When I adopted Lolly, she came from an extremely abusive situation that she lived with for the first 5 years of her life. She would have been happy not leaving my house and just hiding under the coffee table whenever people came over.

Even though she would have liked to live her life that way, I decided to desensitize her to strangers, unfamiliar situations, and places other than my own home. It really has been for her best interest. Sure, she goes through mild stress during our exercises. But eventually she does get better and used to different things. We can now go to the park and run and jump and play. Strangers can now pet her - she doesn't ENJOY it but she tolerates it and may be starting to even like it a little. All this as opposed to when she used to flip over and pee on herself and scream if we just left the house.

All in all, I believe in putting a dog through the mild stress it takes to acclimate them to these situations. It allows them to lead a fuller, healthier life.