When acquiring a puppy, socialization is one of the most important things to focus on because this is when puppies learn to sense the world around them. Many people are increasingly aware of its importance, but often feel overwhelmed with how to do it properly or don’t understand what ideal socialization entails. This can cause gaps in the puzzle to be missed and pitfalls only discovered by owners later in the dog’s life.
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For me, this could be broken down into a familiar framework to cover the basics of understanding how good socialization works.
WHO: Puppies.
I often hear adult dog owners tell me that they need help socializing their dog. What they mean is probably that their pup doesn’t get along very well with other dogs, or that he hasn’t been around many and wants to make sure he’ll be appropriate when he’s there. will be visiting friends or family who also have dogs. In the human world, we think of socialization as the act of interacting with other people, usually for the purpose of having fun. In dogs, socialization means the acquisition of fundamental social skills and true socialization is only possible from a certain age range.
WHAT: Positive and gentle exposure to a wide variety of stimuli.
The idea behind this isn’t just to have your pup with a few people and a few dogs and then be fine. It takes active planning to ensure that you make the most of this time. It is essential to do everything in your power to allow your puppy to experience many different things so that he develops a strong sense of security in the big world around him. Socialization should be deliberate, and your puppy should be supervised and monitored during these experiences to ensure he is comfortable and happy. Any sign of stress or fear should be a signal to actively work on modifying or shaping their emotional responses to the circumstances that caused them. It’s not just people and dogs that matter. Different sounds, surfaces, environments, smells, textures and objects are absolutely on this list. Moreover, the people and the dogs they TO DO to which you are exposed should also vary. For example, people of different sizes, ethnicities, and ages, as well as people who wear hats or sunglasses, are variations in people that may not seem significant to us, but are important to your pup.
WHEN: During their critical socialization period.
As I mentioned in the “who”, true socialization can only occur during a particular developmental window. This window goes from the age of 3 weeks to about 16 weeks. Once that window is in the rearview mirror, socialization as we speak of it is over. Exposures beyond this point, even if done well, are not wasteful, are not the same, and will not have the same impact.
WHERE: Ideally, many, many places.
Seriously. Lots of places. It’s part of the name of the game. Taking your pup to explore pet-friendly stores in your area, fun visits to the vet’s office for cookies, friends and family homes, sniffaris, the list goes on. ! In this category we want to focus on places with different sights, sounds, smells and textures to explore.
WHY: This period of time and what we do with it can greatly shape a dog’s future..
Undersocialization during this time is a major culprit of behavioral barriers in dogs later in life. It can happen at any time, but we most often see deficits during the next developmental period: adolescence. Adolescence extends from approximately 6 months to 3 years. We are currently seeing many impacts of lack of socialization due to puppies obtained during the pandemic. Now that people are getting back to normal, their dogs are dealing with things they may not have been exposed to during COVID, which is taking its toll on many families. Even if socialization is not the only factor that shapes a dog’s future behavioral health, it’s an important piece of the puzzle and we know what problems failure to socialize will most likely create. When dogs are undersocialized, they tend to have trouble regulating their stress, fear, and/or anxiety. They may be shy of social situations that we consider unreasonable to be wary of, or they may develop fear-based danger, reactivity, or aggression toward people, dogs, cars, or driving. These are just a few of the potential results of under-socializing a dog. They can also be consequences if flooding, i.e. forcing a dog to “get used to” something no matter how it feels, is mistaken for socialization.
HOW: This topic in itself could warrant a whole series of other blogs, but for now, I’ll give you a general overview.
You know you want your pup’s experiences to be positive, but it’s not just about meeting other people and well-meaning dogs. I often say that perception is as good as reality. There’s no more important time to worry about your pup’s perception (whether or not it matches reality) than during socialization. Your puppy decides if something is positive, neutral or negative. It will therefore be useful to learn the basics of canine body language before you begin. You can watch our body language series here if you’re interested. If your puppy is showing many signs of being calm, relaxed or happy then you are on the right track, but if your puppy is showing signs of discomfort, avoidance, anxiety, stress or fear , you’ll want to make sure you give them space. This is not the time to confront them with their fears, but rather to let them investigate what frightens them from a safe distance with which they feel more comfortable. Make sure you don’t fall into the trap of assuming that because your pup has been comfortable with everything so far, he’ll be fine with everything else. Like I said, the world is big.
When you realize the importance of socialization and the weight it can have, it can become a bit intimidating to approach for fear of mistakes. Luckily, there are a ton of resources to guide you through the experiments together. From articles and books to trainers, you can find something to suit your needs so you can learn to enjoy socializing with your pup.
If you have any questions for us, please do not hesitate to contact us.
For more information on our socialization programs such as puppy scouts where we take your pup on socialization adventures (offered in service areas – a 40 mile radius of Des Moines, Iowa or Wyocena, Wisconsin) and earn badges for their experiences, or for general questions about the socializing your puppy, you can always contact us!