it went about as well as could be expected.
The whole time she was there, Cannoli didn’t really understand what her purpose was. She was just awkwardly looking around and trying her hardest to not participate.
Some other dogs even tried to get her in on all the fun, but she didn’t budge. Her owner realized that this was not exactly what she had in mind.
Nicole was a bit disheartened by her behavior, but she thought that all Cannoli really needed was time, so she decided to take her to the New Jersey puppy event again.
It Will Take Some Time
The results were not much different this time around. She first sat around other humans and refused to play with the other dogs.
Then, she went into the middle and just sat there awkwardly. Maybe, she was trying to see if any dog would come to her and ask her to play.
She briefly interacted with a few dogs, but that was pretty much it for that playing session. Nevertheless, Nicole believes that this is big progress.
Nicole notes that Cannoli is usually scared of other dogs who are much bigger than her. She also doesn’t like loud barking, so that may be one of the reasons why she did not play with other dogs.
The trainer told them that it was simply possible that she might just need some time. She wants to assess the situation and make sure that no dog is a ‘threat’ to her.
With time, Cannoli will slowly start to come out of her shell and play with other dogs. Her owners will just have to remain patient as she will eventually get there.