Socialising Puppies - Midcoast Animal Hospital

Socialising Your New Puppy

Raising and training a pup to be people-friendly is the second most important goal of pet dog husbandry. Teaching bite inhibition is always the most important goal of development. However, during your pup's first month at home, urgency dictates that socialisation with people is the prime puppy directive.

Your puppy must be fully socialised to people before it is three months old, even before puppy pre-school classes commence. Puppy classes are designed to continue socialising puppies with people, socialising with other puppies and for puppies to learn bite inhibition.

Generally you don't bring your new pup home until it is 8 weeks of age but it is never to late to start! Unfortunately, your pup needs to be confined indoors (or in your yard) until it is at least 12 weeks old, until it has acquired sufficient immunity from its vaccinations against the more serious dog diseases. However, even a relatively short period of social isolation at such a crucial developmental stage could all but ruin your puppy's temperament.

Whereas dog-dog socialisation may be put on temporary hold until your pup is old enough to go to puppy school and the dog park, you simply cannot delay socialisation with people. It may be possible to live with a dog that does not like other dogs, but it is difficult and potentially dangerous to live with a dog that does not like people.

Consequently, there is considerable urgency to introduce your puppy to a wide variety of people - to family, friends, and strangers and especially to men and children. As a rule if thumb, your pup needs to meet at least a hundred different people before it is three months old (an average of three new people a day).


3 Goals of Socialisation   
1. The first step is to teach your puppy to enjoy the presence, actions and antics of all people; first the family and then friends and strangers, especially children and men. Adult dogs tend to feel most uneasy around children and men, especially around little boys. This is more likely to develop if the puppy grows up with few or no children or men around, and if the puppy's social contacts with children and men have been unpleasant or scary.
2. Teach your puppy to enjoy being hugged and handled (restrained and examined) by people, especially by children, veterinarians, and groomers. Specifically, teach your puppy to enjoy being touched and handled in a variety of 'hot spots', namely around its collar, ears, paws, muzzle, tail and rear end.
3. Teach your puppy to enjoy giving up valued objects when requested,
especially its food bowl, bones, balls, chew toys, garbage and paper tissues.



GOAL 1. Teaching your puppy to like and respect people    
Introduce your puppy to as many people as possible during its first month at home. Initial impressions are important so make sure your puppy’s first meetings with people are pleasant and enjoyable. Have every guest hand feed your puppy a couple of pieces of kibble. Puppies who enjoy the company of people grow into adult dogs who enjoy the company of people, and are less likely to be frightened or bite.

Invite a number of people to your home each day. It is not sufficient for your pup to meet the same people over and over again. Your pup needs to grow accustomed to meeting strangers, at least three a day.

Give every guest a bag of training treats, so that your puppy will be inclined to like them from the outset. Use the kibble from your pup's daily allowance so it doesn't become overweight. Show your guests how to use the treats to lure/reward train it to come, sit, lie down and roll over. For example, ask your puppy to 'come'. Praise it profusely as it approaches and give it a piece of kibble when it arrives. Back up and do it again. Repeat the sequence several times.

If your puppy is regularly hand-fed by guests in this manner, it will soon learn to enjoy the company of people and to approach happily and sit automatically when greeting them. And, of course, as an added bonus you will have successfully trained your family and friends to help you train your puppy.

Children
For puppy owners with children, it is essential to teach your children how to act around the pup, and teach your pup how to act around children. Puppy owners without children need to invite children to your home to meet your puppy. Start with only one child at a time, preferably a well-trained one. Supervise the children at all times. Invite your friends' and relatives' children, as well as the neighbours' children as they will be less likely to tease a dog they know and like.

Give children tasty treats (freeze-dried liver) as well as kibble as rewards during training, so your puppy will quickly learn to love the presence and presents of children. For the first week make sure your puppy's interactions with children are carefully controlled and calm. Thereafter, however, it is important for puppy parties to be festive with balloons, music, games and treats for the puppies and children.

Puppy Party Games
Have the children sit in chairs in a big circle. The first child calls the puppy and has it lie down and sit up 3 times in succession before sending it to the next child - 'Rover go to Jamie', whereupon Jamie calls the puppy to come and perform 3 puppy 'push-ups' and so on. This is a great exercise to practice prompt recalls and lightning fast control commands (sits and downs). Don't forget to praise the children, too.

In subsequent parties you can give special prizes to the child who can get the dog to balance a biscuit bone on its nose for the longest time (i.e. the longest sit-stay) or to get the dog to lie down and play dead for the longest time (i.e. the longest down-stay).
As a rule of thumb, before your puppy is three months old it needs to have been handled and trained by at least twenty children.