Socialising your puppy is essential to help it gain the necessary life skills to co-exist with us harmoniously in our human-focused world. The optimal socialisation development stage is the first 4 months of your puppy’s life. Your puppy will grow into a happy and confident dog if done properly. This article highlights the common mistakes to avoid when socialising your puppy.
Total Vaccination Matters For Your Puppy
Your puppy won’t be fully vaccinated against diseases such as Parvovirus and Distemper until after it is usually 12 weeks old. Your vet can confirm when the vaccines are complete and whether it’s safe for your puppy. However, you can still socialise your puppy before this by:
- Carrying your puppy to meet new people and environments.
- Allowing your puppy in gardens that unvaccinated dogs don’t use.
- Take your puppy to see new places, smells and sounds in the car.
- Allowing your puppy to meet older dogs who you know are fully vaccinated.
- Your puppy can walk along the water line if you live by the sea.
Your puppy is in a very vulnerable stage of life, so always ensure the vaccinations are complete before letting them explore the world where unvaccinated dogs may be.
Body Language Is How Dog’s Communicate
Socialising should always be a positive experience for your puppy and should be done in a controlled manner. You want to build your puppy’s confidence to learn how to deal with life’s unexpected occurrences and not become anxious about them. You should be observing your puppy’s body language closely.
If you notice your puppy becoming uncomfortable, allow it to move away or remove it from the situation. Forcing your puppy to remain in a stressful situation and be unable to get away from it will cause anxiety and stress for your puppy. This can lead to phobias and fear throughout its life.
Start Slow
Socialisation is not a race; rushing your puppy into new situations can cause stress and anxiety. Not all puppies are confident; some need extra time to become familiar and comfortable with new experiences. Introducing anything new should be done slowly and in a low-distraction environment.
Give the puppy time to investigate at its own pace, and allow it to move away if unsure. You may need to step in and speak up for your puppy. Most people are fine if you tell them your puppy is overwhelmed.
You need to set your puppy up for success, as success breeds confidence, and you want your puppy to grow into a happy, confident adult dog.
Distance Is Useful
Sometimes, allowing your puppy to see something from a distance is better than thrusting your puppy into an uncomfortable situation. Many puppies find cars, motorcycles and trucks quite scary. Viewing these things from a distance can be helpful, allowing your puppy to see them without being near them or their noise.
Find a comfortable distance to the stressor for your puppy. This will be the distance that your puppy is still calm, but it can see whatever it finds scary. Reward the calmness with praise and a tasty treat. You can gradually decrease the distance over time. Always reward and praise the calmness in the presence of the stressor.
Praise And Reward
Using praise and rewards for every success will help your puppy know that it’s doing the right thing. You are teaching it that the new experience is not scary; it’s positive and rewarding. When your puppy finds an experience positive and rewarding, it will be more eager to experience new things in the future. Success leads to confidence building, which is what you want.
You want your dog to deal with new situations without anxiety or stress. They may get worried about things in the future, but they will have learned that they can move away from it and get used to things at their own pace.
Stay Relaxed
The more relaxed and confident you are, the less anxious or worried your puppy will be. Dogs are finely tuned to our emotions, so you need to remain calm and confident about experiences for your puppy.
My daughter and puppy Luna got knocked into the sea by a wave when they were younger. My daughter laughed hard, making us laugh, and Luna stayed calm. She has loved the water since that incident. Huskies aren’t known for liking the water, but Luna loves it. If my daughter had panicked, things may have been different, but she was confident in the water.
Relaxing and being positive will allow your puppy to pick up on these emotions. Have fun with your puppy, and allow it to experience life positively. This will pay dividends throughout life and allow you the peace of mind of knowing that your dog can deal with life as it comes.
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