Dog Socialising - The Basics for Pet Owners

Socialising is building, developing, and getting used to relationships with other people and animals. Between the age of 3 - 17 weeks, puppies undergo this period where it’s critical to maintain a connection with them to build their socialisation skills.

During this period, your puppies are still very friendly and curious. They are most likely to play with everyone around them. Building relationships with others is significant to make sure that your puppies are not socially awkward, and they don’t end up afraid or anxious about everything, mostly new environments.

In this critical period of growth, the way you treat your puppies and who you expose them to can influence and shape their behaviour well into them being adults. Provide your puppy with a lot of opportunities, so they grow into confident and friendly adult dogs.

It’s already scientifically proven that if you don’t socialise them, they’ll end up as aggressive and with unpredictable behaviours. You wouldn’t want your puppy to grow up into an adult that is aggressive towards people.

In this article, we will teach you the essentials of how to get your puppies to socialise and how to provide the right environment to supplement them.

How Do I Socialise My Puppy?

Exposing Them To People

Exposing our pups to other people, inviting your guests to play with them, having your puppy near them if they’re hanging out at your house, or even getting them to feed them is an excellent way to start socialisation.

Your pup needs to learn to trust other humans, especially those who are in your house. This discourages being aggressive towards other humans and eventually moulds how they perceive them—friends, not foes.

Another good idea is to have each person your puppy meets give them treats. Of course, it will be you who provides them with the goodies so you can monitor what or how much pet treats they receive. Remember, these puppies are also at an age where their physical growth is also essential.

Visiting the vet occasionally with your pup where other puppies or people in the clinic is a good idea. This allows your puppy to socialise more with others and exposes them to car rides at a young age to get used to it!

Exposing Them To Other Animals

Puppies have this habit of becoming aggressive towards inanimate objects in the house if you don’t provide them with toys. They might end up developing habits like chewing your slippers or shoes or even your couch. There is a tendency that when they’re exposed to other critters, they might think of them as play toys too, and that means they might go aggressive with it.

One way to avoid that is to expose them to other puppies and animals that are already socialised enough. Watch over them to ensure that your puppy doesn’t do anything harmful to them or something terrible to them.

A simple way to do this is by enrolling them in Puppy School! Puppy Schools are handled by professionals whose jobs are to handle the socialisation and training of these puppies. They mould your puppies into unique and well-disciplined adult dogs for you.

If you don’t have enough time to train them on your own and have the budget to enrol them in puppy school, we highly suggest you do.

Exposing Puppies To New Environments

Some dogs become very anxious when they hear loud noises. Fireworks are an exception because there is no avoiding dogs being alerted when something makes a big massive explosion in the sky. Still, minuscule things like the Television or the Speaker on loud volume should be introduced to your puppy as soon as you can so they get used to it.

Most puppies are portable at a young age since they’re so small, and because of that, it’s easier to take them around and expose them to different places aside from your home or your backyard.

Remember to avoid frequently traversed places like dog parks and familiar walking places for dogs. This is important as there might be some traces of things like parvovirus or distemper that can infect your puppy if you’re not careful enough. Instead, opt to take them to places like your neighbour’s house (if they’re okay with it) or other areas that aren’t always filled with adult dogs.

Set A Schedule

If you’re a busy person and you don’t have all the time in the world, you can set out a schedule and allot at least an hour or two in your day to socialise with the dog.

Remember, your puppy is your responsibility, and it’s very important that you take good care of them, not just feed them three times a day, and be done with it. They are social creatures that require love and attention.

Follow these awesome tips, and add a little treat for your pets from www.modernpet.com.au, check out our products today!