Puppy Socialization, It’s Probably Not What You Think!

It’s very common for people to have an oversimplified understanding of puppy socialization and it’s very unfortunate because not properly socializing a puppy is the leading cause of reactivity and aggression in dogs. For example, most people are unaware the ideal puppy socialization phase is before they are 3 months old even though it continues well after this age! It’s part of their brain’s physiological development. Between 3 weeks and 3 months old their brain is less likely to have a stress response to new experiences. Reading this article to better understand how to properly socialize your puppy is worth its weight in treats!

When to Socialize - You may have heard suggestions to not socialize puppy until after they are fully vaccinated, this is a very outdated practice. There are ways to safely socialize a puppy not yet fully vaccinated. You can read more on the recommendations to start socialization young and before the completion of vaccinations by leading veterinarian behaviorist here. Most people bring their puppy home around 8 weeks old which only leaves about a month in the ideal socialization phase which should be taken advantage of when possible. A late start is definitely still better than none and socialization should continue well after the ideal phase. Usually the earlier the start the easier the process. If acquiring a dog from a breeder, they should be able to explain what they are doing to promote healthy socialization during the time the puppy is still with their mom and litter mates.

Why Socialization is Priority - Most dogs will not grow up to trust or remain calm around all the things in day to day life without some help, especially in public. Most important to understand is in the animal world unknown equates to do not trust. You just don’t risk safety that easily. A dog that finds things in the environment untrustworthy or overwhelming is going to start entering a state of survival mode or over arousal. This is why improper socialization of a dog is the leading cause of some of the most problematic behaviors like reactivity or aggression. And to make matters even more complicated, the dog’s cognitive ability, the ability to concentrate and offer behaviors being requested of them, starts to go out the window when a dog is in survival mode or over aroused. This is sometimes confused with stubbornness or dominance. Training a dog that feels safe and isn’t over stimulated is usually fairly easy. So for young dogs it’s advisable to prioritize socialization.

What & Where to Socialize - To best socialize a puppy, they will need to be exposed to a lot of different stimuli in and out of the home. Especially because dogs do not generalize easily, proper socialization requires a lot of variety. For example, if your puppy only learns to trust a few people that visit your home while they are young, this does not guarantee your puppy will trust all people. An example of varying exposure to people would be to include different age groups, races, uniforms, facial hair styles, seasonal clothing, and the list goes on. Aside from people and other animals, don’t forget all the objects in life that could be suspicious to an animal, vacuum, hair dryer, blender, ladder, umbrella, bikes, shopping carts, balloons, etc. A tour of all the things around your house and watching the world from out front of your home is a great place to start. Take your puppy on errands when possible and start regularly visiting places you hope to have your dog accompany you as an adult dog. It’s also important to immediately start rehearsing handling for veterinarian care and grooming, including visiting these locations to allow your puppy to establish a positive relationship with staff before receiving services.

How to Socialize - After reading the above you may be ready to throw your puppy in front of the whole world. How you go about exposing your puppy is just as important as the exposure. When you are socializing your puppy, what you are doing is making an association in their brain between the thing and an emotion. The goal is an emotional state of safe, happy, and calm, but it can go wrong. If your puppy is feeling any form of stress or over arousal while experiencing something, that thing or situation has a high likelihood of becoming a future trigger for that undesirable emotional state. This means that you should use caution as you expose your puppy. Exposure doesn't mean meetings and greetings. Your puppy doesn’t have to meet all the people or dogs to learn they are safe. You’ll actually want to be very selective with your puppy’s encounters. Don’t let your puppy be approached by any dogs you do not know or become overwhelmed by well-meaning people. Overall your puppy should be learning that strangers and other animals mind their own business while out in public, this helps promote feeling safe and calm. When you have selected a known dog or another puppy that you think will be a positive experience for your puppy, it should be done one-on-one in a slow and controlled manner starting with the dogs getting used to each other separated by leashes or gates until both dogs show the appropriate emotional state through body language. It may take 30 min, it may take days. This means dog daycares, dog parks, and free for all unstructured “socialization” classes are horrible ways to socialize a dog. Learning how to read your dog’s emotional state through their body language will be very important so you can adjust situations as needed. If your puppy is experiencing undesirable emotions, you can add desirable things to the mix to make the experience more pleasant like treats or play. You may need to change how intense the exposure is with variables like distance (thing is too close), quantity (too many of the thing), sound levels (thing is too loud), movement (thing is too fast or coming straight at the puppy), and length of exposure. You’ll want to be patient with and promote curious behaviors, especially sniffing. Fun fact, a dog’s primary sense for gathering information about their surroundings is scent, ours is sight.

Last - Every puppy is different, and some will have genetic predispositions for things like fear, anxiety, or frustration. Socialization needs vary from dog to dog. So even if things don’t turn out as intended, there’s always things outside our control and we shouldn’t forget to give ourselves due credit.