Your puppy will remember positive experiences all their lives however they also remember the negative ones too. We need to make sure that all experiences for our puppy are positive ones at least to the age of six months. This includes experiences with other dogs and people and their environment. It is best to not to overwhelm your puppy by exposing them to too many things at once, take your time and always check that puppy is happy and relaxed. Being extra safe during the puppy’s early months will help grow a confident well-balanced dog.
WHAT DOES SOCIALISATION MEAN FOR A PUPPY
Socialisation is controlled positive exposure with various objects, sounds, smells, people, animals, and environments. It is one of the most important things for your puppy in the first months of their lives as this is the “sensitive phase” and most learning is permanent.
HOW TO SOCIALISE YOUR PUPPY
Feed your puppy treats when they are experiencing new things, so they associate those things with a positive experience.
Create space for your puppy to experience new things – start at a distance so that they can observe what is going on first. Let your puppy choose to approach a new object, person, dog, or other animal and give them plenty of lead length and space to withdraw if they become anxious.
Let your puppy set the pace of interaction with new experiences/people/objects/ and other dogs. Some puppies are naturally confident, and others can be a little shy or hesitant, so don’t ever force your puppy into a situation where they might get scared.
Start slow and break experiences down into segments. For example – the vacuum cleaner is a common object that takes a young puppy by surprise. So firstly, just let them sniff the vacuum and become comfortable with the object. Next move to letting you puppy see the vacuum move, then follow it as it moves without getting anxious. Next turn the vacuum on but do not move it and make sure puppy is ok with the noise. Then you can turn the machine on and move it – again checking that puppy is not getting upset at this strange phenomenon.
A WORD ABOUT DOG PARKS
Dogs do not need to socialise directly with other dogs to be socialised. In the early stages of a puppy’s life, it is best to avoid dog parks. Dog parks are often uncontrolled environments, and your puppy could be chased, snarled at, or frightened by approaching dogs. Such experiences can lead to a puppy who is fearful and sometimes aggressive to other dogs for their entire lives. Changing such behaviour can be difficult and take a lot of time. Prevention so much better than cure.
Take your puppy on leash to parks where other dogs are on leash and see if your puppy wants to approach. This is a controlled environment – make sure you keep the leash loose and take your puppy away after a few minutes of saying hello. Polite doggy greetings and all should be well.