What is Socialization? (Dogs)

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.

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. 

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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. 

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…)

• 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. 
  

• 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.

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