Puppy Socialization

Puppy Socialization

What Does it Mean to Socialize Your Puppy?

Socializing your puppy is so much more than making sure your dog meets other dogs. Socializing your puppy is the process of getting your puppy accustomed to world around them, which includes a wide array of different things & experiences.

Your puppy’s socialization will start in my home and it’s essential that it is carried on by you. Puppies have what is called “critical socialization period” between 3-16 weeks of age. The puppy’s experiences during this period of learning and development can influence and shape their temperament and behavior as an adult. Providing plenty of opportunities to introduce your puppy to many new sights, sounds, smells, people, places, super friendly (healthy and vaccinated) dogs & animals, and experiences, keeping each interaction short, sweet, and positive– will ensure your puppy will grow into a well adjusted dog. It’s a big responsibility but one that can be fun & will certainly be impactful! Many dog training facilities offer puppy socialization classes to assist you as you seek to take advantage of this critical window of time to properly socialized your puppy.

Here’s an article from the AKC that provides a brief overview on puppy socialization.

Why Should You Socialize Your Dog?

Dogs that are well socialized during their critical socialization period are known to be friendlier, more confident, trusting, relaxed, and overall feel safe. All these qualities are what every family desire in a dog, and what is best for all dogs. Unsocialized dogs are known to be more fearful which can manifest itself in aggressive behaviors. The impact of poor socialization lasts a lifetime, and while improvement are possible, it can be a slow and time consuming process.

Socialization can and should happen at any age, but it becomes much more difficult when the dog is older. With young dogs, you can take advantage of the “socialization window” between 3-16 weeks, when they will most readily accept novel stimuli (which would be anything new or unfamiliar).

While much research is still being done on the benefits of socializing puppies, much of the groundwork was done decades ago. A study from the 1960s gathered information from litters of puppies that were raised in fenced fields, & from those litters some were exposed to and others deprived of human interaction at different ages. Today we can see that such a study has many ethical issues, but nonetheless the results were telling.

The scientists recorded that “unless socialization occurred before 14 weeks of age, withdrawal reactions from humans became so intense that normal relationships could not thereafter be established“.

They also noted that the puppies that weren’t socialized started to withdraw from humans at just 5 weeks of age.

Again, there’s still hope for dogs who aren’t socialized in the critical socialization window, and every dog is an individual and can have different outcomes based on how much or little they have been socialized. However, this study reveals the huge importance of socialization from a young age.

How To Socialize Your Dog

There are two parts to socializing your puppy. One is conditioning your puppy to think of a wide variety of people, animals, smells, things, and experiences as normal and non-threatening. The other part involves helping them to become resilient & be able to handle new and unexpected things like a champ. Once you have exposed your pup to the wide variety of people, animals, and experiences- the second part of socialization becomes easier. In short, if your puppy has had a wide variety of experiences, they will be less likely to be stressed and fearful by the unfamiliar ones.

During the socialization window, you’ll want to expose your puppy to a wide range of people, things, animals, surfaces, sounds, and environments. Prioritize the things that your puppy is likely to encounter throughout their life. Also, consider activities you hope to do with your dog: travel, camping, walks in a park, boating, being around people, taking them to your children’s sport events. Whatever it is that you hope to have your dog by your side, find small positive ways to begin getting them used to the unique things, noises, people, and environments they will encounter as they engage in that activity with you.

Here’s a checklist of different things to introduce your puppy to during the critical socialization period.

What if the Puppy is Fearful

It’s natural for puppies to initially be fearful when you do new things with them, and your task is to show the puppy that they are safe.  With that, here are some tips for socializing your puppy:

Tips for Socializing Your Puppy

Let the puppy set the pace:

Approach new things as the puppy relaxes, retreat a little bit if the puppy is scared. 

Keep Things Short and Sweet:

You don’t want to overwhelm your puppy & it’s super important to make sure their interaction was positive–or it could have the opposite effect!

Use Treats:

Bring treats! Treats always make a new situation for the puppies enjoyable.

Repeat:

Be sure to have your puppies have these different experiences more than once, especially if they were fearful.

Here are tips from the Whole Dog Journal on how to keep socialization fun for your puppy:

“Help your pup be relaxed and calm. For a younger pup, hold him in your arms if that is calming. Talk to him in soft and gentle tones. Give him treats. Keep him a little bit away from things so he can watch from a comfortable distance until he is ready to explore. Make sure all exposures and introductions happen on puppy time – that is, when your pup wants to engage.

How do you know if your pup wants to explore something new, meet a new person, or play with another pup? Just watch your pup and you will see. If your pup is curious and moving towards the person, animal, or thing, your pup may be ready to engage.

If your pup is cautious, wait. Let him watch from a distance. Pups don’t have to interact with everything and everyone during socialization. Just being in the world, or hearing noises, or seeing people or animals can help them become familiar.

If your pup is overexcited to the point of being frenetic, he may also be lacking confidence or even a little scared. Try to help your pup build confidence by keeping greetings brief, giving your pup treats, or changing how people or other animals are interacting. For example, if your pup is a little too excited greeting people, have people sit down and let your pup go up to them. Or try moving your pup away and let him watch until he shows more confidence.

What if your pup tucks her tail, tries to move away, or perhaps barks or cries? Please, please, please move your puppy away from whatever scares her. This is critical. Making a puppy stay near something or someone that scares her has the potential to backfire and create a real and lasting fear. It is not a good idea to throw a pup into the deep end, metaphorically speaking. Better to move your pup away, let her experience the scary stimulus from a distance, and give her some chicken or other tasty treats. Wait for her to be ready to explore comfortably.

Puppies do go through fear periods – developmental phases when the world is just a little more overwhelming. If your pup seems suddenly scared of more things than he was previously, take a step back from socialization and provide him with comfort, fun things to do, and gentle experiences. Fear periods often pass in one to two weeks.”