Becoming Social

I was wondering if anyone had any good tips on how to socialize a puppy when you live a bit out of town. I live just far enough out of a town that there aren't any dog parks, so my only option on socializing my new puppy is taking him places (I think). I have had other dogs before, mostly smaller dogs when I was younger with lots of friends in and out of my house, but since I got Dex, my lifestyle has changed and I no longer have a lot of people coming over for the dog to meet.

I live about 30 min from a town that has dog classes at a PetSmart or w/e, but I would like some other suggestions. Its also been a while since I trained a dog. He's good at the leash and newspaper stuff so far and likes his crate just after two days of working with him. But he's already nervous around people when I take him places.

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Permalink Reply by Sam & Shelby on February 11, 2009 at 6:18pm

Shelby was socialized with friends and family. Everyone took some time and played with her. Since she loves to play, this helped. Shelby was a little shy on walks, but does pretty well now. We try to take her on walks with one of our other dogs.

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Permalink Reply by Sam on February 11, 2009 at 8:42pm

Any activity outside your home and yard will be most helpful. The more experiences a dog has the better they will be. Car rides, walks in your neighborhood, walks in different neighborhood, trips to the pet stores, neighbors, families, friends, children and friendly dog meetings are all super. Perhaps finding a dog training class would be of benefit as well.

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Permalink Reply by Ross on February 12, 2009 at 3:51pm

She's still a puppy right?
I've found that you can get away with bringing a puppy pretty much anywhere. I brought Atlas with me to class and nobody ever said anything to me, unless it was asking if they could pet him.
He did once bark in my crowded lecture hall as he was chewing on a rawhide, everyone looked in my direction, the prof after class came up to me and said "Why didn't you tell me you brought your dog with you, I would've liked to introduce him."