Puppy Socialization Series- Part 2

As I have mentioned in previous blogs, a puppy's most sensitive period for socialization is between 3 weeks of age and 3 months of age.  During this period, these guys are little sponges!  They are taking in everything around them.  This is when they are bonding to other animals and people, learning about objects, people and environments, learning body cues and signals and what they mean.  Puppies who do not get adequate socialization during this period tend to be fearful of unfamiliar people, dogs, sounds, objects and surroundings.  For many of my clients, they think dogs that exhibit fearful behavior is because they were abused early in life, when in fact it is really only because these dogs were not socialized to the real world they live in.

In an ideal world, puppies should stay with their mother and litter mates until they are 8 weeks of age, where they learn what it is to be a dog. How to play, how to read other dogs body language, and interact as a dog and the consequences of their interactions.  By interacting with an adult dog, their mother, the learn to be respectful of personal space. However, most puppies are weaned at six weeks of age, and still need a lot of learning about social graces.  As a new puppy owner, it will be your job to give your pup the vital information it needs in order function as a good citizen in the real world of people.

Providing positive experiences with unfamiliar people of different sizes and genders.  Invite guests to come interact with your puppy while providing treats and toys.  If you do not children in your home, but as an adult dog your pup may have contact with children, it will be important to have children around for your pup to play and interact with.  Do not leave your pup unattended with children, negative experiences such as being roughly handled or dropped can have negative influence on how your dog will preceive children later in it's life.  Children who run and scream in play can look like prey to your dog and chasing to track them down is a fun game you think, until your dog is 30# and knocking a child down.  Teaching your puppy the correct way to play with children and your children the correct way to play with the pup will save you lots of trouble down the line.

In general, I tell my new puppy owners to give some good thought to what sort of things will your dog be exposed to as an adult, and expose them to these things now in a positive way.  Walking on different surfaces, visiting your veterinarian just for fun, climbing, playing with other animals (dogs, cats, rabbits, etc). Do you have a dog that will need groomed?  Play with your pup's ear, feet, tail, take them to the groomer just to hear the sound of the clippers while getting treated for being such a good pup.   Vacuum cleaners, bathing, loud noises, etc.  Teach them to love their pet carrier/crate.  This will be something you will be using not only for house training, but for trips in the car and to your veterinarian.  Take a car ride with your puppy in the crate for a drive around the block!

Why do you want to start this training now?  If you do not specifically familiarize your pup to these things now, you will be training unwanted behaviors instead.  Everytime we interact with a dog, we are training them either to behave or misbehave.  Just like raising our human children, we are teaching them good and bad things in what they observe us doing and not doing.

Part 3 of our series will discuss early training for good behavior.  Stay tuned!! This can be fun for you and your puppy.