Your puppy is up to their withers in new people and furry friends, but have you checked off ALL the items on your socialization checklist? Let’s talk about it.
You did it! After months of waiting and research, your puppy is finally here. Your floors are slick with pee, your living room scattered with toys, and your heart full of love and dreams for your new family member. You’ll soon be inundated with unsolicited opinions from friends, neighbors, and (probably) complete strangers. Among the good and not so good advice, there is one thing you hear time and again:
You must socialize your puppy.
So you grab your puppy, pack some treats, and get to work.
Man in a hat, check.
Large dog barking, check.
Woman carrying a baby, check.
Stroller, check.
Puppy class, check check.
Your puppy is now socialized, right?
…I hate to break it to you, but there are some categories you may have missed.
Why Socialize your Puppy?
In order to understand the importance of the below socialization exercises, you need to understand why we socialize puppies in the first place.
Puppies go through what is called a “sensitive socialization period” before the age of roughly 12-16 weeks. This means that their little baby brains are like sponges, soaking up experiences – good or bad – more than they would if they were older. Since we know that puppies are so sponge-like, we also know that we need to capitalize on this time by giving them a ton of positive, safe experiences with everything they’ll have to encounter in day-to-day life.
Principles of Puppy Socialization
In order to socialize your puppy properly, you will want to take into account the following principles:
- Expose at their pace: never push your puppy to interact with something/someone or stay in a situation beyond their comfort level.
- Make it a good experience: pair each socialization event with food, play, or something else your puppy enjoys to make a great impression.
- Keep it safe: while we recommend socializing your puppy before they receive all of their vaccines (in line with the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior position statement), this doesn’t mean that socialization is a free-for-all. Use wagons, carriers and other means to keep puppies away from high-traffic dog areas, such as dog parks and other busy parks. The highest risk of deadly diseases, such as Parvovirus, is found in exposure to animal feces.
While exposure to dogs and different types of people is a big part of socialization, it is not the only part. For puppy socialization to be successful, we want your dog to also be comfortable with the following things.
1. A Variety of Surfaces
Walking on different surfaces comes naturally to us, but the whole world is new for your puppy. This means that they have never experienced a lot of different surfaces that we take for granted! If you don’t want a dog who runs for the hills at the first sight of a manhole cover, make a point to expose them to all of these substrates early. Examples include:
- Slippery floors (a common fear for dogs who have not been socialized to them)
- Sand and dirt
- Wet surfaces
- Grates and manhole covers
- Concrete
- Gravel
- Grass (high and low if possible)
- Cobblestone
- Carpet
If your puppy is hesitant to walk on any surfaces you introduce, don’t force it. Allow them to explore at their own pace, and reward bravery as it happens organically.
2. Body Handling
When we see a cute puppy, all we want to do is squeeze them and cover them with kisses. But does your puppy want that? Probably not. Handling doesn’t come naturally to puppies, and it’s up to us to give them positive experiences before they collect bad ones over the course of their lifetime.
Avoid allowing friends and relatives to touch or pick your puppy up if your puppy seems uncomfortable (hands off, uncle Larry), and advocate for your puppy if they are struggling to get away. Set up intentional socialization sessions where you slowly introduce them to touch on different parts of their body, and pair the touch with yummy food. (Think baked chicken or hot dogs for best results.)
Introduce grooming tools before you need them, and make sure their first experience is safe and comfortable. Don’t expect a full nail trim the first time your puppy has ever spotted the clippers!
Some examples of body handling socialization activities to try:
- Touching/flipping open ears
- Touching and holding paws
- Manipulating toes
- Restraint
- Picking puppy up
- Touching and opening mouth, looking at teeth, picking at beard if applicable
- Gently examining eyes
- Touching all over body, including sides, belly, neck and tail
- Grooming
- Vet exam
Make note of anything your puppy doesn’t like and work on this more gradually next time, with our trainer supporting you.
Pro tip: Make sure your puppy notices the touch or handling first, then bring out the treats second for best results.
3. Loud and/or Busy Environments
Judging by how many dogs you see at festivals and on downtown sidewalks, you might assume that walking around in busy, loud surroundings comes naturally. This is far from the case. Puppies (and many adult dogs) will easily become stressed and overstimulated in places with a lot of sounds, sights and smells.
This doesn’t mean you can never take your dog to these places (although some you might want to avoid permanently). What it does mean is that you need to make a point of socializing your puppy to these situations as best you can before 16 weeks.
Let’s review some Dos and Don’ts before you set out on the town:
Do set your puppy up in a location that is a bit removed from the center of the action.
Don’t plunk your pup down in the middle of a busy sidewalk and expect them to cope.
Do allow them to observe, and reward with yummy treats as they do so.
Don’t stay too long.
Don’t allow strange people or other dogs to crowd your puppy.
A Note About Food
While we do want to use yummy treats to create positive associations, we never want to use food to lure a puppy closer to something they are worried about. Food should be used when your puppy is relaxed and curious. If your puppy is scared or hesitant, your first priority is giving them space and helping them feel safe again.
If you notice that your puppy seems conflicted about approaching to get the food (such as having their weight shifted away from an object/person while stretching their neck forward to get the food), toss the food away from the scary thing instead.
Final Thoughts
Socialization is truly the most important task you have as a puppy parent. And with that responsibility comes immense pressure to get it right. Try to take it easy on yourself and your puppy and remember you’re both doing your best.
Common mistakes include overwhelming the puppy with too many experiences at once, forcing interactions, or exposing them to situations that are not enjoyable (or may even be scary!). It’s essential to monitor their comfort level and move at their pace to have success.
A well-socialized puppy is much more likely to grow into a friendly, adaptable, and well-mannered dog who can accompany you on all of life’s adventures. By making socialization a priority, owners can set their puppies up for a lifetime of positive interactions and reduced behavioral issues.
About the Author:
Kathleen Alvania (she/her) is a certified professional dog trainer (CPDT-KA) and Fear Free Certified Professional (FFCP) with her Certification in Training and Counseling (CTC) from the highly esteemed Academy for Dog Trainers. Like all Academy graduates, she adheres to their strict aversive-free code of ethics and commits to providing competent training and transparency regarding her methods. Kathleen is also a licensed Family Paws Parent Educator, which means she has been specially trained to support families who have (or will soon have) young children and dogs.
Kathleen has over a decade of experience working with dogs: walking dogs professionally, volunteering at shelters and rescues, monitoring puppy play groups, assistant teaching group classes, and training dogs individually. She loves teaching puppies that the world is safe and generally fantastic, and she loves helping humans deal with the big feelings of Puppy (and Dog) Parenthood. She is patient and cheerful in the face of frustration and always challenges herself to make lessons fun, clear, and engaging.
A lifelong learner, Kathleen takes every opportunity to update her knowledge by attending conferences and workshops, taking new courses, viewing webinars, etc. You are welcome to ask what she’s learned recently – she’d love to talk about it!