​In the behavioral industry, we spend a massive percentage of our time on "damage control"—rehabilitating adult dogs with severe leash reactivity, barrier frustration, and generalized anxiety. ​The root cause? A profound misunderstanding of early development, specifically during the critical socialization window under 6 months of age. ​Many owners conflate "socialization" with "unfiltered interaction." They focus entirely on over-exposure, accidentally rewarding hyper-focus a