23 Nov Socializing Puppy, Young and Adult Dogs

A socializing dog is a question for many people, and it’s considered one of the most important parts of dog training. A socialized dog is well-behaved, happy and self-confident. Puppies’ experiences in the first three months of life determine their future personality. So, from now on, you should gently expose the dog to all kinds of environments and situations, sounds, smells, and other stimuli and confront him with different people and pets. From the age of about three weeks, the puppies may walk towards the people who are close to them, and it should be a positive experience, and its happy memory will remain in their minds. It’s even better to hold your puppy gently in your hand from the very first days of life and let him roam around the same way. In this article, learn everything you need to know about dog and puppy socialization.

Socializing puppies

The best learning time in the life of dogs starts from about three weeks old and ends between 16 and 20 weeks old. This course allows puppies to be exposed to various sights, sounds, smells, and sensations without feeling scared. Puppies who miss out on these experiences may never learn to feel comfortable around unfamiliar things, paving the way for anxiety, fear and aggression later in life. Follow these steps to set the stage for your puppy to get off to the best possible start:

Caring for dogs and petting them

Young puppies should be held and petted by as many people as possible daily. Maintain loving and friendly contact with your puppy. Hold your puppy in different positions, gently tap his feet with your fingers, rub his muzzle, stroke his back and sides, and look at his ears.

Sounds in the socializing dogs

Accustom your puppy to many different sounds, But be careful not to disturb him with too fast and loud noises. Expose him to the sounds of the kitchen, the phone ringing, children playing, the shouts of the sports announcer on TV, the radio, moving buses, etc.

Play with the food bowl.

Teach your puppy to enjoy having people near his bowl while he eats. Dogs feel stressed and anxious when others approach their valuable resources (their food bowl); Learning this tip helps prevent resource protection. Please walk up to your puppy, and while he eats his food, put a more tasty treat in his bowl and walk away. Repeat this once or twice during each meal, so your puppy is visibly excited by your approach. Then go back to him, take his dish, put another tasty thing in the word, put the plate back and leave.

Teach your puppy to be alone.

Puppies must learn to be alone; Therefore, they should be completely separate from other people and pets daily to avoid separation anxiety.

Avoid aggression in socializing. 

You don’t need to show your dog who’s boss or try to dominate him. Coping approaches such as forcing your puppy or creating tension and aggression are some things you should avoid. Focus on correct rewarding behaviour and discouraging unwanted behaviour by teaching the humane puppy rules and building a trusting relationship.

Introduce your puppy to new people.

Introduce your puppy to a few new people daily and maintain this pleasant, anxiety-relieving interaction. In particular, you should focus on setting excellent and favourable interactions with men and behaving well with children.

Avoid biting in socializing.

Provide suitable toys to change your puppy’s biting habit. When your puppy bites too hard during play, make a sudden noise (“Ow!”) and end the game to help him learn to use his mouth gently. Never gag, yell at, or restrain your puppy. These things will scare him and probably make the bite worse. Remember that while puppies under five months tend to explore the world with their mouths, dogs past this age are considered teenagers and should no longer be biting.

Socializing young dogs

Although the critical period of dog socialization usually ends around 4 to 5 months of age, we still recommend you continue to socialize dogs until their first year of life.

Continue to introduce your dog to new people.

Dogs only socialize when they are constantly exposed to unfamiliar people. Being exposed to new people and making appropriate connections with strangers creates the idea in dogs’ minds that strangers can also be good friends for them.

Continue to introduce your dog to other dogs. 

It has many ways: dog parks, group play, playing with friends’ dogs, and simple walks can all help make this step happen. Without this experience, dogs may lose the ability to behave appropriately with other dogs.

Make your walks different and diverse.

Try to avoid walking the same routes every day. Let your dog experience different environments, from sidewalks to dirt roads. This experience will provide mental stimulation for your growing dog’s needs.

Teach your dog to be left alone.

Schedule times during the day for your dog to be alone and away from humans or other pets; This loneliness is essential and necessary to avoid separation anxiety. Use a crate or box to prevent your dog from following you when you are home. Ask your friend to visit and caress him regularly every hour.

Don’t punish your dog for being afraid.

Most dog aggression is the result of their fear. Many dog ​​owners are surprised when their cool and calm puppy reacts with fear to a new person or dog. However, this change often coincides with the end of their critical socialization period. Around five months of age, your dog may begin to interpret anything unfamiliar as a threat, and so on.

Usually, he will either run away or confront what is causing him fear. The punishment of this reaction only confirms his suspicion; So, so remove your dog from that situation and ask him to behave differently.

Keep petting your dog.

Make sure your dog feels good by petting different parts of his body. It will ensure that if you pet him in an emergency, he will be less likely to bite. Watch out for his rigid body, white eyes, closed mouth, and his attempt to escape. If you see these signs, stop petting him.

Socializing adult dogs

“I need to socialize my three-year-old dog; How should I do this?” We hear this question repeatedly; dog owners want to give their dogs the maximum life possible and think it happens by playing with other dogs. But in reality, adult dogs can live happy lives without going to the dog park or playing outside.

I am playing with puppies compared to adult dogs.

Playing without a collar helps teach puppies proper behaviour, but the same practice can harm and destroy adult dogs. When dogs reach social maturity between the ages of one and three, they often no longer enjoy playing with large groups of unfamiliar dogs; However, there are exceptions. They may try to avoid dogs, along with the human family. They stay alone, or they may bite young and violent dogs that come too close to them and deal with them with anger and rage. This behaviour is often recognized as abnormal when it’s widespread.

Set your adult dog’s playtime.

If you feel that the right time has come for your dog to socialize with other dogs, start socialization at this time by introducing your dog to another dog. Invite your friend to accompany you and your dog for a walk with his calm, kind and relaxed dog. While the dogs are getting used to each other, allow a reasonable distance between them. If both dogs seem calm during walks, let them sniff each other. Leave the collars open and shorten the interaction time. If any dog seems nervous, restless or anxious or tense, separate them from each other with pleasant and calm sounds. If both dogs seem limp and their tails wag, consider an off-leash session in your fenced yard and use these short sessions to reinforce calm behaviour.

Fight the aggression of your adult dogs with the help of a collar.

If your dog pulls, barks or lunges at other dogs while walking, you know how stressful and embarrassing these moments can be. Dogs between the ages of 4 and 12 weeks should be socialized with other dogs. If a dog goes through this period among other dogs, he will learn socialization from adult dogs through voice commands and body language, but for many dogs, it doesn’t happen, and they reach their owners unsocialized.

To wrap up

The socializing dog is a feature that you should never neglect. A socialized dog can make life easier. Especially if you have spent time on the dog’s relationship with children or other pets, remember that the best time to socialize dogs is during the toddler period, and they should be exposed to as many different people, places and stimuli as possible. To have a healthy and lively dog, you need to pay attention to nutrition, activity, health, grooming, etc. You can prevent the disease and have a healthy dog in this case. In all these steps, you can count on the specialized team of MishkaGrooming. Our experienced and precise groomers have carefully and accurately groomed your dogs so they count the moments for the next session.