We all dream of having a dog who is happy to be our constant companion wherever we are and whatever we’re doing.
Do you long for:
- Long, summer walks followed by a pint in the pub with your dog?
- Happy holidays where your dog can come along too?
- Having a coffee in a café with a friend with your dog at your feet?
- A stroll through a busy market, stopping to buy treats for yourself and your dog?
- Meeting up with friends and their dogs for adventures?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you need to start prepping your puppy NOW. Only by getting used to people, dogs, busy places, car travel, loud noises and the myriad of other things that such trips involve at a young age will your dog feeling calm and happy in these environments as an adult. This is purpose of the all-important socialisation.
Socialisation consists of exposing your puppy to everything that they might experience as an adult dog. This includes sights, sounds, smells, tastes and textures. But did you know there is a right way and a wrong way to carry out socialisation?
Wrong way:
- Passing your puppy round to every person that you meet
- Standing very close to noisy roads
- Letting every dog run up to your puppy
- Free for all play with other dogs
- Making loud noises near your puppy
- Forcing them to interact with new things.
Right way:
- Standing back and observing the world with your puppy
- Watching their body language to ensure that they are happy and moving further away if they’re not
- Reassuring them if they seem concerned
- Giving them treats and fuss while in new environments to help them see that these are happy places
- Letting them choose whether to interact with people
- Allowing them to explore new things at their pace.
Socialisation is not about forcing your puppy into new situations as they will just become overwhelmed and fearful. You are allowing them to slowly but surely get used to their world by exploring it at their own pace, with your support, so that their confidence can bloom.
Socialisation is especially important in young puppies between the ages of three and 12-16 weeks who are experiencing a critical socialisation period at this time, when their perceptions of things in the environment are formed and can last a lifetime. Your puppy hasn’t completed their vaccinations yet? No problem, just focus on short trips that involve car travel, sitting in the boot with your puppy watching the world go by, and carrying them around in new places. Make positive socialisation the top of your list for your first few weeks with them. You won’t get this window of opportunity back and it is the single most important thing that you can do to avoid your dog developing behavioural problems as an adult.
If I could tell every puppy owner one thing it would be this: focus on socialisation above all else. Make a list of all the things that your puppy will experience in their world as an adult and start ticking them off when you’ve gently exposed your puppy to them. Do something new every day. Plus, enjoy it – it’s a great excuse to go to lots of cafes and pubs!
