Puppy Club Fact Sheets
Socialising Your Puppy
Introduction
By properly socialising your puppy during its early life you will help ensure that it turns into a model citizen of the canine world. There exists a 'sensitive developmental period' for the puppy when this can most effectively be achieved.
When and How?
This critical period occurs between the second and fifteenth weeks of a puppy's life. Key experiences during this time will form the foundation of how the puppy relates to and interacts with many individuals in their future lives such as:
- Other adults and children
- Other dogs and puppies
- Other types of pets, livestock and horses
- Postmen :-)
Also it is during this period that puppies are habituated to the every day challenges of life which include:
- Household noises and appliances
- Cars and traffic
- Crowds
- Periods of separation
- The town and countryside
How to Socialise and Habituate your Puppy
The big stumbling block is that often the primary course of vaccinations for puppies will only be completed at about 11 to 12 weeks of age. This leaves only a small window during the last month of the critical 'sensitive developmental period' to achieve socialisation.
At Parkvets the puppy club is one way of allowing puppies who have had their first vaccination to start socialisation classes with their peers from about eight weeks of age. It gives them an extra few weeks to develop these important skills.
Where a service like this is not available, simply taking your puppy out and about as soon as is possible is the best approach. Begin slowly and gradually increase the number of encounters and time spent socialising as your puppy gets older and better able to cope. Over-doing it can be counter productive if the puppy become frightened or over whelmed.
The Consequences of Failure
Many of the behavioural problems seen in dogs are the result of inadequate socialisation and habituation while a puppy. All too often the long-term consequences are that dogs with unacceptable behaviour are euthanased. In fact behaviour problems are the number one reason why young dogs are put to sleep. Tragic.
A programme for Effective Socialisation and Habituation
Birth
- Puppy should experience human scent (male & female) at a very early age.
- Gentle handling
3 Weeks
- All environmental stimuli should be interesting and non-threatening to the pup.
- Breeders should expose the pup to household noise (washing machine, vacuum cleaner, TV, etc).
- Start to accustom the pup to a normal domestic environment.
- Start grooming and mock vet examinations.
6 Weeks
- Many puppies transfer to their new home and owners.
- The puppy should meet all the family including pets and babies.
- Don't forget the postmen and milkmen and as many visitors as possible.
- Add food to the puppy's bowl while it eats.
9 Weeks
- Begin lead training.
- Go to puppy club!
- Avoid dogs that are aggressive or behave badly in parks, as they may encourage fear and teach bad behaviour.
12 Weeks
- Ensure a broadening range of experiences.
15+ Weeks
- Lessons learnt can be forgotten unless you reinforce them. This should continue right up until social maturity, which is usually achieved at about 12 months of age.
The Aim
To achieve a puppy that is friendly and eager to meet people and other animals. It is then a simple matter of building on this by preventing bad behaviour, ignoring or distracting unwanted actions and rewarding and praising good behaviour. You will produce a dog that is a pleasure to own and gives tremendous lasting satisfaction to you and your family.
Enjoy and good luck!
Acknowledgements
This article draws heavily on the two sources.
- Puppy socialisation and habituation by Intervet.
- Socialising your puppy as part of the Headstart for Puppies Programme by the Blue Cross which is also sponsored by Intervet.
