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What is Socialization? (Dogs)

5/16/2021

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Socialization refers to the window of learning when puppies are more accepting of new things and when they learn what’s “normal” as part of their life.
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Puppies actually go through 2 socialization periods – the first is called the interspecies socialization period and this occurs roughly between 3-7 weeks.  This is where they learn about their species.  They learn how to interact with parents and littermates and what it means to act and communicate as a dog.  This phase is almost always completed while they’re still with mom and the breeder/foster.  This is also when bite inhibition is locked in.  You can’t change bite inhibition later, which is why leaving them with littermates and mom is so important. (Note that bite inhibition refers to how hard a dog will bite when they’re in crisis/fight or flight…not how they normally play or interact with other dogs/other species).  So ask about this time and what other animals (if any) they were exposed to. 

The second is the intraspecies socialization period.  This period starts around 7 weeks and closes between 12-18 weeks (depending on which studies you read, which experts you talk to and what breed(s) your dog is and how fast they develop).  This is when the puppy learns about the rest of the world and what to expect.  During this period, puppies are much more open to new experiences and they’re much more malleable to work with.  This is where your work begins and it’s SOOO much easier to put in the work now when it’s easier. 
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If your dog is already past their socialization window, don’t panic – there are still things you can do to help and work with them.  Counter-conditioning and teaching alternative ways of coping with stress are fantastic tools and I’m happy to help you out with that.  But for the purposes of this handout, I’m only focusing on what to do during the socialization window. 
Let’s get started!
  • The goal here is quality experiences over a quantity of experiences.  Good experiences that are kept low stress and low pressure are best.
  • Puppies should be exposed to 7 of each of the following per week:
             - sounds
             - smells
             - objects
             - people (different shapes, sizes, energy levels and ages)
             - places
             - animals
             - textures
             - handling (touching different body parts, like ears, feet, tail, lips, etc…)
           - grooming (introduction to nail clippers/files, brushes, cleaning ears, getting paws wet in the tub, etc…)
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  • Not every interaction needs to be interactive – nor should it be!  Puppies should be able to watch or hear things without actually investigating or meeting every time.  We don’t want to teach our dogs to run to any loud sound they hear or expect to greet every person they see out on a walk.
  • Let your puppy say no thanks!  It’s important to give you puppy a chance to move away if they feel uncomfortable.  Do not trap them or force them into a new experience or interaction.  There are actually many, many reasons why this is a bad idea, but the big one to consider here is that we’re trying to teach the puppy that the world is a good place with your supervision.  We don’t want to teach our puppy the opposite and give them bad experiences during this period. 
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  • Keep interactions brief.  When introducing new things, shoot for less than 5 minutes at a time where you’re actively rewarding the puppy for investigating or trying new things. When taking the puppy out to public places (like pet stores), keep the visits short and sweet (tops of 30 minutes).  Leave early if your puppy is acting overly stressed.  This includes things like excessive drooling, panting, whining, shaking, barking, hiding, tail tucked, etc…
  • Your puppy is fairly safe to interact with other healthy puppies in controlled environments after two rounds of puppy shots.  A controlled environment means a place where the animals are healthy and other unknown animals do not have access (like a friend’s house or a dog facility/store that disinfects the play areas regularly).  There is still some risk involved until the last set of shots has been administered and taken effect, however, you can still socialize your puppy and reduce the risk of infection by carrying them and only letting them visit controlled environments.  Here’s the official stance from the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior on puppy socialization and vaccination.
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It’s a good idea to continue working on these to some extent after the social window has closed…especially in areas your dog struggles. Just remember to do what you can when you’re able! Make this a priority now and it will pay off much better in the long run.
One last note: genetics play a large part of an adult dog’s personality, so socialization does not necessarily guarantee a happy, confident dog. However, it’s our responsibility as pet parents to do our part to set them up for success.
If you'd like additional help with socialization and training, we would love to chat with you about your specific needs and options!  We're passionate about socialization and getting puppies and their families off to their best possible start in life!
Contact Haylee and Kat
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Benefits of Trick Training

5/3/2021

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Many people view trick-training as something to do just for fun - that tricks have no real purpose other than to show off or look cute.  While trick training is certainly a lot of fun (at least in my opinion, and many of my clients would agree), it's good for so much more than that!
Let's talk about some of the benefits of trick training I can think of off the top of my head - I'm sure there are more!
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1.  Builds better relationships - when you spend time with your pet engaging in activities you both enjoy, where you have to work together as a team, that's a HUGE boost to your relationship bank account.
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2.  Builds trust - same thing here: when you engage in activities with your pet where they consistently learn you play fair and follow the rules, they learn you're a safe and trustworthy person to be around.
3.  Builds confidence - learning new skills at a pace they can handle and being in control of their learning environment helps pets build confidence and life skills they can use in the real world.
4.  Better communication skills - working together as a team to learn a variety of new behaviors allows you and your pet to learn to better communicate in a variety of contexts.  You get to know each other and your learning styles and comforts much better when you learn to listen and pay attention to each other.
5.  Pets learn how to learn and you learn how your pet learns - especially as you learn more intricate and complex behaviors, you'll become a master of understanding how to teach your pet based on their own learning style and they'll become better and better at trying new and more complex behaviors.
6.  Best way to physically wear pets out in small space - what do you do if you live in a small space? Or it's raining outside?  Or you're physically limited but your pet is bouncing off the walls?  Trick training is great for getting lots of pent-up energy out in a small space!  You can work on balance, coordination, circles, jumps, leg weaves, etc, all in one room!
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7.  Great mental exercise - just like us, mental exercise is important for pets too! Did you know that a study done recently in dogs suggests that mental exercise tires them out 4x faster than physical exercise?  Trick-training is a fantastic mental work-out and a 5-10 minute session teaching them a new trick will often wear them out faster than taking them on a 30 minute run!
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8.  Body coordination and awareness - there are tons of tricks that focus specifically on teaching pets to target specific muscle groups and be aware of how their body moves.  These tricks are fantastic foundations for dog sports, but are also great for teaching them to be careful around children or people/animals with physical limitations.  Some of these tricks are also used for older pets to help with mobility or pets recovering from injuries/surgeries.
9.  Teaches obedience behaviors - There are many tricks that can be used to teach traditional "obedience" behaviors.  I have some favorites I like to use for recall and loose leash/heel in particular.  People tend to treat trick training like a game and obedience like a chore, so guess which behaviors the pets prefer? Trick training of course?  So I use as many tricks and games in training as I possibly can. :)
10.  Teaches useful skills (like item retrieval, spacial awareness and other tasks – service dog tasks are essential tricks) - would you like a pet who can help around the house? Maybe they could help put their toys in a bin (or your kids toys in a bin)? Go get you a soda from the fridge? Get your slippers?  Hit the lights?  Find your lost remote? Guess what? That's trick training!
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11.  Makes your pet more approachable - obviously this is a personal preference and some people like their pet to appear more intimidating in certain contexts (and that's totally fine!).  But maybe when your 5-year niece or your grandmother comes over and sees your large black and tan dog, your black cat or the beak on your cockatoo and looks frightened (if they shouldn't be), having your pet do some silly tricks often changes people's attitudes.  It's a lot harder to be scared of a dog who flops over on it's back and wriggles around when you tell them to play dead. 
12.  Trick Training is kid-friendly - kids often love pets, but sometimes the feelings aren't mutual because pets feel overwhelmed by the sudden movements, noises and physical interactions of children.  If you teach children how to engage with pets using tricks the pet knows and loves, the children are entertained by the silly antics of the pet (and they never have to touch the pet and overwhelm them during this time) and the pet enjoys the company of the child because they get to do the behaviors they enjoy while the child is present and rewards (usually treats) appear while the child is present. 
If you'd like to get started with trick training, we have an online intro to trick training class for just $30.  This class will prepare you to test for the Novice Trick Training Title through the AKC if you're interested in that option. You can learn more by clicking the buttons below.
Intro to Trick Training
AKC Trick Titles
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    Kat & Haylee

    Just a couple of animal geeks trying to make the world a better place.

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