Dog Trainer Riverwood – Obedience Classes & Home Training

Dog Trainer Riverwood – Obedience Classes & Home Training – Eazy Dog Training Riverwood

How to Socialize Your New Puppy

So, you’ve got a new family member and you want to do everything right to ensure that your dog grows up to be a well-behaved, friendly and social adult dog.  One of the biggest issues I get contacted for is when adolescent and adult dogs start to react to unfamiliar dogs or people. This is not uncommon and it’s usually a sign that the early socialisation lacked a bit. Here’s advice from your local dog trainer in Riverwood.

The most important window for socialization in puppies is between the ages of four and 12 weeks.

During this time, if a puppy must be exposed to unfamiliar people, dogs, places, types of flooring, sounds, and a lot more to avoid future fear-based issues. Vets usually advise that puppies should not be allowed around other dogs or places sick dogs might have been until the age of 16 weeks when vaccinations are complete which is good advice, a young puppy should not go to dog parks for example. But while there is a real risk of diseases like parvo and distemper that are easily spread and can be fatal, you don’t want to avoid all other dogs otherwise you’ll face severe behavioural issues that can last a lifetime. The key is to socialize selectively. (By the way, the place you’re most likely to find sick dogs is at the vet’s, so bring your pup in a crate or carrier or, at the least, keep him off the waiting room floor and reconsider taking a puppy school that is run at a vet.)

If you know someone with a friendly adult dog who is good with puppies, organise a playdate with them! Or join a well-run puppy school that offers playtime too!

You’ll also need to introduce your puppy to new people.

Avoid overwhelming your puppy with new experiences, keep the introductions nice and short and positive. Introduce your pup to a variety of kids and adults. He should meet males and females, tall and large people as well as smaller ones, people of different colours, men with facial hair, people who walk with a limp or a cane, people wearing uniforms…you get the idea. Also include people who are wearing hats and/or sunglasses etc.

And most importantly, get your puppy out and about avoiding places that are heavily trafficked by other dogs!

Pups should get accustomed to everything new in their new human world such as bicycles, cars, trucks, planes flying overhead, and whatever else they might encounter later in life. For a city dog, that might include skateboards, scooters, statues and other structures, walking over metal grates, the sound of the garbage truck, and more. A country dog might need to get accustomed to being around chickens, cows, or horses, and the sounds of weed whackers and other equipment such as tractors. Also, in addition to walking on tile or carpeting indoors, get your puppy used to walking on different surfaces outdoors such as grass, asphalt, and gravel.

And all this isn’t even enough!

There is a lot more that should be done with young puppies, such as handling exercises, independence and calming down training, exercises to prevent resource guarding issues etc.