Adopting a new puppy into your family is always exciting, yet that adorable little ball of fluff will need some training to curb those nips and jumps. Before you begin training, it is important to understand that puppies are born with a natural curiosity that allows them to learn about new experiences from the leader of their pack. Since you are now considered the leader, your cues and gentle cautions will help them acclimate to a world full of other animals and people.
Steps to Proper Puppy Socialization
Getting a puppy is exciting and fun. When a puppy is young, up to about 14 weeks old, they need puppy socialization to ensure they are comfortable as they get older. You should discuss which situations the puppy has already encountered with the trainer and breeder, but you need to be prepared to continue their training.
Principles of Puppy Socialization
When you plan to introduce new situations, you need to be in control to let your puppy know that you can protect him. If your puppy is scared because someone gets too close, ask the person to step back instead of correcting the puppy.
Go in steps. Introduce your dog to smaller groups first, then go into larger groups once he/she feels comfortable. Reward the behavior you want your puppy to exhibit. With puppies, the dog park can be exciting, but there is a high risk of exposure to disease when the puppy is still building its immune system.
Engage the family in the puppy socialization. You want your children to reward positive behavior and be consistent with the puppy. It can be confusing when everyone who takes care of the dog acts differently. Teach your family not bother the puppy when it is eating or resting.
Begin the Puppy Socialization Process
Contrary to what they say, a dog can learn new tricks. However, it is best to begin training as early as possible to prevent undesirable behaviors from occurring. Between the ages of 3 and 12 weeks, puppies have a wide open window for learning that most trainers will tell you is the ideal time to introduce new experiences. After about 18 weeks, dogs can still be socialized, but it does tend to be a little harder and involve more time to see desirable behaviors emerge.
Exposure Your Puppy to New Experiences
The types of experiences you want your puppy to be comfortable with will depend upon your lifestyle. Yet, most dogs will need to be familiar with how to handle meeting new people and other animals. You will also want your dog to be comfortable being handled and groomed by yourself and others. Riding in a car, walking on a leash and behaving in a new environment are all desirable behaviors to introduce during this socialization training.
Introduce Your Puppy to Other Dogs
Until your puppy has had all their shots, it is important to limit their exposure somewhat. Yet, if you wait until every vaccination is complete, you may miss this critical puppy socialization window. Therefore, begin by giving your puppy play time with the other puppies from their litter if it is possible. You can also introduce your puppy to the dogs you already know from your social circle. This way, you can make sure your dog is only introduced to pets that have been fully vaccinated and examined by a professional until they have built up their immunity to disease. Then, you can slowly take them to places in public such as the dog park.
Introducing your puppy to other dogs is important to puppy socialization. However, dogs can be territorial. Find neutral territory. If the dogs are on a leash, keep the tension out of your grip. Your dog will relate to your anxiety level, which means that the more relaxed you are, the more relaxed he/she will be.
Watch your dog’s body language carefully when interacting with a new dog. Be prepared to remove the animal if you see raised hackles or an erect tail. Do not force your puppy to socialize with every dog. Forcing a situation can be a recipe for disaster. You are the pack leader and need to protect your puppy to give them the confidence to face other situations.
Watch for Negative Reaction Cues
Playing puppy detective is part of your role during the socialization process so be alert for signs that your dog is having a negative reaction to training. For example, a puppy who is cowering under a table may be trying to tell you that they have had enough new people playing with them for the day. Alternatively, your puppy may leap with glee at the sight of a new toy or special treat. This is a sure sign that they are responding well to your training and are ready to progress towards other new experiences.
How to Make Puppy Socialization a Positive Experience
Congratulations on getting your new pup! One of the most important things to teach the newest member of your family is that the world is a safe place full of friendly dogs and humans.
To achieve this, you have to socialize your puppy and introduce them to other people and animals. Puppy socialization is key to raising a confident and relaxed dog.
The Puppy Socialization Window
Generally, you should start the socialization process as soon as you get your puppy home. Many experts say the window ends at 16 weeks of age. If your puppy does not have all of his or her shots yet, you should avoid public dog parks and invite safe, healthy dogs and individuals into your home.
Know the Signs of Puppy Stress
If socialization is a negative experience, the puppy will grow to dislike new situations, animals and people. To make sure you are not exposing your pup to too much too soon, keep an eye out for these signs of stress:
- Cowering
- Clinging
- Ears drawn back
- Tail Tucking
- Turning the head/body away from approaching people/animals
Choose a Variety of Friendly People
When you expose your puppy to new humans, include a mix of sizes, genders, ethnicities and ages. However, be sure to choose people who will handle your puppy gently. If a friend of yours is too rough, the pup may grow to be fearful of any individual with similar physical properties.
Choose a Range of Safe Dogs
When socializing your puppy with other dogs and animals, go with a variety of friendly dogs. Just like with people, choose animals in a range of sizes, colors, breeds and genders. When dealing with larger dogs, pick older animals with a history of docile behavior to avoid accidental puppy injuries.
During the socialization process, remain cognizant of your pup’s emotional and physical well-being. If you want your puppy to grow into the friendly pet it is destined to be, make sure this journey is a positive experience.
Fun Ideas to Help Socialize Your Puppy
Puppy socialization is one of the most important jobs you have as a puppy parent. This type of socialization helps your puppy become comfortable as a pet living in a human society full of strange sights and sounds. Try these super fun ideas so your furry companion will realize there is nothing to fear.
Hang Out at the Park
The local park is a great socialization spot for your puppy, because it is bustling with things to see and hear. There are tall trees that creek when gusty winds blow through, noisy voices of children and other dogs. Let your buddy sniff around, find interesting and foreign objects and basically explore the way youngsters do.
Stroll Through the Neighborhood
A walk around the neighborhood introduces your puppy to all sorts of different sounds, including noisy vehicles, bicycles, skateboards, home improvement noises and barking dogs.
Take Car Rides
For dogs that did not experience car rides as puppies, even a short five-minute drive is scary. If you plan on taking trips with your dog, this is an ideal time to get him accustomed to riding in a crate or using a seat belt harness.
Spend Time with Grooming & Vet Staff
Most canines prefer hiding under a bed for a few hours rather than be taken in for a nail clipping or exam. You squash your pup’s future fear of the groomer and vet by visiting each place and socializing with the staff, or just going inside and sitting down for a few minutes. Let your pal know that groomers and vets can be fun places.
Visit Family & Friends
If your pup is only used to your house, he might be scared or weary of venturing into an unfamiliar home. When you take him to visit a family member or friend at least once a week or so, he will likely enjoy it.
Puppy socialization is most effective between the first 3 and 16 weeks after your pet is born, sometimes a few weeks shorter or longer depending on your puppy.
Puppy Socialization Proves to Work
Is there really anything better than a well-trained dog, who sits at your feet, listens to your commands, and just loves to please you, whether at work or play? Puppy training is to thank for this.
The love of a good dog is as American as apple pie, but dogs aren’t exactly born with good manners from the moment they come into the world. In fact, most puppies are full of youthful exuberance, excitement, and curiosity, and that can result in some decidedly questionable behavior early in your newly adopted dog’s life.
As breeders, we do everything we can to ensure good genetic temperament. In fact, most of us quite literally select blood lines for intelligence, patience, and “good dog” traits, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have a role to play in helping to cultivate your puppy’s personality.
In fact, according to one recent study, puppy training classes and proper socialization just might be the best decision you make for your dog. We review this study and show you what makes training classes so useful in today’s post.
The Study on Puppy Socialization
The study, published in American Veterinarian, focuses on research completed at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada. It includes a full analysis of this survey published in the American Veterinary Medicine Association (AVMA) database in late 2017.
The survey asked dog owners to detail their puppy socialization practices from extremely early in life. Each of the 296 puppy owners had just one puppy under 20 weeks of age at the time of enrollment. Each was asked the same set of questions at two critical development points, initial enrollment and again at the 20-week mark.
Questions centered on socialization practices as well as how owners responded to negative behavior, including mischief, misbehavior, anxiety, and outright fear. Owners were split into two specific groups: those who took their dog to training classes, and those who did not.
The Results
What researchers discovered was a significant split in behavior between the 49 percent of puppies who attended training classes and the 51 percent who did not. Puppies who attended classes early and often later showed fewer signs of fear, less stereotypically “bad” behavior, and a greater willingness to respond to positive reinforcement and other non-negative discipline approaches.
On the other hand, dogs who did not attend training classes readily demonstrated fear responses to loud noises, new situations, thunder, vacuum cleaners, and other minor daily stressors. Owners who did not take their dogs to classes were also much more likely to rely on punishment-based discipline, including yelling or crating, than the attending group.
Sadly, this often also made non-trained puppies react fearfully to crating and other generally positive methods, making discipline far more challenging.
Making Sense of Puppy Training
These results tell us something that most breeders and trainers have known for a very long time: puppyhood, like childhood, is a critical period of social development for dogs. Proper socialization at this time period is an absolute must; without it, dogs age into bad behavior, and correcting that bad behavior becomes extremely difficult.
But that’s just the beginning; to fully understand the weight and magnitude of this study, we need to also review all of the benefits puppies receive in early training classes.
Socialization & Being a Good Canine Friend
Firstly, when dogs attend training and obedience classes, they are immediately and consistently introduced to new people and other dogs. They learn from older dogs, teach younger dogs, and generally learn how to be a good canine pal to other dogs they meet.
These socialization skills are critical to keeping your dog safe throughout his life, both at home and out in the world. Your dog needs to have the confidence to meet other humans and dogs, young or old, without being reactionary out of fear or anxiety.
A dog who is persistently afraid of humans and other dogs is uncomfortable, unhappy, and often, a bite risk, but problems like these can be resolved with good training. The earlier that training happens, the better, but the idea that an old dog can’t learn new tricks is patently false.
Relating with Your Dog
Training classes also benefit the relationship between owners and their dogs by teaching them how to relate and bond with each other. During those early puppy training classes, puppies learn they can trust and rely on their human, who in turn learns the how to be a good steward and guide to the puppy now and later in life.
Why is this so important? Primarily, because puppies don’t necessarily come with user’s manuals. Like human children, you learn most of how to take care of them from loved ones and friends or by trial and error as your puppy grows. Training ensures that you learn the right methods, rather than old wives tales or potentially dangerous discipline methods that not only don’t work, but can inspire anxiety or aggression.
Think back to the study. Researchers identified that owners who did not take their dogs to training classes often defaulted to punishment-based discipline. They aren’t necessarily bad owners; they were just never taught more positive and healthy methods for discipline puppies. Owners probably continued to punish, to little or ill effect, leaving puppy confused and owner frustrated.
The problem with punishment is that all research and evidence tell us that it just isn’t effective for the vast majority of dogs, especially in puppyhood. Sadly, for the control group who didn’t attend training classes, it likely led to a lot of heartache and frustration, and potentially, a dreaded “bad dog” label along the way.
What Matters Most
Last but not least, the most important takeaway from this study: owners who did not take their dogs to puppy training classes were much more likely to report bad behavior in their puppies. Over time, this maladaptive behavior can lead owners to become more and more frustrated with their dogs, who really want nothing more than proper guidance and to understand why they’re always in trouble.
The study also revealed that untrained dogs who exhibited bad or negative behavior had a much higher risk for relinquishment to local shelters – often kill shelters, where bad behavior can be a death sentence.
Proper puppy socialization, including training classes in the first 20 weeks, shouldn’t just be considered an option; it should be a must. It helps your dog learn, grow, develop their emotional regulation skills, and relate to you in a healthier manner for life.
Best of all, it helps the two of you bond and develop a rock-solid relationship that prevents tragedies like relinquishment or sudden accidents, so you can look forward to spending your entire lives together in happiness and bliss. No dog is ever perfect, but with your guidance and puppy training, you can get pretty doggone close!
Using this guide will get your puppy training off to a great start. Yet, keep in mind that your puppy’s temperament, age and prior experiences will all play a role in how well they respond. Sometimes, professional puppy training is required for overcoming obstacles that occur during socialization such as an animal’s natural shyness or preference for rough play. Just continue to provide your puppy with the love and training they need to grow up into a loyal member of your family.