acceptable by society.
By allowing or strongly encouraging a puppy or adult dog to "Say Hi" to everyone and every dog ON LEASH you are going to make that puppy reactive as an adolescent or adult dog. A dog cannot properly greet on leash or play so when the dog is allowed to or asked to meet and greet everyone, when they get older and see a person or dog they will get over excited and begin to vocalize out of frustration and pull to that person or animal. This LOOKS like aggression so the handler INAPPROPRIATELY corrects it now making it worse. Instead of pulling the dog away further building frustration, simply have the dog sit and allow the other people to walk by.
Socialization starts as soon as you bring your puppy home:
At the age of 2-4 months this is the time in which you will expose your pup to new situations where They choose to engage. Have friends and family over and ask everyone to sit on the floor in a big circle. This exercise is done in complete silence. Place the puppy in the middle of the circle and allow them to choose to mingle. The puppy will learn to read the energy of the group and may choose to say hi to everyone or only a few people and this is perfectly ok. For the people who the puppy chooses to go say hi to have them pet the puppy while next to them and if the puppy wants to get on their laps let that happen. Keep this exercise short 10-15 mins and then just have everyone slowly get up and go about entertaining your guests as you normally would.
Have the puppy around different sounds, smells, and in different environments. If introducing to other dogs make sure they are neutral and appropriate with puppies. Most adult dogs do not like puppies because of their smell and unsteady movement. Play groups with size and age appropriate puppies would be good at this time just be sure to keep the play sessions short so you are not building up frustration in the puppy. Start introducing basic obedience commands such as sit, down, come, potty on command and name recognition!
If you have children (see my previous blog "Mind your manners: Children with Dogs) teach your children to be calm around the new puppy. Any type of screaming or squealing will excite the puppy and could cause them to chase and nip at the children. Teaching your children proper manners now will build a nice strong bond and everyone will enjoy each other.
By allowing or strongly encouraging a puppy or adult dog to "Say Hi" to everyone and every dog ON LEASH you are going to make that puppy reactive as an adolescent or adult dog. A dog cannot properly greet on leash or play so when the dog is allowed to or asked to meet and greet everyone, when they get older and see a person or dog they will get over excited and begin to vocalize out of frustration and pull to that person or animal. This LOOKS like aggression so the handler INAPPROPRIATELY corrects it now making it worse. Instead of pulling the dog away further building frustration, simply have the dog sit and allow the other people to walk by.
Socialization starts as soon as you bring your puppy home:
At the age of 2-4 months this is the time in which you will expose your pup to new situations where They choose to engage. Have friends and family over and ask everyone to sit on the floor in a big circle. This exercise is done in complete silence. Place the puppy in the middle of the circle and allow them to choose to mingle. The puppy will learn to read the energy of the group and may choose to say hi to everyone or only a few people and this is perfectly ok. For the people who the puppy chooses to go say hi to have them pet the puppy while next to them and if the puppy wants to get on their laps let that happen. Keep this exercise short 10-15 mins and then just have everyone slowly get up and go about entertaining your guests as you normally would.
Have the puppy around different sounds, smells, and in different environments. If introducing to other dogs make sure they are neutral and appropriate with puppies. Most adult dogs do not like puppies because of their smell and unsteady movement. Play groups with size and age appropriate puppies would be good at this time just be sure to keep the play sessions short so you are not building up frustration in the puppy. Start introducing basic obedience commands such as sit, down, come, potty on command and name recognition!
If you have children (see my previous blog "Mind your manners: Children with Dogs) teach your children to be calm around the new puppy. Any type of screaming or squealing will excite the puppy and could cause them to chase and nip at the children. Teaching your children proper manners now will build a nice strong bond and everyone will enjoy each other.
At the age of 3-6 months is when the puppy will be going through a couple fear periods and are now learning Dog Language. Dog Parks and Doggy Daycare are NOT the place for your puppy right now. Those places are full of dogs with their own issues and levels of energy. These dogs are Not interrupted appropriately or enough so puppies will get overwhelmed. These environments for puppies are actually very STRESSFUL and should be avoided until your puppy learns skills that would help them to choose to be calm or walk away in those environments.
It would be better to spend your money on a DOG WALKER who knows the dogs in their care and can set up group walks/ mini play dates with age or adult appropriate dogs.
This is the age to really begin to teach Calm on demand, Impulse control, and confidence building techniques. These can all be taught with the place command. Begin to build a solid basic obedience foundation and now is when to follow through with a clear line of communication and a solid Yes and No. Puppies should be exposed to as many new environments as possible. Group classes would work as long as the other puppies are size and age appropriate. Always sit in on a class without your puppy to watch how well it is organized and to be sure you agree with the methods being used. Hiring a private trainer to come to your home is another option especially if your puppy is a little shy or group classes aren’t your thing.
At the age of 6-9 months the puppy will have now been doing well with obedience and things are going great when " All of a sudden" the puppy will not listen.
This is true adolescence ( the teen stage) when the puppy wants more freedom and wants to make its own decisions. It will test boundaries, disobey commands, begin to explore with their mouths and could be destructive. This is the time to get that puppy doing Mental challenges. Such as food puzzles, search games, small obstacles, nature trails with puppy on a long line so they can explore. Structured walks should be sprinkled with basic obedience commands along the way. Take new routes and drive to new areas as often as possible. This is a good age to have a professional trainer come into your home to help tighten up all obedience commands and to help teach an introduction to nose work games.
Really teach impulse control and have the puppy hold its commands longer. Teach puppy to be calm on demand which means if you are done playing and want the puppy to just relax say all done and have the puppy calmly lay down. This is the age to really introduce the dog to what it was bred to do. If you hunt seek a club that can walk you through the proper training process.
If you don't hunt your Dog still needs to do begin basic classes for Nose work, search and rescue, tracking, or other Nose based Classes.
At the age of 9-18 months the dog needs a job this is when you take any classes to the next level! If you hunt well your dog has already been out and is really coming into their own! If you don't hunt this is when you take your dog to the next level with Nose work, barn hunt, join a search and rescue club, engage in Nose based games. Bump up all training to the advanced level and keep all Pictures the same. No off leash work should be done unless IN a secured enclosure. Sexual Maturity is going to happen at this stage and you don't want your dog to wander. Neutered Dogs will begin to try to Dominate your Intact male. NO dog parks at this time they will just cause your Now well behaved dog to lash out and become frustrated by all the unwanted attention.
When socialized properly and provided with all their needs dogs of all ages and sizes can now play and engage together. They will be well balanced and able to adapt to any environment and any situation.
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