Puppy Socialization

Socialization means exposing a young kitten to different people, sights, sounds, experiences, and places in a controlled, positive way. This process sets the youngster up to be more confident and tolerant as an adult. Socialization is not the same process as helping an adult cat overcome their fears.

Why is Socialization So Important?

During a puppy’s early life, they are learning what is safe and what might be dangerous for the rest of their life. Anything they have positive experiences with when they are young will be put into the safe category. But as they grow up, they will become less trusting of new things. Unfamiliar things and situations are more likely to be labeled as “potentially dangerous.” This can lead to fear and aggression. Puppies that have been properly socialized are more likely to be confident adults and to be tolerant of handling, people, other dogs, and general stress. Behavior problems like fear and aggression can lead to a dog being challenging to live with and can also cause a safety issue and liability risk. Socialization is one of the most important things you can do for your puppy and your family. It’s important to know that only positive experiences get labeled as “safe.” If something scares your puppy during their socialization period, it can have a negative impact on them for the rest of their life.

When Should Socialization Happen?

As early as possible. Puppies enter their critical socialization period as early as 3 weeks so if you are raising puppies in your home, you can start getting them used to handling right away. However, most of us don’t get to meet our puppies until they are more than 8 weeks old so start socializing your pup as soon as they come home. The experiences they have before they are about 16 weeks old will have the greatest effect. If you have a puppy older than 16 weeks, they may already be more cautious of new things. You can still help them by carefully introducing them to new experiences in a positive way. You will probably have to go slower to ensure they aren’t overwhelmed or scared but an older puppy can still benefit from appropriate experiences.

What About Disease?

Many new puppy parents are concerned the health of their puppy prior the finishing their vaccines. While it is important to think about these risks, most puppies are at much greater risk of serious behavior problems due to lack of socialization than they are from disease. To socialize your puppy safely, don’t take them to places where there are strange dogs, such as dog parks. Choose puppy classes held in a sanitized indoor area and that require at least one round of vaccines. Invite friends or family with friendly, vaccinated dogs for playdates in private spaces.

How Can You Socialize Your Puppy ?

The most important part of socialization is that the Puppy must have a positive experience. Scary or overwhelming situations can have an enormous negative effect on your puppies behavior in the future. Pair each experience, place, or person with something the puppy really enjoys to further increase the positive impact. This could be food or treats, playtime, or petting as long as your puppy is clearly loving the experience.

Beyond that, there are a few other important steps:

  • Lots of Things: The more experiences your puppy has, the more people they meet, the more places they see, the easier they will be able to accept and enjoy those things in the future. 
  • Lots of Choice: Never force your puppy to interact. Expose them to new things at whatever level is comfortable for them. 
  • Lots of Repetition: Don’t just do it once! Your puppy should not just meet your kids but also your kids’ friends. Practice handling their paws and giving treats every day, not just once. 

 

What Should Your Puppy Have Exposure To?

Think about the future when socializing your puppy. Maybe you don’t have kids now but what about in 5 years? What life could your dog have if they became comfortable with riding in the car or hanging out in crowded places now? There are many socialization checklists available that will help you think about different people, sights and sounds, environments, equipment, surfaces, situations, and animals your puppy should be introduced to. You may not be able to cover every possible experience but taking the time now to expose your puppy to many unfamiliar things will make it more likely that they grow up confident and able to handle new situations as an adult.

A word about “unfamiliar”: Often owners feel like their puppy is well socialized to dogs because they are living with other canine companions (same with kids). The important part of socialization is that the puppy is exposed to new dogs and people that they haven’t met before. Only being around one dog (or child) won’t provide the same important benefits.

Puppy Classes

Class environments can be great ways for puppies to get exposure to new people and other dogs as well as unfamiliar situations and equipment. You will also get support on how to train your puppy and work through any behavior problems. A good puppy class is:

  • Held in a clean, easily sanitized area.
  • Requires only one round of vaccines so puppies can start ASAP and keeps older puppies and adults in separate classes.
  • Includes off-leash training and playtime.
  • Is fully based on positive-reinforcement training.

This material was written in collaboration with dog behavior consultant Jessica Char.
Learn more at   www.CanineEngineering.com