Socializing your dog is one of the most important things you can do to ensure you raise a well balanced pup.
Most pups are generally taken from their litter at around 8 weeks when they’re weened off their mothers, after this, unless their new forever home has existing animals in it, they’re likely to find any form of animal uncomfortable or threatening.
Its important to note that whenever we talk about socialization, were not just talking about socializing with other dogs. Socialization comes in a range of different forms and its important your dog is socialized with a range of different things. This could be anything from Other dogs, other animals, children, sounds, the elderly and so on. The more types of animals, sounds and humans they’re exposed to, the more likely they are to be comfortable with it.
To tackle socialization, Puppy to Dog School, a dog training school Sydney came up with some tips to tackle socialization:
The earlier the better
The earlier you’re able to socialize your pup, the better off you are. Usually the first 16 weeks of a puppy’s life are the most important when it comes to socialization. Use this time as best you can to make sure your pup is exposed to as many people, sounds, areas, and animals as possible. Even if they’re too young to meet other dogs (due to immunization timing), socialize with humans of all kinds and sounds to start off with.
Try to read the behavior
There are many signals your dog will show to help you understand their behavior. Your dog might want to tell you something or play with you when you see their tail wag. Staring, yawning, barking, hard pupils, snarling, these all could be the signs of early aggression and discomfort. If you spot any signs of negative body language, try and distract your pup immediately, you want all interactions with socialization to be positive ones, any sign of fear or aggression is what you want to avoid.
Go slow
According to Puppy to Dog School and most dog training schools in Sydney, you don’t have to start taking your dog daily and socialize constantly. Its more about quality of the events rather than the frequency, as long as you ensure each meeting is a positive one without any anxiety, this is the outcome you’re after.
Don’t Force
Just like humans, if you’re forced to do something, you can develop a level of trauma.So don’t force your pup to do it all quickly, take it easy and always be there for them reassuring them that they are safe
The aim is for you and your dog to have a great time getting to know different sights and sounds to ensure they develop to be a happy and well adjusted family member.