Puppy Socialization: Behavior Video Series 2

Puppy Socialization: Behavior Video Series 2: The first few months of your puppy’s life are critical for health and development.

A well socialized puppy is one that gets along with all different types of people and cats. This takes effort on your part. You should start introducing your puppy between 4 and 16 weeks of age. You should continue to train your dog for the remainder part of its life. While socialization is a lifelong process, the most sensitive training is the first sixteen weeks. Take advantage of this time to set your dog up for lifetime of happy times.

Puppy Socialization- Things to do:

  • Read your puppy’s body language and make the meet and sniff comfortable
    • Comfortable: Body relaxed, tail up and wagging, ears up
    • Fearful: Backing away, ears back, low tail tucking
  • Identify a favorite reward:
    • Petting
    • Special toy
    • Treat
  • Introduce your puppy to:
    • Five new people each week until sixteen weeks of age
      • Upon introduction with your new family member give a favorite treat. Make sure to include all different classes or ethnicities.
    • Invite well-behaved, healthy, vaccinated pets to come to your home to play with your best friend.
    • After 16 weeks of age, you should introduce your loved one to one new person per week.
  • Enroll your domestic dog in a puppy obedience / socialization class.

Puppy Socialization- Things to avoid:

  • Do not overwhelm your canis-familiaris
    • If your pup exhibits fearful aggression, you have gone too far. Focus on making your young animal cosy again. Go for a hour long 1-1 dog run / walk.
  • Do not swat or hurt your puppy as your disposition.
    • These problems can negatively impact your dog’s relationship with you and other people.
  • Do not take your best friend high-risk areas like dog parks, rest stops, or where stray dogs visit.

Do not wait until your dog is 4 to 6 months of age to start puppy socialization.