SOCIALISING YOUR MAJESTUEUX KENNELS PUPPY
Socialising is topic that engenders vigorous debate amongst knowledgeable dog people. I personally don’t think there is an absolute right or an absolute wrong, but I do think that socialisation of some sort must be done. I have seen enough evidence over time of cases where the socialising has not been carried out and the results are a dog that is not confident in social situation be it with people, environment, other animals and even inert objects.
It was recently brought to my attention by a puppy buyer that the breeder that he had bought his previous dog from had chastised him for bringing the dog into the public arena before he was 16 weeks and had completed his vaccinations. This breeder claimed that the dog would have been “ruined” because of this. Unfortunately, this breeder is not correct and their advice is a recipe for disaster.
All of the research clearly shows that the critical socialising period for dogs is between the ages of 6-16wks.
Critical elements in ensuring a successful socialising program is, the ability to take the dog anywhere and everywhere, and have it interact with anything and everything; herein lies the challenge – VACCINATIONS and the well-being of your puppy. All puppies irrespective of breed are susceptible to parvo virus up to the age of 16wks even with vaccinations. As with everything we need to be practical so, ensure your puppy has had its first vaccination before you commence the socialising and then ensure you don’t miss the next one. The trade off in risk of contracting a virus vs. a well-balanced/socialised dog is more than worth it. But again, as with everything be careful and know that the worst of viruses, parvo can be avoided by ensuring your puppy is socialised in well-lit areas, away from damp, dark/shady areas.
Before proceeding to outline a practical and very thorough socialising program for your puppy, please remember this:
‘A dog is 100% environmental and 100% genetics”
Kris Kotsopoulos – Von Forell Kennels
This quote could not be further from the truth, don’t be fooled into thinking that a socialising program will solved the issues associated with poor/weak genetics, and in the reverse a puppy with an excellent genetic temperament will display limitations if not socialised in the appropriate manner.
YOU GET THE DOG YOU CREATE
As mentioned earlier the critical socialising period is 6-16wks, so at Majestueux the first formal socialising experience is the visit to the vet. This first experience gives a critical insight into the pups’ ability to handle new environments, situations and new people. Remember, until now all exposure has been in their own environment. Add the car ride to the vet and this makes for a huge day out for the pups. Given the importance of this first experience keep your fingers crossed that your breeder has carefully selected the vet.
We also social the pups by having them interact with other dogs from our kennels. They will move into various yards and experience different yards to get them used to different environment with different objects.
Even before your puppy is ready to come home with you, it should have experienced:
• several car rides
• exposure to several foreign environments
• introduction to being kept in a dog crate for periods of time
• introduction to various inert items; buckets, various surfaces, various obstacles etc
• a formal temperament test
What constitutes an appropriate socialising program?
Socialisation
Like we said earlier; anything and everything, anywhere and everywhere!!
A simple and effective philosophy is to bring the puppy with you everywhere you go till it is 16wks old. When you think about it you’ll be surprised to how many different places you will visit as part of your normal daily life.
The critical thing to remember is that your puppy may provide a reaction that is not desirable; that’s ok providing they recover well and are able to then overcome whatever inhibition they displayed. Be sure to make the introduction to new things easy and smooth e.g. approach the main highway traffic from a distance and slowly to ensure your puppy is comfortable, have the mower running before you approach from a distance etc.
Remember we are imprinting so anything that happens now will likely stay with the pup for life, so plan for success!! Keep the sessions short and upbeat, take small steps, revisit the things that the pup reacted to at a later date, make the sessions fun (have toys and treats on board for rewards). Whilst I have outlined a program that works for my dogs ensure that your program suits the purpose for which you intend for your dog.
Socialising is topic that engenders vigorous debate amongst knowledgeable dog people. I personally don’t think there is an absolute right or an absolute wrong, but I do think that socialisation of some sort must be done. I have seen enough evidence over time of cases where the socialising has not been carried out and the results are a dog that is not confident in social situation be it with people, environment, other animals and even inert objects.
It was recently brought to my attention by a puppy buyer that the breeder that he had bought his previous dog from had chastised him for bringing the dog into the public arena before he was 16 weeks and had completed his vaccinations. This breeder claimed that the dog would have been “ruined” because of this. Unfortunately, this breeder is not correct and their advice is a recipe for disaster.
All of the research clearly shows that the critical socialising period for dogs is between the ages of 6-16wks.
Critical elements in ensuring a successful socialising program is, the ability to take the dog anywhere and everywhere, and have it interact with anything and everything; herein lies the challenge – VACCINATIONS and the well-being of your puppy. All puppies irrespective of breed are susceptible to parvo virus up to the age of 16wks even with vaccinations. As with everything we need to be practical so, ensure your puppy has had its first vaccination before you commence the socialising and then ensure you don’t miss the next one. The trade off in risk of contracting a virus vs. a well-balanced/socialised dog is more than worth it. But again, as with everything be careful and know that the worst of viruses, parvo can be avoided by ensuring your puppy is socialised in well-lit areas, away from damp, dark/shady areas.
Before proceeding to outline a practical and very thorough socialising program for your puppy, please remember this:
‘A dog is 100% environmental and 100% genetics”
Kris Kotsopoulos – Von Forell Kennels
This quote could not be further from the truth, don’t be fooled into thinking that a socialising program will solved the issues associated with poor/weak genetics, and in the reverse a puppy with an excellent genetic temperament will display limitations if not socialised in the appropriate manner.
YOU GET THE DOG YOU CREATE
As mentioned earlier the critical socialising period is 6-16wks, so at Majestueux the first formal socialising experience is the visit to the vet. This first experience gives a critical insight into the pups’ ability to handle new environments, situations and new people. Remember, until now all exposure has been in their own environment. Add the car ride to the vet and this makes for a huge day out for the pups. Given the importance of this first experience keep your fingers crossed that your breeder has carefully selected the vet.
We also social the pups by having them interact with other dogs from our kennels. They will move into various yards and experience different yards to get them used to different environment with different objects.
Even before your puppy is ready to come home with you, it should have experienced:
• several car rides
• exposure to several foreign environments
• introduction to being kept in a dog crate for periods of time
• introduction to various inert items; buckets, various surfaces, various obstacles etc
• a formal temperament test
What constitutes an appropriate socialising program?
Socialisation
Like we said earlier; anything and everything, anywhere and everywhere!!
A simple and effective philosophy is to bring the puppy with you everywhere you go till it is 16wks old. When you think about it you’ll be surprised to how many different places you will visit as part of your normal daily life.
The critical thing to remember is that your puppy may provide a reaction that is not desirable; that’s ok providing they recover well and are able to then overcome whatever inhibition they displayed. Be sure to make the introduction to new things easy and smooth e.g. approach the main highway traffic from a distance and slowly to ensure your puppy is comfortable, have the mower running before you approach from a distance etc.
Remember we are imprinting so anything that happens now will likely stay with the pup for life, so plan for success!! Keep the sessions short and upbeat, take small steps, revisit the things that the pup reacted to at a later date, make the sessions fun (have toys and treats on board for rewards). Whilst I have outlined a program that works for my dogs ensure that your program suits the purpose for which you intend for your dog.
