Socialization

[magoo]

Hello all.
I recently made the very, very, very hard and awful decision to put my dog Magoo down. - I have a post in defensive dogs - PTS? if you care to read it - I can't go through the whole thing again.
I tried my best with him - but he had a dangerous aggressive side to him that I'm almost certain could have been avoided if he'd had the proper socialization.
I got him at around a year - he'd been in a cage from age 2-3 months to age 11-12 months. According to all the books I've read he missed his socialization period - and his "impression" time.
I really, really, really wanted to save a dog - and while I'm sure I didn't do everything that could have been done - I did everything that I was able to do. And I'm so sad about this and broken-hearted.
But,
I won't be able to grieve forever.
So, in honor of the poor guy, I want to do some good.
I want to volunteer at some of the shelters in my area. Specifically I want to help another owner avoid getting a dog like Magoo - by taking the younger animals out to socialize them.
I'm wondering if anyone has an opinion on whether or not this would help. I have about 5 hours a week I can devote to this -
Is this enough time for a pup to help him socialize?
I just feel that if Magoo had even had a few hours a week where he was able to meet strangers and kids and not just run with the dogs at the pound - that he may have been able to make it in society.
He was just such a loose-cannon by the time I took him. Poor guy, Poor Magoo.
Any advice - or book suggestions would be appreciated.
Julie

[Andre Mendizabal]

Hi Julie, so sorry about Magoo, sometimes the correct thing is the hardest to do.... but if Magoo had some serious issues, most probably he would have hurt another dog or person... so you did the right thing and handle the problem the best you could. I know you will miss Magoo, but see it like an experience from which you learned A LOT.

About your socialization question. I volunteer at a shelter, started off in the "bath brigade", then moved on to the "raising money commission" and right now I'm in the one I like the most, the "take the dog to play brigade". Since we get a lot of strays, as well as abandoned, abused and neglected dogs (along with A LOT of puppies) we try to make them ready to be adopted. So what we do in our brigade is try to provide the dog an environment as closest as we can to a family. So, we work two times a week with them, each of us is in charge of one dog, and if they are puppies, each can take even three puppies, (right now there are 16 grown dogs and 4 puppies). So we make them nice and then take them out to the shelter's yard, first to socialize within each other (so far no confrontation problem gone bad), then we part in small groups of four and we go to different places so that the dogs can interact with people, children, and outside the shelter dogs. We take them to the park, to doggie park, to a walk in different neighborhoods, etc. We try to do it in medium crowded places were they are most likely to be touched, petted and talked at. This is kind of a pilot program we started not so long ago, but has done good to the dogs, specially the younger ones. They get to be more friendly and less scared. Its good for them because they get to be adopted faster than usual. However we have had a couple of cases with dogs that showed some aggression and defensive signs. For them socialization outside the shelter is in stand-by, and are working with the people of the "therapy brigade", who are in charge of issuing those special cases.
So, I would say, go for it... its specially helpful for the pups and young dogs!!!
By the way, its so great what you want to do, its the best way to keep Magoo's memory alive!!!!
:yourock: