What is Socialization?
In technical terms, socialization “is the developmental process whereby puppies and adolescent dogs familiarize themselves with their infinitely varied and ever-changing social and physical environment.”1
In less technical terms, it means that puppies need to meet, greet, and become comfortable with every person, creature, and event you’d like them to accept as safe and trustworthy throughout their entire lives. Think about it. Kids. Old folks. People of every imaginable physique, color, and dress style. Dogs of every breed and temperament. Cats, squirrels, pigeons. Garage doors. Buses. Skateboards. Bicycles. Street musicians. Mail carriers and street cleaning vehicles. The list goes on and on. Yes, it’s a big job. But it’s key to having a happy, calm, well-adjusted dog—and it’s not as tough as it sounds.
Our puppy socials, daycare, and training classes go a long way toward socializing your puppy to other dogs and a good number of people and events. And in our classes, you’ll learn how to cover the rest in manageable, even fun, portions.
1) Dr. Ian Dunbar, How To Teach A New Dog Old Tricks
What’s The Hurry?
There’s a deadline. It’s hard to imagine when faced with the standard-issue waggy, sweet, fun-loving puppy that it’s necessary to teach him to like the world. He loves it already, right?
For now, perhaps. But nature has built into dogs a limited window of opportunity for learning about their environment—from the age of 8 to 18 weeks, first and foremost. During that time, the puppy is constantly assessing what’s safe and what’s dangerous. And once that window closes, the puppy is hard-wired to be wary of anything new and different.
This is why vigorous and careful socialization should begin at 8 weeks. And from about 5 months through to adulthood, you must maintain and build on this early learning to counteract your puppy’s instinct to withdraw. Without this work, many previously happy-go-lucky pups reach 8 months and suddenly become intolerant of strangers or kids or other dogs.
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