VETS corner

Socializing your puppy

By Dr. Kelly Wasylciw, Veterinary Services

Congratulations! You have gotten a new puppy! Typically, you are welcoming an eight week old puppy into your life, after it has spent some time with its mother at the breeders. This does not mean that the puppy hasn’t learned anything new before coming to its new home. The most influential time for a puppy to be socialized is from about three weeks until around twenty-four weeks of age. The key for socialization is to make it fun! Give your puppy lots of praise, treats, love and positive attitude during this time in their lives. If you are nervous, your puppy will be nervous as well and this could affect them for the rest of their life.

THREE TO EIGHT WEEKS

During this period, puppies are learning how to interact with their mother, their siblings and people. This is a critical time for them to learn how to interact with strangers. Most breeders know this and work with their puppies to introduce them to new people, new places and new experiences in those new places before they move in with their new family. If you get a new puppy younger than this, (due to circumstances that create this necessity), remember to introduce your puppy to as many new things as possible.

EIGHT TO TWELVE WEEKS

This may seem like the worst time to get a puppy because it is seen as their ‘fear’ period. However, this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t socialize your puppy! During this time it helps train them to stay close to you and trust you over anyone else. They will still want to see new things, try new things and meet new people, but may hesitate more at the start. Puppies may look at you to see how you are reacting to this novel person, place or thing. If you are acting calm or excited and praise the puppy, they will learn there is nothing to fear. They are basing their opinion on your reactions. Examples of items to introduce during this time are vacuum cleaners, mops, brooms, garbage bags and other loud noises that may be typical around the house. Introduce them to everything that you can possibly think of. It is also the best time to sign up for a puppy socialization class if you don’t have a lot of other dogs/people to help with socialization. Always research before signing up to ensure the instructor knows what they are doing, will help keep this experience positive for your puppy, and ensuring the space will keep your puppy safe from any potential diseases.

TWELVE TO TWENTY-FOUR WEEKS

Your puppy is starting to get over their ‘fear’ period. They may start to move further away from you when exploring new things and will be much more curious on their own. Continue educating during this time and allow them more stimulus at once. This can help your puppy adapt to new situations and aid in their development. Remain positive, give lots of praise and rewards.

When puppy is around sixteen weeks old and fully vaccinated, sign up for more classes and really dig into the training you want to do with your puppy.

This is important, as it will help you train your puppy with distractions and will aid in getting over any hurdles that you may have. The information provide above is simply a snippet of the information available to owners. If you are interested in further information regarding socialization, please visit the Canadian Kennel Club as they have some great resources to help you on your way!