Puppy Socialization

Socialization

The process whereby an animal learns how to recognize and interact with the species with which it cohabits. In the wild this is likely to be limited to the animals own species, but for the domestic dog it includes other species such as man and cats. By learning how to interact with these, the socialized dog develops communication skills which enable it to recognize, among other things, whether or not it is being threatened and how to recognize and respond to the intentions of others.

Habituation

The process whereby an animal becomes accustomed to non-threatening environmental stimuli and learns to ignore them.

There is a sensitive period of development in which socialization and habituation must occur and be properly completed if the dog is to grow up to be well adjusted.

Canine Development

Canine behavioral development can be divided into five stages. These stages and approximate times are:

Neonatal (newborn) period - 1-2 weeks
Transitional period - 3 weeks
Socialization period - 4-10 weeks
Juvenile period to sexual maturity - 10 weeks
Adult - puberty onward

The Neonatal Period

For the first 10-14 days the puppy is deaf and blind. Nursing takes place using tactile and olfactory cues. The majority of time is spent eating and sleeping due to limited motor ability. Research studies have shown handling in the neonatal period seems to have a beneficial effect both behaviorally and physiologically. Animals that are handled early in life show a more rapid rate of development in organ systems, motor coordination, and earlier eye opening. Excessive handling should be avoided, but the normal incidental handling that occurs between owner/breeder and newborn puppies can be beneficial.

The Transitional Period

This developmental stage is short, but packed with activity. The eyes and ears have opened. The amount and type of sensory stimulation increases. Urination and defecation begin to occur spontaneously, motor skills increase, and puppies begin to walk. Early play behavior between littermates begins. Handling during this time aids in motor development, and begins the socialization process. Interaction with human caregivers allows puppies the opportunity to learn about people. Once puppies are mobile, breeders can stimulate and aid development by enriching the environment. This can be done by creating easy climbing situations for puppies, varied surfaces to walk on, boxes to explore, anything that will stimulate puppies to be active, inquisitive and mobile.

The Socialization Period

This time has often been called the "critical or sensitive period of socialization." What occurs, or conversely what does not occur, during this time can have a large impact on later behavior. This is the time when puppies learn about their littermates, the bitch and humans. This is a fluid time period - the beginning is fairly clear cut, but the ending is not. Immature dogs can still learn and be exposed to new and novel situations throughout life.

In this stage, puppies need to spend time with other puppies and adult dogs to learn appropriate social interactions in the canine world. Play behavior allows a young puppy to practice and learn motor and perceptual skills needed as an adult. Play biting behavior helps a young puppy learn to inhibit its bite through modulating the pressure of its jaws. This is an important behavioral lesson for later canine and human interactions. The interaction between littermates helps puppies learn social skills and social organization that are used in adulthood. Puppies that are removed from the litter early (4-5 weeks) often can have difficulties around other dogs when they are adults. They may be fearful or respond aggressively. Therefore, it is socially important to keep puppies with their litter and/or other dogs until they are 6-8 weeks old.

Exposure to humans is critical during this time. Lack of exposure to people prior to 12 weeks of age can result in puppies who may always be fearful and wary of human interaction. Positive exposure to humans at a young age seems to result in dogs treating people as other dogs. When well socialized, puppies approach people using the same submissive postures and gestures that they use to approach other dogs.

Yet, simple human contact is not enough; the quality of that interaction is important. Puppies benefit from exposure to adults, children, and elderly or physically challenged individuals. Those types of encounters will help reduce or eliminate fear reactions should the puppy encounter similar people in adulthood. These encounters should be pleasant, combined with play opportunities and gentle interactions. New people can offer puppies treats to remind puppies that human hands bring good things. Care should be taken to monitor these interactions to avoid stress and fear. Traumatic experiences during this time can have lasting effects on later interactions. Avoid harsh discipline, strong punishments and stressful situations. This is also a good time for owners to begin to get control of their puppies. This can be accomplished with training, handling, and controlled play time. Puppy classes can aid owners in accomplishing these tasks.

Additionally, this is a time when puppies can bond to other animals. Puppies that are raised with cats usually will not chase them, and the same can be accomplished with other species.

Early Training

A breeder can have an impact on puppy training in three main areas - housetraining, socialization, and the transition to a new home. Once puppies have begun to eliminate on their own, if the weather permits, outdoor elimination training should begin. If it is necessary to use an indoor elimination location, it should be as small as possible, with a consistent covering, such as newspaper. This will help puppies learn to keep elimination in one area and ease housetraining in the new home.

To facilitate socialization, exposure to many new things is a must. Examples include stairs, different textured flooring, people of differing ages, trucks, vans, bicycles, and children; the list is endless. Also of importance is getting the puppy used to being handled by people? This means being picked up and having the feet, face, tail and abdomen touched. If the puppy is of a breed that will require extensive grooming, early introduction to grooming sessions and tools is most helpful.

To aid in the transition to a new home, information about housetraining, socialization, crate training and discipline should be given to the owner when they get their new pet.

Numerous tests have found that if puppies are kept in isolation from man and introduced at different ages their response to man deteriorates with age of first exposure. The results show that if puppies are introduced to humans for the first time between three to five weeks they will approach confidently, but those that are introduced between five and seven weeks of age will show increasing amounts of apprehension. Those puppies whose first experience of man is at nine weeks old or later will be totally fearful. Research has shown that puppies kept in isolation from man until fourteen weeks of age display significant fear and escape responses that have become so strong that any puppy raised in these surroundings acts like a wild animal". Puppies exposed to human company at fourteen weeks for the first time may never develop a positive approach to.

Experiments have also shown that puppies, pre-stressed in early life, subsequently have a good capacity for coping with stress and those that do not receive the stressful experiences respond to stress less well as they mature. This has to be significant for anyone interested in dog training as it is essential to the success of training that a dog is able to cope with stress and has a positive response to complex stimuli and situations. Stress inhibits learning, and training requires of the dog the capacity to process complex stimuli.

Six weeks of age has long been accepted as the best time to place puppies in private homes. If puppies were removed from their dam and littermates before six weeks they missed the opportunity to be properly socialized with their own kind, which results in inept interactions with other dogs in later life. A lack of socialization/ habituation can ruin the chance of an individual developing a sound temperament, however good the genealogy.

An Ongoing Process

There is another parameter within which dog owners, breeders and trainers etc. are obliged to work if a puppy’s potential is to be maximized. Research has revealed the fact that socialization and habituation can wear off. If well-socialized puppies are placed in a kennel environment between three and four months of age, and left there in virtual isolation until they are between six and eight months of age, they will be shy of strangers and even of their caretakers if they have not handled them much Therefore socialization and habituation has to be continually reinforced throughout the animal’s juvenile period In the dog this is from twelve weeks to maturity.

Let's consider a practical example of how this research affects the dog owner. A puppy, well socialized with children until it is twelve weeks old, will require the socialization to continue until it is mature, for the full benefits to be achieved. The same rule applies to a puppy who has been habituated to hearing traffic in the first few weeks of life but is then kept in a quiet rural environment until it is six or more months old, i.e. without periodic exposure and reinforcement it is likely to become fearful in the presence of traffic.

How do I achieve Socialization and Habituation

A lot of responsibility lies with the breeder. Of course, it is the breeder who selects the genetic make-up of a dam and sire best suited to produce puppies of good temperament. The breeder’s role continues the moment a puppy is born, as it starts to get used to being handled and to the breeder’s scent. As the puppy and its littermates group up, the breeder should increase the amount of interaction the puppies have with them and other people. If the breeder is a woman, for example, and she is the exclusive or almost exclusive human contact the puppies have, they are likely to be less well adjusted towards men and children. It is sensible therefore, to invite men and children into the household to see and handle the puppies, particularly if the puppies remain with the breeder after they are six weeks old.

It is not only important for breeders to socialize the puppies in their care, but they must ensure exposure to environmental stimuli. Not being able to take puppies off the premises in the first six weeks is limiting, but a puppy that has had regular experience of a television, vacuum cleaner, etc. will be more able to cope with the world than one that has been shut away in a quiet kennel or room. Audiotapes of environmental stimuli can also be made and played. Such techniques can be helpful if an older puppy is unwell or for some other reason cannot be taken outside the home.

Basic Guidelines for Socializing Your Dog

Do not drag your dog toward the object or person of whom they are afraid. Let y our dog approach upon his own will power helped with some of his most favorite treats! See the section on easing the fearful dog's fright for detailed instructions on how to use treats and toys to help him overcome his fear.

Do not touch or talk soothingly to a frightened dog. You only make them worse. A better way to deal with that situation is to ignore your dog if he is hiding, and only speak happily and touch him when he comes out from under your chair or actually starts to investigate. Help him learn that being confident and bold is what you really want him to be. Let your dog know that you are happy to help him overcome his fear.

Do not pick up your small puppy or dog if he is afraid. You would be rewarding him for acting shy by coddling him. Remember, a small breed of dog is going to be little the rest of his life, so you need to help him learn how to deal with the world at his own height level BY LEAVING HIM ON THE FLOOR.

Act and talk happy. Act like the situation is no big deal. Talk to your dog like you do when you play together. So instead of your dog remaining in a fearful mode, you switch him over to a play mode. Bringing your dog's favorite toy or treat with you can help him overcome his fears as well.

Take your dog to as many places as possible, to meet as many different people as possible. Your dog needs to have as many "Positive Experiences" as you can possibly provide, so that when one bad experience happens, like getting a shot at the vet's, it is not so traumatic. Take your dog into your vet's just for a treat from everyone there and a hop on the weight scale. Then go home. Repeat this several times a month, if possible, and guess what your dog learns? He’ll think "Hey, this is not such a bad place…in fact it is quite fun…I get lots of cookies and nothing bad happens, but once in a great while! I think I really like this place!"

Hesitation is normal in socializing your dog, but panic is not! If your dog panics, you need to actively work on socializing your dog to that situation, person or object. Do not think that ignoring it will help. Dogs do not grow out of fears; they only become worse unless you work directly on the problem.

Easing the Dog's Fear and Dealing with Different Kinds of Fear

Object fear. If your dog is afraid of certain objects, like a beach ball, you would need to use the "Jolly Routine" around the ball. At first, do not even move or roll the ball but let your dog approach it on his own. The dog approaching first gives him an element of control that will help him with confidence.

If he is very leery put a special treat near the ball and let him eat it. When he is calmly eating a treat at one distance from the ball, then put the treat a step closer and repeat the process. Keep repeating until your dog will eat a cookie right off the top of it or right next to it.

For some dogs, the above process may take only ten minutes. For others it may be a couple of days. The main thing is to let the dog tell you when he's ready to move closer to the ball and that will be when he is calmly eating a treat at a certain distance from the ball. Once your dog is calmly approaching the ball, then you can add movement all the while you do the Jolly Routine. Use this approach on all foreign objects that our dog seems fearful of.

Noise fear. Common noise fears are fireworks, fire engines, gunshots, jackhammers, thunderstorms, screaming or crowd noises, loud music, and vacuums or lawnmowers. For dealing with this fear of noises, you have several options. Either acquire a tape of the noise your dog is afraid of, or create the noise yourself.

If you acquire a tape of the noise your dog is afraid of, first play it at a volume level that you would lay as if you had a baby sleeping in the next room. Make sure you are with your dog during the first stages of socializing him to this scary sound. When you dog appears relaxed at this level, up the volume by one-half a level. So if you started on level 2 then go only to 2 ½. Your dog will tell you when he is ready to go tot he next volume level, by again acting relaxed. If at any time he becomes frightened, remember to do the Jolly Routine, and lower the volume back down to the previous level where he was relaxed. Frequent playing with your dog during the scary noise will lessen its impact upon him and in fact, get him to associate something good with that awful noise!

If you are recreating the noise yourself, first make sure your dog is not afraid of the object itself, like the vacuum. Use the Jolly Routine and use food described above to acquaint him with the object in a far room so the noise is very distant and then play ball or practice some obedience work with your dog in the opposite room. Once he is relaxed, put the vacuum in a closer room. At this point you are not moving the object. Work in a step like manner until your dog can be in the same room as the object, in this case the vacuum, with it turned on and him playing around it or going to get a treat placed on or near it. Next, you may actually start to vacuum slowly, again remembering to use the Jolly Routine if he appears to be afraid.

People fear. Dogs can also develop fears of different people if not socialized properly. Dogs are not prejudice like humans, but simply fear what they have not been exposed to before. Try to expose your dog to people who vary in age, weight, height, and nationality. Expose your dog to people wearing different clothing such as hats and glasses, even scuba gear! Expose your dog to people who have beards, people who use wheelchairs, and people who are carrying objects such as grocery bags, canes, tennis rackets, suitcases, and tools.

Any combination of people you can possibly imagine, you want to expose our dog to using the Jolly Routine. Simply have the person you are introducing your dog to, feed your dog a cookie! What a wonderful way for him to learn that people are not scary and they carry cookies too! Please make sure that if your dog is excited about meeting someone new, that you have him sit before his is fed. That way he is learning good habits, like sitting before getting a treat, as well as being socialized.

If your dog is very fearful of someone, do not drag him toward the "three headed dragon." You will only make your dog's fear worse. Just have that "dragon" stand still and be quiet while you leave a trail of cookies toward them.

When your dog is comfortable going up to the person, then have the "dragon" feed him a cookie. If your dog will not approach their h and, have your "dragon" drop the cookie at their feet for your dog to eat. All the while you are acting JOLLY to assist your dog in gaining confidence. Once your dog easily takes a cookie dropped at the "dragon's" feet, than have the person crouch down. Let your dog approach and eventually have your dog take a cookie from their hand.

What To Do If Timidity Has Already Taken Hold

While preventive steps are best, should your puppy or adolescent dog already show signs of timidity, he should be gradually introduced to many new and unfamiliar people, until your puppy develops more confidence and trust. The following tips may be useful as a general guideline:

Visitors and passersby should avoid suddenly reaching out to pet your puppy, as allowing a stranger to approach a timid puppy right away is likely to increase the puppy's fear as well as his inclination to react defensively. In fact, when a timid puppy is first introduced to someone unfamiliar to him, the person should remain relatively still and quiet, avoid eye contact with the puppy, offer non-confrontational body language, and allow the puppy to approach the person and initiate contact. The puppy should never be forced or dragged over to meet someone he is fearful of.

Asking the visitor to crouch down near the floor, with their body facing at an angle AWAY from the puppy, and their hand slightly extended to the side while holding a small puppy treat, may help the puppy to gain enough confidence to approach. The puppy should be allowed to sniff the person, and to take the treat from their hand, without the person talking to or reaching towards the puppy. Even if the puppy continues to show fearfulness, the owner should remain upbeat, and resist the temptation to coddle or "poor baby" the puppy.

Once the puppy appears to feel a bit more secure, the visitor should slowly begin petting the puppy under the chin, and continue offering him small treats. These steps should be repeated with as many new people as possible, in as many new environments as possible, until the puppy develops sufficient confidence around new people.

Timidity Around Other Dogs

Puppies who are timid around other dogs, should be socialized with other friendly, easy-going puppies (and dogs), beginning with small to medium-sized puppies, then very gradually introduced to larger, more active ones, over a period of a few weeks. Observe both puppies' body language as they meet, interact, and get to know each other. For especially timid or sensitive puppies, one-on-one puppy play sessions are usually best.

Supervised puppy playgroups may also be helpful, provided that bigger, more dominant puppies are not allowed to bully or intimidate the more timid ones. Puppies should be properly matched by size, age, dominance, activity level and temperament. Unsupervised group "free-for-alls" can in fact be very counter-productive.

Site Last Updated
11/04/2003 07:45 PM