SOCIALIZING PUPPIES
In our research of socialization and handling puppies, we found some very interesting facts and would like to share this information with you.
There are only two fears in which animals are born with and they are fear of heights and a fear of loud noises. The rest of their fears are learned behaviors: learned either through a bad experience or never learning's to deal with the situation. The same is true with dogs and other mammals. Think about instances in which dogs have demonstrated being uncomfortable, fearful, or aggressive. Many display fear when a stranger approaches or when loud noises are present. But what about the fearful or aggressive tendencies that dogs can develop? Fear of sunglasses, dog on dog aggression, dog on people ( man, woman, child ), fear of hard wood floors or slick surfaces, fear of moving objects, fear of hats, fear of stairs, aggression towards the veterinarian or groomer, fear of just about anything! If you can think of it, there is a dog ( or many dogs ) that is aggressive towards it or fearful towards it. This is why ensuring that puppies meet their developmental deadlines or are socialized to certain situations, is crucially important!
We as the breeder go to great lengths to ensure that each puppy is adequately socialized and handled. We do this by handling and socializing the puppies everyday ( starting at 3 days of age ) until the puppy goes to his/her new home ( and there the new owner should continue socialization and handling...everyday!). One way to ensure this is to think of socializing the puppy to someone or something through the senses; sight, scent, sound, taste and touch.
Sight includes everything the dog sees and recognizes. Scent is the best way in which the dog preceives the world. Just as our brains are wired for spoken language, the dog's brain is wired to interpret scent, their primary means of communicating. Scent includes how dogs locate, investigate or recognize things through smell. Dogs will also investigate through sound. They will orient, follow and recognize things through the sounds that they hear. Dogs will also investigate through touching and tasting as well, although these aren't commonly used in investigation as sight, scent and sound investigation. Dogs will use their sense of touch when learning how to keep their balance negotiating stairs or keeping their footing when walking on different surfaces. They will use their sense of taste to determine if something is edible, or sometimes to accompany their sense of smell ( dogs will lick something to collect molecules with their tongue and transport to the vomeronasal ( Jacobson ) organ located in the roof of their mouth. Breeders and owners should encourage ( but never force ) puppies in using their senses to investigate new situations, places and people.
Determining when and where puppies need to be handled and to what people, places and things they need to be socialized to is sometimes not clearly understood. One way of determining this is the mantra, "If you can think of it, your puppy needs to be socialized to it" in a positive way and the more times the better. Dogs do not generalize well and their pack animals. While this is great for the family and keeping loyalties and bonds strong, it's bad news for society. Domestic dogs have a lot of different expectations placed on them. ( Unlike their wolf ancestors ) Dogs are expected to accept, tolerate, and interact with ( in a friendly manner ) all different types of people, all different types of dogs and animals, in all different places and in different situations. This is where the problems can arise. Because the window for socialization is only a few weeks long, and it ends before most puppies receive their second set of shots. It doesn't give breeders much time to work with. Yet, it is also one of the breeder's biggest responsibilities.
To Help In Socializing - Here are some suggestions:
1. Everything done with the puppy, must be done in a positive, fun way. This is to prevent any mis-associations or negative events. Do not force the puppy into accepting anything because it can become traumatic for the pup and develop into a behavioral problem later in the dog's life.
2. Allow the puppy to investigate using all of its senses. Encourage the pup to approach something or someone by tossing a few treats by it. Allow the puppy to observe, to smell, to listen and feel what it is that he or she is investigating, ( person, place or thing). Once the investigation is over, give the puppy lots of praise and rewards for being so brave!
3. Do not coddle the puppy if something bad or scary happens. Many people have a tendency to scramble to pick up and hold the puppy and tell them that everything will be okay. This can actually cause more harm than good. What the puppy hears is soothing, acceptant and pleasant tones which translates to it as, "It's okay to act scared and afraid" It actually encourages the pup to act afraid and cowardly. Instead, if the pup is in a scary situation, refrain from holding the pup and petting it anywhere on the head or back (chest and chin are okay). If anything must be said, try saying "you silly puppy" or something similar works well, then redirect the pups attention to something else that is fun (such as a game or toy). Don't make a big deal out of it!!
4. We handle the puppies daily from day 3 until the time they go to their new homes. We use treats around 4 weeks of age and let them associate being touched by humans and good things. This includes gently stroking, combing and brushing the pups (even if they are short coated breeds that really don't need it) as well as getting them used to firmer touches that children may administer (gently tugging on the scruff, ears and tail). Feel in between the toes, toenails, in the mouth, examining the teeth, in the ears, even the little girl and boy parts and anywhere and in anyway a veterinarian, groomer or child might touch.
5. We try to socialize our puppies to at least 5 different puppy friendly people and puppy friendly animals at an early age. We use lots of treats and make it fun. Include people of different ages, sexes, heights and clothing styles such as hats, coats, glasses and assistant equipment. Introduce puppies to several different dogs including big dogs, small dogs, dogs that are fixed and dogs that are still intact, etc. Bring the puppy out to a different fun place daily (ensure they are of good health and vaccinated) such as a shopping center, a puppy socialization class, a school classroom, anywhere dogs are allowed is good. Dog parks are not ideal because people tend to let their dogs run loose and not all dogs are puppy friendly. If a puppy is being placed in a rural area, ensure that they are socialized to livestock animals such as cows, horses, sheep, chickens, etc. This can be done by holding the puppy and allowing him/her to see, observe and sniff the other animals. Remember, this can be scary so don't force them and use lots of treats.
Socializing a litter is the most important thing a breeder can do for the litter. It doesn't cost a thing except a little time and patience. It is not a luxury that should be preformed by breeders, but a necessity that needs to be done by all responsible breeders. The sooner socialization is started and the more situations, people, places and things to which a puppy is socialized, the better. These guidelines will help you in socializing your puppy at an early age. The new owners must continue what the breeder has begun to be successful. Socializing the puppy now rather than having to deal with needless aggression and fear issues in the future just makes good sense.
(Rewritten from original format to customize our goals)
