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I don't think it's socialization at all, your dog sounds great He just doesn't communicate appropriately. I have two dogs and one of them sometimes barks at people when they come in the house, he's a sweet dog but when he barks it frightens people who don't know him. What we have been doing is keeping treats in our pockets, when someone comes in and he barks I tell him to look at me (I taught both dogs that when they were little) when he does I give him a little treat. That is the end of the barking and he just greets people normally after that. My goal is to completely eliminate the inappropriate barking but that will probably take some time.
It must be the name -- our dog is also named Sawyer and also has social issues. His problem is that he gets overly excited when meeting people (even those he has seen many times) and dogs. I echo what the others have said -- teach him the focus command, and have him focus on you and not the stranger/dog.
It's a work in progress, and he may never be that dog who politely greets others with just a quick sniff and tail wag. But now when someone comes over to the house, he runs to the family room to pick up one of his toys (ie, "pacifier" --he is also a retriever, after all!) and sits or lays down, albeit trembling with excitement, until he "settles." In public, I keep a pocketful of treats and have him turn and focus on me when someone approaches. The hardest thing is to keep others from petting him despite my pleas to ignore. He still gets extremely vocal when meeting other dogs, until within sniffing distance and, to be honest, I think he'll always be that way.
Try working on the focus command, then taking him to a small strip mall or other public area. Start with some well-trained friends (though strangers to him) approaching him, then work up to total strangers.
I should add that we rescued our Sawyer when he was 18 months, and his first owners bought him from a pet store. That puppy mill upbringing is hard to overcome...
Thanks guy for all your advice.
We are still working with him but I thought I'd update with the great day he had yesterday.
My friend had a cookout and she invited us to come over and said to bring Sawyer. She has a big fenced in back yard and her dogs would love to have a play date. Sawyer has met my friend and her husband and a few of our friends before so I wasn't too worried but I knew there would likely be people there he had never met. He did great. Went up to everyone to say hello, without jumping or barking at them. Just walked up, wagged his tail, got a pet and went back to playing with the other dogs. I was really impressed with his behavior. This could have been because he was loose and not on the leash but at one point, some people were playing corn hole, and he likes to chase after the bean bags so I leashed him up and kept him close to me and he still behaved wonderfully (only barking at the bean bags being tossed lol). I think at that point I was relaxed so I know my nerves definitely transfer to him when he's on a leash. We'll keep working but I'm really proud of him.Yesterday was a good day.
Update on Sawyer-yesterday he had the best day. We wore him out by taking him for a run then the dog park and then we decided to take him to a dog friendly event called Bark and Brew at a local brewery. We've been working with him for so long and I am pleased to say that he did AWESOME! Sure he barked at a few dogs but that's expected at a dog friendly event. However, when ever he was getting fussy I made him sit and his recall was great. He let kids and adults pet him (this never happens) and overall behaved perfectly. I'm so proud of him. This boosted both his and my confidence. He didn't seem anxious, he played with other dogs and looked overall really happy. He's still tired and happy from his full day yesterday.
Another update: Sawyer is getting better and better by the day. Yesterday we took him to Bark in the Park at the baseball game and he did awesome. He let a man pet him, no barking, no fear, just enjoying some pets and fun at the ball park. He didn't lunge at a single dog, didn't bark at any of them. He just sniffed butts and licked faces. He behaved like a perfect dog. I'm beyond proud.
Training and exercise! When people approach, use the sit command (or even "down") while he faces in the opposite direction. Make him focus on YOU without being distracted. Wait until he is totally relaxed, praise him and reward with a treat. Ask people not to pet him when in this position. The most difficult is having him focused on you, but that's key to further progress.
This can work. I've done it. Unfortunately with this approach some dogs can feel even more worried since we are now asking the dog to be extremely vulnerable by turning his back to the perceived threat. The dog learns good attention but the fear remains, hidden and ready to emerge at some future point, catching the owner off guard. In that case, the learned attention is merely a band aid.
Since the dog's reaction is prompted by fear, the root fix is to change the dog's underlying emotion (fear) to something more acceptable (happiness or relaxation). This is so easy it's almost a crime...just give the dog a fabulous treat (something he REALLY loves, not something you think he should love) any time he sees a person approaching. Use very small pieces so you can give lots of treats for each person he sees but make sure he looks at the person before you give each piece. Don't say anything or pet him...just give the treat. It's best if you can feed him when he notices the person but before he reacts but it's not critical to the process...that will just make it go faster if you can. You may have to give the person a wide berth as you walk past when you start this. The idea is to keep your dog at a distance where he notices the person but not so close that he reacts. Don't worry that you might be teaching him to react...he already knows how to do that! What you will be doing is teaching him that every time he sees a person he gets food. Soon he will begin to enjoy seeing people because they mean food is coming...the fear will be replaced by the wonderful feeling of anticipating a yummy treat. The reaction (based on fear) is no longer prompted by fear since the fear has been removed from the situation. Counter conditioning.
Once you can see that his emotion has changed (and consistently remained changed...that is vital) from fear to relaxation you can set up meets with friends your dog doesn't know and have them gently toss treats to the ground in front of him as they pass. Not at him...that could be scary. Once he is consistently comfy with that you can have friends hand him treats using an open hand lower than his head...not above his head as many dogs find that threatening. Always let his behavior dictate whether you should progress or not...if he reverts to his fear reaction then you've progressed too fast; if he consistently acts relaxed then you can progress to the next step.
Dashdog and kaelti12 the thing is, I don't think he's excited at these events. He's pretty quiet until someone pays attention to him, comes to pet him or anything like that, then he barks/howls and since he has a raspy yet loud bark it freaks people out. When people are ignoring him, he's fine. But I don't know how to fix that. He loves being petted but in public it seems like the scariest thing in the world to him.
And kaelti12, he's an only dog. We've considered getting a second dog but we haven't found the right one yet. Or better he/she hasn't found us yet.
Don't let people go right up to him; ask them not to come any closer than his comfort zone. When they approach to that point where he starts to get excited, have them stop, back away, and toss treats on the ground for him, but then let HIM go up to THEM if he wants to.
Not all dogs like being greeted by strange people, and depending on body type, whether large or heavy set, that may worry him even more. Let him go at his pace and don't force meetings with other people or dogs.
Your dog is telling you he isn't comfortable in certain situations and that is ok- not all dogs are comfortable in all situations and it is up to the owner not to put their dog in a situation they can't handle.
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