Do you have a new puppy? Congratulations! We are going to talk about the importance of puppy socialization, while they’re still young.
Socialization is very important in several ways. Puppies who are properly socialized may have a better time at the vet and not be as scared or nervous as some dogs tend to be. There are many resources to use, whether that be daycare, training, hikes with a pack or frequent outings to explore different environments and people. Your puppy will learn manners and how to act properly around new animals, people and places.
Socialization is the process in which pets develop relationships with their own species as well as other species. The critical period for developing good socialization habits for dogs is when they are 3-12 weeks old. This is typically when they are with their mother and siblings. A good confident mother can play a huge role in starting to create a confident puppy. From 12-16 weeks is also a sensitive period for socialization. This is when owners should work on creating positive socialization experiences for their puppy. It is important to be handled frequently and have positive experiences with people, animals, objects and different environments in order to create a friendly and confident adult dog. There are 2 types of stimuli that can be introduced to your puppy.
- Animate Stimuli
> This includes a variety of different people and animals.
– Men with beards
– Children
– People in wheelchairs
– People in uniform (ex: police officer, vets and veterinary staff)
– Someone skateboarding or riding a bike
– Someone walking with a cane
– Different types of animals
- Inanimate Stimuli
> This includes places and objects.
– Unfamiliar locations
– Cars and trucks
– Elevators
– Parks
– Roadway/pavement
– Vacuum
– Kennel/crate
– Different tastes
– Different sounds
Puppies who are properly stimulated tend to have great coordination, are less fearful and are more sociable towards people. These dogs will typically grow up with little fear to strangers and objects and will generally enjoy exploring and playing with everyone and everything. By early handling and having mild stress, this may help the pup to better cope with stressful situations later in life. It is important to continue socialization throughout the dogs life in order to maintain social relationships and to prevent regression.
Without proper socialization, puppies may develop irreversible fears that can lead to being timid or aggressive in certain situations. Social deprivation can effect learning, fear responses, sexual behaviour and social preferences.
Here are some tips on how to socialize your puppy:
- Create positive experiences by reinforcement based training. Try to reward what is acceptable and avoid what is undesirable. It is important to avoid punishment as this can lead to fear.
- Start off slow, try not to overwhelm the puppy. Have 1 on 1 puppy to puppy interactions to start. Also start off by only introducing to 1 or 2 people at once. Gradually you can increase the amount of stimulation by adding more people, animals, noises and distractions.
- Take your pup to other people’s home, where other animals may be as well. This will help the puppy get used to different environments.
- Get people to give a treat or some kibble when greeting the puppy, this is a positive reinforcement. It can teach puppies to look forward to meeting new people.
- Once the pup has learned the “sit” command, ask people to get them to sit while greeting. This will make the pup less likely to jump up on people when greeting them.
- Find a local daycare that will help your puppy become socialized around other dogs.
- Reach out to your Veterinarian to give you other resources to help, such as websites, trainers and information sheets.