Importance of Socialization: Prevention is Key
Do you have a dog or know a dog that is scared of men? Are they afraid of other dogs, going to the vet,
groomer or afraid of children? Do you know any dogs that just don’t like strangers? These are things that
can be fixed with a good amount of work, but I’m going to concentrate on prevention right now. This is for
those of you that have just gotten a puppy or will get one in the future.
Puppies go through several developmental stages as they grow. At first, they are taught important dog
behavior by their mother and siblings. At this stage it is very hard for humans to replace what they will learn
from a dog mom. By the time the pups reach six weeks old, however, it is time for us humans to help this
domesticated animal become a well-adjusted, happy little creature. Since eight weeks of age is the prime time
for a pup to leave the nest, we’ll leave the socializing up to that point in the hands of responsible breeders.
The age of six to sixteen weeks is a critical time for a puppy. This is the “socialization period”. This is
the point where we could make or break a pup. At this stage, it is our responsibility to expose our pups to
safe, new things. We must try to get out and allow our puppies to meet and experience as much of what
they will know the rest of their lives, now. This means going to the vet and possibly groomer, meeting
children, people of different races, heights, body builds and gender. They should also meet older people or
people with funny things on their heads…you know, hats. Men with beards, women in high heels should
also be on the list. How about car rides, meeting other dogs (safely and of all sizes) and even the mailman.
Here’s a rule of thumb, have your dog encounter 100 new things in 100 days.
“Oh my gosh,” you think, “that’s way too much work”. How could you do this? Be creative, it doesn’t
have to be a huge undertaking. When your mailman comes, ask him to give your puppy a treat. Same goes
for any other delivery person. How about bringing your pup on a short trip to the grocery store. Before
going in, stand by your car with your new, cute, adorable, darling pup. You won’t have to ask anyone to
come over. People will gravitate to you like, well, people to a puppy. Another great idea is to enroll in a
positive motivation based Puppy Kindergarten class.
Many people, vets included, will tell you to wait until your pup has all his vaccinations before bringing
him out into the world. Puppy shots are finished at about four months (sixteen weeks). I agree that you
have to be careful of where you bring your puppy. Make sure you know the dogs you introduce him to and
that they are healthy and current on their vaccines. Wait until your pup has had his first round of shots. In
my experience as well as that of other trainers, many more dogs are destroyed because of behavioral problems
caused by lack of socialization than from contracting something during this critical stage. Socializing a pup
now could prevent serious aggression or fearful behaviors. So, as the old saying goes, “an ounce of
prevention…”.
Andrea DiMaio, behavior specialist