Puppy Socialization

A crucial aspect of puppy training involves making them social and accustomed to other people and animals.

Socialization greatly influences a dog’s well-being both now and in the future. A social and adjusted dog is happier, more obedient, and friendlier. Social training also matters because it makes the pet less fearful as it gets used to meeting new people and animals.

When should I train socialization with a puppy?
It’s important to start early when training good, patient, and inclusive behavior. Ideally, begin socializing the dog before it reaches four months old.

During the first months of life, the dog repeatedly receives new impressions and experiences. When raised to act and react in certain ways in various situations as a puppy, this learning tends to stick with it for the rest of its life.

Making a puppy social essentially involves giving it as many new sensory experiences as possible.

The most important thing for you is to ensure that all new, foreign, and challenging experiences occur in positive settings so the dog gains good experiences from the training.

It is the safe and secure settings that contribute to ensuring that your dog is not frightened by changes and new situations in the future and does not react violently or aggressively to them.

The Purpose of Socialization in Puppies
It is not diseases or old age that are the primary reasons many dogs are euthanized each year. It is rather their behavior, which does not harmonize with family life or living in an area with many other people and animals.

Social training aims to ensure that the dog’s behavior is calm, tolerant, and well-adjusted in the future. A fearful dog will either flee into hiding or confront the stranger with a violent attitude and aggression.

This can cause significant challenges for both you and your dog in navigating public spaces and nature in the future if it has not been socialized as a puppy.

It is significantly harder to make an adult dog tolerant and accommodating than to socialize a puppy.

Dogs are naturally curious creatures, and therefore training often proceeds without major issues as a puppy. Through good and timely training, your puppy will perceive other dogs or new people as exciting experiences rather than as threats to be fought or fled from.

How to Train Your Puppy to Be Social and Tolerant
It is crucial that you, as a puppy owner, are fully aware of the effect your behavior has on the dog when you train socialization together. Many people instinctively pick up the puppy when it shows signs of insecurity in a new situation.

Your puppy builds more tolerance, independence, and confidence by being supported in how to meet another puppy, a strange dog, or a new person (rather than you picking it up and “protecting” it). By picking up the puppy, you communicate through your behavior that the situation is dangerous, and the puppy needs to be protected.

It is much better to stay close to your puppy when it meets another puppy or a new person. Make sure to make the situation as exciting and relaxed as possible. It’s about using a friendly and welcoming tone of voice so your puppy senses that you are calm and completely comfortable with the situation.

Be Aware of Your Puppy’s Encounters with Adult Dogs
It’s not insignificant whom you practice socialization with along with your puppy. It is best to have other puppies that are at the same developmental stage as your pet. In these meetings, there is the greatest likelihood that both puppies will gain the same good outcome and learning from the situation.

Puppies are constantly developing and learning about the body language of other puppies and larger dogs. Do not expect your little puppy to understand the body language of a fully grown dog. Therefore, you need to be extra careful when your young pet meets an older dog.

If you know an older dog that is calm, composed, and welcoming, there is a great chance that your puppy will have a good experience in meeting it. You might train socialization at a friend’s, colleague’s, or neighbor’s who has a good-natured and tolerant adult dog.

Not all adult dogs have patience for puppies. They do not yet understand body language and interaction with others, and they are often very energetic. Out of irritation, an adult dog might snap at the puppy or signal that its boundaries have been crossed.

Adapt the Training to Your Dog’s Developmental Stage
Puppies are different, and they can have widely varying temperaments. You must always ensure to tailor the socialization training according to your puppy’s development. The inexperienced puppy that is just starting to meet other puppies, for example, should not be taken to a crowded shopping center on the busiest shopping days of the year.

You can choose to use treats to calm and reward your puppy when it has mastered new situations.

Our team may have used AI to assist in the creation of this content, which has been reviewed by our editors.