Hi all, Ill be picking up little Koda in 15 days and am super excited (I have a few pictures already but can't figure out how to upload them ... i'm working on it though). I'm a little bit nervous about getting socialization right though since i've never had a dog before. Every thing I think I know about socialization training is from what i've read on this site, and other articles. So I know a lot of the basics like that your suppose to expose your puppy to as many new stimuli as you can and make it a positive experience in the first 8-16 weeks. Also that you have to carry them around or at least be very selective at where you put them down. However, I know there is a hug difference between reading it and experiencing it. For example, I remember reading through some posts here where people said " I wish I wouldn't have let my pup run up to every dog it saw because now they're in the habit of doing that." That was really interesting to me cause thats something that I would have done had I not read it here. So basically my questions boils down to, if you all could go back and change anything you did during socialization training what would it be. Is there anything you know now that you wish you would have known before you started socialization with your puppy. Any advice you can offer to a novice like me would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for any input!
Hi , a loaded question ! You`re right, in that the first couple of months is the best time to socialise your puppy, but it isn't set in stone , some members on here haven't picked up their pups until they were juniors so they haven't been able to do the 8-16 week window . So yes, the earlier the better but all is not lost if you don't socialise completely in this early period, you can add experiences as you go without trying to cram everything in . Obviously your pup must be covered via vaccinations before scampering around with other dogs unless those dogs are vaccinated , so yes, to carry them in backpacks can ensure that they see and hear as much as possible . I did allow my dog to approach others as a puppy , but looking back ,maybe I should have paid more attention to recalling him , in case the other dog wasn't too happy at the encounter ! Can I suggest you buy the book , The Happy Puppy Handbook , written by the editor of this site , Pippa Mattinson , its available via Amazon , and will give you invaluable help and advice as your puppy develops , emotionally and physically , a guide through the whole process really .
I just bought "Social, Civil, & Savvy" and I'm not even going to try to get the author's name right. I'm still reading it, but its focus is completely on HOW precisely to socialize. Love The Happy Puppy Handbook too! But this one looks really good for getting socialization right.
It's a hard one! I find it easy with dogs as my pups have their own dog at home who teaches them all they need to know. But, with people it's harder. Especially children. I've let Mollie meet many different children and now she adores them too much and will sometimes be distracted by the sight of sound of them.
I've never regretted any of the socialisation I've done, only wish I would have done MORE if that makes sense. I dragged both my puppies around absolutely everywhere, so they both loved people - that was never a problem. However, with the second, I really wish I would have made an effort to be around other types of animals more - especially cats and large livestock (cows, horses). I also wish I would have taken him into a more urban environment and around trains, busses, etc. Finally...loud noises such as fireworks, gunshots. Definitely would have tried out one of those noise CD/mp3s that you gradually turn up. As you can probably tell, I've given it a lot of thought...I'm excited about the prospect of getting a third chance at socialisation with my next puppy.
I'm not entirely sure where we went wrong. H Appeared a confident pup and we took him on busses along busy roads and to see fireworks (6 months) His noise anxiety developed later beginning at about 3 years old. We took H to list of places with us. Next pup what would I do differently? Definitely noise desensitising sound tracks with regular revisiting even as he gets older and appears fine.
My biggest regret is that I didnt do more socializing with children. I dont have any and the neighborhood kids get very excited around my pup, its been tough to keep him from jumping on them and such.
Cassie was the first puppy with which I made an active effort to socialise, and also my first Labrador. I loved doing it but I think I did make the mistake of allowing people to fuss her too much, I interpreted the word rather in human terms. Jumping up and greeting people inappropriately has been a major issue. My difficulty is/was is that I felt so rude asking people not to touch her. For one thing I don't understand why people want to get their hands on her but they persist in doing so.
Yep, that's us! If I were to do it again, I'd spend a lot more time making sure she was comfortable, calm but more focused on me in many different places.
I think it's also possible to overload a pup if you're not careful. I've been much more selective with where and when I take my new pup out, making sure I go at a quiet time/place so he stays calmer and meets and greets in a much more controlled way.
Each pups have been different. Rory needed a lot if kid socializing and joggers. Moo hardly needed any at all with anything she just seemed to absorb everything quickly. she was amazing really . Doug was fairly average. Ive had to borrow a scatty 6 year old child for Rory and hes immune now. Small kids bore him now
We didn't get our first dog Hattie until she was 13 weeks old (now 9 years old) and she certainly didn't suffer missing out the 8-16 week window, she is an amazing girl and is a Pets as Therapy dog encountering a whole host of people, noises, smells etc. at the Hospital and Hospice we visit weekly. We rescued Charlie at 9 months (now 6 years old) who was pretty scared of traffic, car boot and other things but the one thing we regret is not being able to give him off lead exposure to other dogs which was due to his recall issue so he was on a long training line for 3 years whilst we trained him. He can now be a little reactive with some dogs. I think introducing your puppy to new situations but in a controlled way then repeating again and throughout Koda's life is very important. Good luck with Koda x
Thanks for all the advice, I really appreciate it. I would have never even considered not letting people make to much of a fuss over the puppy or exposing her to loud sounds. Just want to clarify one last thing. When they say make all the new experiences positive does that just mean offer treats/verbal praise and petting while exposed to the new stimulus. Ps. I'm going to order both of the books Kateincornwell and b&blabs, looking forward to reading them and thanks for the recommendation.
This is interesting to me. Why is it bad to let other people pet her or wanting to pet her? I understand the problem with dogs getting too excited and then learning to try to jump on people for attention, but do you think it still causes a problem if your dog is calm (or at least has "four on the floor") and gets attention from strangers? This may be a breed thing as I've not yet had a Labrador and frankly I was always thrilled when someone wanted to pet my Rotties. It wasn't as if the whole world was clamouring to do so. But it may be very different with a breed perceived to be universally friendly. And I'm one of those people guilty of "wanting to get my hands on" every dog. But I do ask first and adhere to the "four of the floor" rule before petting.
I don't regret any of Snowie's socialization that we did. He went everywhere. And met tons of dogs off lead and on. Lots of small yappy dogs especially - he completely ignores yappy dogs now. He has excellent dog skills now. And he spent every day in the park - lots of small screaming kids. And he saw horses and cows. And had people pet him. He is the easiest dog to take anywhere now. One thing I regret though is sitting and doing nothing with him and watching the world go by. Like sitting on a bench. Or at a cafe. He can't do nothing. Means that I am treat streaming non-stop while at a cafe just so that he won't bark for attention - and he's 5.5 years old. That's a lot of my meal going into his mouth! Should've rather practiced this as a puppy! He is getting better. But hard work. And I should've perfected recall as a puppy. But I didn't have the skills then. So that's only two regrets: recall and doing nothing. They're pretty big though!!
We are taught to let as many people as possible stroke them when they are at the carrying around stage. After that it's on request and only when the pup is sitting nicely. This is good practice as their owners won't be able to see what is happening and a calm dog round people's hands will be essential. I love chatting to people about my pups so that's not a difficulty for me .
It's interesting for me to consider it to now you say. Thinking about it, of course I was delighted to have an adorable puppy that people wanted to say hello to. But I wanted her to be well socialised and confident, which she is, But I wasn't prepared for people, strangers, zooming in on her and squeaking and saying "oh it doesn't matter, she can jump up, etc" and giving her food before I could stop them and ask to sit or keep paws on the floor. That sort of thing I found and still do really frustrating. Now that she's physically grown up I find people do ask, which is fine, and usually just say she will jump up if you do so it's there choice, she's much better now. Of course it's entirely possible that she has an abundance on the Labrador over friendly gene
At one stage my trainer did suggest that I got her a coat to wear that said I am in training etc. It isn't that I didn't want to talk about her, I'd do so all day, more that I found it difficult to stand my ground about asking for correct behaviour.
