Help Socialize Your Puppy to Reduce Fears

Help Your Puppy be a Social Butterfly

               Dogs are social creatures. Most of them love being around both humans and other dogs. However, behavior problems can arise if puppies are not socialized during the first twelve weeks of life.  Help your puppy learn about the world and take new experiences in stride by exposing him to as many experiences and people as possible.

               Hopefully, the breeder, family or shelter has begun exposing their puppies to being handled and to a variety of sounds and objects in the first 2-6 weeks of life.  Puppies should not leave their moms and are not legally allowed to be sold in Pennsylvania before 7 weeks of age.  Most people acquire a pup at 8-10 weeks of age, leaving a few weeks to continue proper socialization.

               We once told owners that puppies should avoid going out in public until fully vaccinated at 16 weeks of age.  However, this is no longer true. The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior advocates socialization before pups are fully vaccinated. If we wait until pups are 16 weeks old, we miss those early golden weeks of optimum learning and socialization. So, while you want to avoid taking your pup to dog parks, dog shows, doggie daycare centers or anywhere large numbers of dogs may interact before she is fully vaccinated, there are ways to safely socialize your pup in those early weeks. 

               Puppies between the ages of 7-16 weeks can interact with healthy, vaccinated dogs who belong to friends or family members, can go for short walks in your yard or around your neighborhood or can ride in a pet stroller or backpack.  Take small training treats along on outings to reward your pup if he remains calm when experiencing new sounds, dogs or people.  If your pup seems nervous, remove him from the situation and try again another time.  Offer a small treat with each new interaction.

               You should also expose puppies to appliances like vacuum cleaners or hair dryers, a variety of noises and sounds like cell phone tones or car horns, and to a variety of people—men, women, children, people with hats, sunglasses, beards, etc.--whenever possible to reduce fears.  Keep those treats handy to make interactions with humans and objects a positive experience, but be careful not to overwhelm your pup with too many new things at once.  For instance, a puppy might be frightened in a crowd of people at a fair, but should be fine walking through a store like Home Depot or PetCo. 

               Set your puppy up for a successful, well socialized life by taking her with you as much as possible.  Take your pup walking, hiking, riding in cars, visiting new places and people, but remember to be safe and avoid contact with any pets who may be ill and avoid dog parks or other areas where large numbers of dogs may be congregating before your pup is fully vaccinated. Otherwise, enjoy your pup and make her the life of the party!

               This blog brought to you by the Patton Veterinary Hospital serving Red Lion, York and the surrounding communities.

Gewirtz, Elaine Waldorf.  “Puppy Meets World.” Happy Paws Magazine, Spring/Summer 2019, pp.34-39.