Puppies are wonderful little creatures. They've got fat little bellies and everything they do is cute.
Puppies are blank slates. They don't have any bad habits. They need to learn everything. Take some time when your pup is still a pup and teach them good habits instead of letting them develop bad ones.
We had three pups at a recent Puppy Social. Two of them were terrier mixes and one was a sporting dog. They were all babies and all of them had different personalities.
The youngest, the sporting dog, had the least experience of course. He was tentative, but curious. He wanted to explore at his own pace and not be bothered by the other two (quite rambunctious and friendly) pups.
At Puppy Social, we let pups explore their surroundings on their own schedule. I like to look at each pup and get a feel for them. This little sporting dog was definitely feeling out of his element. He has another dog at home, an adolescent sporting dog. He gets along great with his big brother, but when meeting new friends, he's a bit on the shy side.
There's nothing wrong with that. But it does mean that the owner will have to do a little more work getting the little guy out and about, allowing him to experience the world as pleasant and fun.
The socialization window closes between 16 and 20 weeks of age – you don't have long to get your pup out to explore the world. So don't wait – get your really good treats, get your pup and go out and take lots of walks where you can show your pup how wonderful the world can be. Let your pup explore at his own pace – never force your pup to go meet another dog, person, or object. If your pup looks scared, create a safe-zone where the pup can look, but can't be reached by whatever he finds scary.
Just getting your pup out and having fun with him will go a long way to developing your pup into a well-adjusted dog.
As Talos' time with us comes to an end, it's dawning on us that we'll be bringing a new pup into our home soon. I'm already thinking of socialization opportunities for the new pup. It's never too early to start planning!
Meghan Longhurst says
You’ll have to bring that new pup to our library for socialization – someone brought a service dog in training last week and the whole building stopped to ooh and ahh over her. 🙂
Jesse McKinney - Doggie Know says
Laurie
Socialization is so very inportant and something that a lot of owners do not do enough of, thanks for another Great post.
Jesse McKinney
Doggie Know, LLC
http://www.doggieknow.com
Pamela says
Ongoing socialization is really crucial. It’s not just something you do for a few weeks and then stop.
I’ve read about “fear periods” in puppies but I’ve only recently seen it. My puppy Honey appeared to be fearless when we brought her home at eight weeks. But just after she turned 3 months, we saw signs of additional timidity in some situations. Your suggestion of allowing your pup to explore from a safe distance is spot on. It’s good to have the reminder.
I’m wondering if you’ve seen waxing and waning fear periods in raising Talos?
Laurie Luck says
Hi Pamela,
Yes, the developmental periods a pup goes through are something to see, aren’t they? Talos’s developmental periods weren’t nearly as dramatic as some of the Labradors I’ve raised. He’s always been quite gregarious and curious, even through his puppyhood.
My yellow Lab, Tango, had a gate fall on him several times when he was a pup. And guess what he’s fearful of to this day? 😉 He’s ok if the gate is up and fitted in the doorway, it’s when it’s balanced against the wall that he’s suspicious.
Sherlock says
We haven’t had puppies for a long time, although our first four dogs we got as puppies. Our current three are all rescues and the first two (one’s been with us 8 yrs and the other 4 yrs) took a LONG time to re-socialize.
We have a boxer who’s been with us now for about 10 months and was fearful/aggressive to people, vehicles, and strange dogs. He’s great meeting people on walks now, doesn’t bark and lunge at vehicles, but still barks and lunges at anything that goes by and startles him.
Any tips for getting him beyond the dog-aggression behavior while on a leash? He is fine with our dogs.
I know it’s much more difficult with rescues and patience is the key. But he’s big and strong and it’s killing my shoulders to keep him under control on walks when he wants to pull and bark and lunge.