Early Positive Socialization
Early, positive socialization means pairing anything your dog will be exposed to in their life with yummy treats to create a positive association in the dog’s mind.
During the first 12 weeks of life, puppies are receptive to almost anything.
As they start maturing, the window of opportunity to positively socialize them narrows. You then will notice that they’re much more reluctant to approach and adapt to novel people, animals, objects, surfaces and sounds.
The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behaviour issued a position statement on socialization:
“The primary and most important time for puppy socialization is the first three months of life.
During this time, puppies should be exposed to as many new people, animals, stimuli and environments as can be achieved safely and without causing overstimulation manifested as excessive fear, withdrawal or avoidance behaviour. For this reason, it should be the standard of care for puppies to receive rich socialization before they are fully vaccinated.”
As long as exposure to sick or unvaccinated animals is prohibited, basic hygiene is practised and diets are high in quality, there is no reason to delay social exposure and training classes for puppies to gain life skills at a crucial time of their development.
Without early, positive socialization, adolescent dogs will become suspicious or fearful to novel people, animals, objects, surfaces and sounds. The common response is aggression to make the scary stimulus go away.
The American Animal Hospital Association acknowledges the perpetuation of outdated information regarding lack of early socialization until puppies are fully vaccinated at six months of age.
The American Veterinary Medical Association acknowledges that behavioural issues, not infectious diseases, are the number one cause of death for dogs under three years of age.
Dr. Sophia Yin’s Socialization Checklist serves as a handy guide to monitor your puppy’s progress while being socialized. Please download your free checklist here.