Adult dogs with poor socialisation histories can be helped with patient, professional-led rehabilitation.
Adult dogs with poor socialisation experience chronic anxiety from stimuli they were never habituated to — people, other dogs, environments, and sounds. This anxiety causes ongoing suffering that significantly reduces quality of life. Patient, systematic rehabilitation using desensitisation and counter-conditioning, combined with appropriate management, can make substantial improvements. The welfare prognosis for poorly socialised dogs is better than often assumed with appropriate professional support.