Not All Socialization is Equal: Proper Socialization for Your Puppy

Jumping in the Deep-End.

Last month I ended the summer with a bang by spending the weekend at the beach.  People love to bring their dogs to the beach of course…everything’s more fun with a dog!   When I was there last month I saw a sweet  young couple with a brand-spankin’ new Golden Retriever puppy.  This puppy couldn’t have been more than 9 weeks old.  He still had that perfectly round puppy belly that I love so much.  I could tell how much this couple just adored their new little pup, and yet, what they were doing to him was difficult to watch.  They were repeatedly taking him out into the water (which was cold, and not-so-calm) and just putting him in the water.  He had no choice but to swim for his little life back into shore.  When he got there, they’d pick him right back up, walk him out and toss him in again.  With each swim, I could see the fear and anxiety increasing in his little face.  He was just screaming for someone to help him.  It made me realize that this couple was just doing what they’d been told:

“Socialize your dog”.

It’s one of the most important things we can ever do for our puppies, and yet, I fear that even though we’ve successfully gotten the message out there, we’ve failed to get the WHOLE message out there.  Socialization doesn’t just mean “plop your dog down in the middle of every single scary situation that you can imagine so that he’ll get used to it”.  Around 8 weeks of age until 11 or 12 weeks (some trainers will say up to 20 weeks) puppies are experiencing what is sometimes called a CRITICAL FEAR PERIOD, and also a FEAR IMPRINTING PERIOD.  The timing of this stage is debated by trainers, but it is at least universally agreed that puppies during this stage are especially sensitive to their environment and are likely to show increased fear responses.  During this time, the littlest thing can scare your pup; a flapping garbage bag, breaking glass, fireworks (as I’m sure many of you know).  The experiences your pup has at this time in his life can literally affect him for the rest of his days.  They often do.  In fact, when the puppy was being thrown into the water I said to my sister, “that’s the fastest way to make sure your dog hates water for his entire life”.

Getting it Right.

So now’s the part where I tell you how to avoid making the same mistake.   The best advice I can give you is to take your pup to a puppy class! Surprised? I know it seems like a bit of a shameless plug, and it sort of is, but I promise I’m mostly thinking about the dogs;) The beauty of a puppy class is that your instructor is in control of the levels of stress that your puppy is under.  We can coach you about how to know if your dog is stressed and what to do if he is.  We can slowly expose your pup to all of those scary things in life but at a level that your pup can handle…and guess what? We pair those things with treats! That’s the most effective way to ensure that your pup thinks scary things are actually pretty awesome.  If I gave you a $20.00 bill every time you  saw lightning, you might just start to hope for lightning.

The MOST important part of proper socialization is to go at your pup’s pace.  If your puppy doesn’t want to do something, please PLEASE don’t force him.  I promise you that if you give him enough space he’ll approach scary people and things on his own time.  When he finally does, you can shower him with praise and hotdogs.  Not all dogs want to greet every person and jump in every mud pit they see.  If he’s shy, let him be shy…it’s not the same as being fearful.  Be respectful of your puppy’s personality and accept him for just who he is, even if he doesn’t feel like going for a swim:)