How important is early socialisation for your puppy?

A subject close to my heart at the moment is a 12 week old puppy at home. I am in the middle of ensuring she gets the best possible start in life and she grows up to be a healthy dog free from anxieties, phobias and fears.

From the day Ellie was born she was learning from her mum and from her siblings. Even in the first couple of weeks when her eyes would have been closed she would learn to follow her nose to reach her mum and learn to crawl along on her stomach before she could walk. Ellie was born in a busy household with other dogs, cats and many children. This was the perfect setting for a puppy, lots of noise from the start ensuring she wouldn't be scared in the future.

Ellie was brought home with us at 8 weeks old and by this time she has learnt many things from her mum and siblings. She has learnt bite inhibition and should know that biting down hard hurts and ends play, although the many bite marks on our hands confirm she hasn't quite understood this but we will get there i'm sure. The next 8 weeks with us are the most important in terms of how she will see the world as an adult dog. If she has any bad experiences at this time they could stay with her forever and affect the relationships she has with other dogs and people.

There are two parts to a puppy's socialisation, part one is socialising puppy with other dogs and different types of people to include children. Part two is habituation and includes teaching puppy all the things we want him to ignore (loud noises, traffic, vacuum cleaner etc)

Aggression in an adult dog is almost always as a result of fear, this is why it is very important our puppy has early positive experiences with people and other dogs.

I am very lucky to be running my own dog sitting and dog walking business. Having this social environment for Ellie has already built up her confidence though maybe a little too much sometimes, she now sees every dog to be as friendly as the wet noses and wagging tails gang, this could be fatal if she runs up to a not so friendly dog at the beach.

In the first couple of weeks Ellie had close interactions with approximately 30 new dogs, babies came to visit, small children and teenagers. We had people wearing glasses, tall people and men with beards. She has met the postman, the window cleaner and workmen. Ellie has experienced many household sounds from day one, the vacuum cleaner, hairdryer and the washing machine . She has also come across regular outdoor sounds, Geese flying above, aeroplanes, very loud traffic, barking dogs and the bin wagon. She has seen bikes, joggers, wheelchairs, pushchairs, umberellas and she has travelled many times in the car/van.

Both socialisation and habituation are very important in the first 4 months of Ellie's life. We want her to be a confident happy adult dog so we are taking the time to help her along the way. Our two boys Sooty and Sweep are rescue dogs are didn't live with us from a very young age. They have some issues with loud noises and they get stressed. Sooty is not good with noisy children and is quite reactive to children playing around on scooters. It is common for dogs to be scared of loud noises as a result of not hearing these noises in the first four months. I know some dogs who attack the vacuum cleaner every time it comes out. Chasing bikes and joggers is also fairly common and an embarassing problem when out walking the dog. Travelling in a car is also a big problem with many owners unable to take their dog anywhere as it becomes too stressed. None of these behaviours are bad behaviours they are simply the emotional responses of a dog who was not socialised properly and who has not repeatedly been exposed to various stimuli.

#dogbehaviour #puppies