Understanding Your Puppy’s Socialization Needs

Understanding Your Puppy’s socialization Needs

At about the 49th day of life, when the puppy’s brain is neurologically complete,
that special attachment between the dog and his owner, called bonding,
begins. It’s one of the reasons why 49 days is the ideal time for puppies
to leave the nest for their new homes so that bonding with the new owner or
family can take place.



Bonding to people becomes increasingly difficult the longer a puppy remains
with his mother or littermates. The dog also becomes more difficult to train.
With each passing day, the pup loses a little of his ability to adapt to a new
environment.

In addition, with delay, there’s the potential for built-in behavior problems.

•  The pup may grow up being too dog oriented.
•  The pup probably won’t care much about people.
•  The pup may be difficult to teach to accept responsibility.
•  The pup may be more difficult to train, including housetraining.

The weaning period: Weeks 3-7 

You must also be wary of obtaining a puppy from a breeder who has taken
a puppy away from his mother too soon, because it not only deprives the
puppy of important lessons but can also affect the puppy’s future health. For
example, the puppy obtains antibodies to many diseases by feeding from his
mother. Every sip of milk is like a vaccine that protects the puppy for many
weeks after he leaves the litter and is placed in his new home.

Between 3 to 7 weeks of age, the mother teaches her puppies basic doggy
manners. She communicates to the puppies what’s acceptable and what’s
unacceptable behavior. For instance, after the puppies’ teeth have come in,
nursing them becomes a painful experience, so she teaches them to take it
easy. She does whatever it takes, from growling, snarling, and even snapping,
and she continues this lesson throughout the weaning process when she
wants the puppies to leave her alone. After just a few repetitions, the puppies
get the message and respond to a mere look or a curled lip from mother. The
puppy learns dog language — or lip reading, as we call it — and bite inhibition,
an important lesson.

The puppies also learn from each other. While playing, tempers may flare
because one puppy bites another one too hard. The puppies discover from
these exchanges what it feels like to be bitten and, at the same time, to
inhibit biting during play . Puppies that haven’t had these
lessons may find it difficult to accept discipline while growing up.

Puppies separated from their canine family before they’ve had the opportunity
for these experiences tend to identify more with humans than with other
dogs. To simplify, they don’t know they’re dogs, and they tend to have their
own sets of problems, such as the following:

•  Aggression toward other dogs
•  Difficulty with housetraining
•  A dislike of being left alone
•  Excessive barking
•  Mouthing and biting their owner
•  Nervousness
•  An unhealthy attachment to humans

Getting to know everyone: Weeks 7-12 

Your dog is a social animal. To become an acceptable pet, the pup needs to
interact with you and your family, as well as with other humans and dogs
during the 7th through 12th week of life. If denied these opportunities, your
dog’s behavior around other people or dogs may be unpredictable — your
dog may be fearful or perhaps even aggressive. For example, unless regularly
exposed to children during this period, a dog may be uncomfortable or
untrustworthy around them.

Socializing your puppy is critical for it to become a friendly adult dog. When
your puppy is developing, expose it to as many different people as possible,
including children and older people. Let him meet new dogs, too. These early
experiences will pay off big time when your dog grows up.

Your puppy needs the chance to meet and have positive experiences with
those persons and activities that will play a role in his life. The following are
just a few examples:

•  You’re a grandparent whose grandchildren occasionally visit. Have your

puppy meet children as often as you can.

•  You live by yourself but have friends that visit you. Make an effort to let

your puppy meet other people, particularly members of the opposite sex.

•  You plan to take your dog on family outings or vacations. Introduce

riding in a car.

We’ve been fortunate in that we’ve been able to take our puppies to our training
camps. The wealth of experience they gained from the weeklong exposure
to other dogs and people has made it easy for us to take our dogs anywhere.
As a result, they get along with people and dogs — and are ambassadors for
all dogs.

A common way for people to greet a puppy or an adult dog is to pat it on top
of the head, just as they do with children. The fact is that dogs don’t like this
form of greeting any better than kids do. The pup will immediately scrunch
down and look miserable, especially if you lean over him as well. Instead,
greet your puppy by putting the palm of your hand under his chin. Stand up
straight, or kneel down and greet him with a smile and a hello. When meeting
a puppy or dog for the first time, slowly put the palm of your hand toward
him and let him smell you.

Socialization with other dogs is equally important and should be the norm
rather than the exception. It also needs to occur on a regular basis. Ideally,
the puppy has a mentor, an older dog who can teach it the ropes. We’ve been
fortunate enough in always having had a mentor dog who supervised the
upbringing of a new puppy, making our task that much easier.

Puppies learn from other dogs but can only do so if they have a chance to
spend time with them. Make a point of introducing your young dog to other
puppies and adults on a regular basis. Many communities now have dog
parks where dogs can interact and play together. If you plan on taking your
puppy to obedience class or dog shows or ultimately using the dog in a
breeding program, he needs to have the chance to interact with other dogs.
Time spent now is well worth the effort — it will build his confidence and
make your job training him that much easier.

Remember that you see Buddy as a four-legged person. Buddy sees you as a
two-legged dog. You can change your perception, but Buddy can’t. During
this time is also when your puppy will follow your every footstep. Encourage
this behavior by rewarding the puppy with an occasional treat, some petting,
or a kind word.

Suddenly he’s afraid: Weeks 8-12

Weeks 8 through 12 are called the fear imprint period. During this period, any
painful or particularly frightening experience leaves a more lasting impression
on your pup than if it occurred at any other time in his life. If the experience is
sufficiently traumatic, it could literally ruin your pup for life.

During this time, avoid exposing the puppy to traumatic experiences. For
example, elective surgery, such as ear cropping, should be done, if at all,
before 8 weeks or after 11 weeks of age. When you need to take your puppy
to the veterinarian, have the doctor give the puppy a treat before, during, and
after the examination to make the visit a pleasant experience. Although you
need to stay away from stressful situations, do continue to train your puppy
in a positive and nonpunitive way.

During the first year’s growth, you may see fear reactions at other times.
Don’t respond by dragging your puppy to the object that caused the fear. On
the other hand, don’t pet or reassure the dog — you may create the impression
that you approve of this behavior. Rather, distract the puppy with a toy
or a treat to get his mind off whatever scared him and go on to something
pleasant. Practice some of the commands you’ve already taught him so he
can focus on a positive experience. After a short time — sometimes up to two
weeks — the fearful behavior will disappear.

Now he wants to leave home:
Beyond 12 weeks

Sometime between the fourth and eighth months, your puppy begins to realize
that there’s a big, wide world out there. Up to now, every time you called,

Buddy probably willingly came to you. But now he may prefer to wander
off and investigate. Buddy is maturing and cutting the apron strings, which
is normal. He’s not being spiteful or disobedient; he’s just becoming an
adolescent.

While he’s going through this phase, keep Buddy on a leash or in a confined
area until he has learned to come when called. Otherwise, not coming when
called becomes a pattern — annoying to you and dangerous to Buddy. After
this activity becomes a habit, breaking it is difficult; prevention is the best
cure. Teaching your dog to come when called is much easier before he has
developed the habit of running away. Practice calling him in the house, out in
the yard, and at random times. Have a treat in your pocket to reinforce the
behavior you want.

When you need to gather in a wandering Buddy, don’t, under any circumstances,
play the game of chasing him. Instead, run the other way and get
Buddy to chase you. If that doesn’t work, kneel on the ground and pretend
you’ve found something extremely interesting, hoping Buddy’s curiosity brings
him to you. If you have to, approach him slowly in an upright position, using a
nonthreatening tone of voice until you can calmly take hold of his collar.
Your puppy also goes through teething during this period and needs to chew
anything and everything. Dogs, like children, can’t help it. If one of your
favorite shoes is demolished, try to control yourself. Puppies have the irritating
habit of tackling many shoes, but only one from each pair. Look at it as a
lesson to keep your possessions out of reach. Scolding won’t stop the need to
chew, but it may cause your pet to fear you.
Your job is to provide acceptable outlets for this need, such as chew bones
and toys. Our dogs’ favorites are marrow bones, which you can get at the
supermarket. These bones provide hours of entertainment for any dog, and
they keep their teeth clean. Artificial toys are also available. Kong toys
(www.kongcompany.com) are a great favorite, especially the hard rubber
ones that are virtually indestructible and that can be stuffed with peanut
butter or kibble. They come in different sizes appropriate to the size of your
dog and can keep most dogs busy for hours. Just be sure they’re large
enough so he can’t accidentally swallow one.

Stay away from soft and fuzzy toys. Chances are, your dog will destroy them
and may ingest part of them. We personally don’t like rawhide chew toys that
have been treated with chemicals or items that become soft and gooey with
chewing because the dog can swallow them and get them stuck in the
intestines.

When Buddy is going through this stage, you may want to consider crating
him when he’s left alone. Doing so will keep him and your possessions safe,
and both of you will be happy. Crating him during this growth spurt helps
with his housetraining, too. With all the chewing he does during his teething,
accidents sometimes happen. (Turn to Chapter 4 for more on housetraining.)