Puppy Socialization
Trainer Cass Goodnight, of Goodnight Pup Dog Training discusses puppy socialization and why it’s one of the most important things you can do for your dog. Don’t wait to watch this one. Every day is important!
Puppy Social
By Nikki Phillips
Trainer Cass Goodnight, of Goodnight Pup Dog Training is also a registered vet tech and a certified in Elite Fear Free training. She is a positive-reinforcement trainer AKC Canine Good Citizen Evaluator.
Positive socialization essentially means the human is making the interaction fun and positive using a reward that speaks to the dog. This means being proactive over reactive, do not wait for your pup to mess up to show attention and correction. You should be showering them with treats and attention every time they do something correct or meet a goal.
Nighttime Routine
Goodnight shares some best practices and tips for socializing your puppy to set the stage for successful, positive interactions to last a lifetime. From a developmental standpoint, puppies are more open to new experiences than older dogs. The sweet-spot for puppy socialization falls in the very limited time between the ages of 3 to 12 weeks. However, puppies are typically not sent to their permanent home until they are about seven to eight weeks old, so taking advantage of that four-week window is very important for success.
Goodnight indicates making the time to build social skills for your puppy is important because these tools can help curb, or eliminate, problem behaviors in the future. A lack of exposure to other dogs is as detrimental to their social development as a bad experience. Improper socialization causes lifelong deficits. More dogs are surrendered and euthanized for behavior problems than for any other reason including medical issues and relocating family. This does not necessarily mean your puppies needs to meet and greet everybody and everything that enters their path.
| Pro tip: Getting your puppy on the right track from the beginning is best, rather than trying to counter- condition fear, anxiety, and aggression later in life. |
Goodnight stresses an important first step is finding a positive group puppy class. This will allow the pup to learn about canine communication with dogs of different sizes, temperaments, and breeds in a safe environment. They also get an opportunity to interact with other pet parents. In these sessions they will learn foundations for behaviors such as sit, leave it, recall, and walking.
Puppy Classes
Puppy classes provide a channel for the owners to identify, address, and problem solve undesired puppy behaviors to redirect in a positive way.
| Pro Tip: The owner’s role is to set the puppy up for success as early as possible. |
The fun part of puppy class involves exposure to ball pits and tunnels in the name of exploring new spaces and places. The less fun, but necessary, part of some puppy classes involves an introduction to care practices such as proper nail trimming. These classes are generally inexpensive and run four to six weeks. If your pup is older than 12 weeks, they still need socialization as this is a lifelong process. The key is to introduce new things in a positive way. Punishment is not the answer because your dog does not understand the correlation between their action and a negative consequence. The dog will not learn to associate their actions with the negative reaction, instead they will connect the aggression to the person. Negative reactions may make the problem worse or cause the pup to trade one bad behavior to another. The goal is consistent, positive behavior from the dog no matter what person or people are in the room.
| Pro Tip: Forget the Alpha Dog concept, this only creates a tense and confusing environment for the dog. |
Newness
Your dog is not acting out of spite, instead ignore or redirect the undesired behavior in a positive way. If you see an undesired behavior, assume the puppy could be afraid of a new situation and use dispense treats liberally, but do not force the situation. Exposure to new things in a gentle way can be helpful in addressing and overcoming a stress response. A puppy 8 to 12 weeks old should have one to two new experiences a day. Goodnight advises us to not overthink this suggestion, these do not have to be big encounters. This could mean exposure to a new toy that makes a noise, or simply a new pillow on the couch.
Some signs your pup has had enough or is not into the experience include ears back, panting, tail tucked, trying to escape, lifting lips, refusing treats, and hiding. When you see these signs you should give treats, if they will take them, allow the puppy to explore at their own pace, get some distance between them and the scary thing. You should not coddle or reprimand the puppy for their natural reaction.
Just be sure to not flood the puppy with too much newness at once. Remember sometimes just seeing the new thing is enough, they do not have to love and interact with every new object or person that comes into their world.
This information is intended solely as a general educational aid and is not a substitute for medical or other professional advice.
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