Puppy Socialization

Puppy socialization is different depending on what trainer you talk to or who you talk to.

 A lot of dog owners or puppy owners look at socializing like humans do. Going somewhere and hanging out with other humans. Talking to other humans. Playing with other humans. Literally anything where we interact with other people like us.

Though doing something like this isn’t entirely bad for your dog, it can easily be overdone. I hear all the time “as a puppy I took my dog everywhere and I let everyone touch, pet and play with her. She played with every dog I could find and greeted everyone. Why does she bark and growl at people and other dogs now? She’s become aggressive and I don’t understand why!”

Think of puppy socializing as puppy exposure, you are exposing your dog to different situations, surroundings, noises, anything you can think of. Usually you would want to tailor this to your lifestyle. Live in a downtown area? Probably a good idea to get your puppy used to car engines, honking, people yelling, talking, etc. Whatever is around you, they need to get used to it. Are you a runner? Better get them used to being on a leash and running next to you. Like to take your dog to the local brewery and sit on the patio? Yep, you should expose them to people and patios.

All of these things have to start somewhere though. You typically don’t want to “throw them into the deep end” so to say. You want to slowly expose and increase the amount of distractions. Start inside with a very limited amount of distractions and work on obedience. This way, when there are lots of distractions, your puppy can lean on what they have learned and be able to handle and behave in these environments.

Keep it simple. Keep it easy. Do a little bit at a time. If you still need more help, go ahead and reach out to us. On our homepage (www.stldogschool.com) there is a contact form. Let us know there, or email us at [email protected]!