{"id":71,"date":"2009-01-03T21:43:36","date_gmt":"2009-01-03T21:43:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/talentedanimals.com\/blog\/?p=71"},"modified":"2009-01-03T21:44:45","modified_gmt":"2009-01-03T21:44:45","slug":"socializing-your-puppy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/talentedanimals.com\/blog\/socializing-your-puppy\/","title":{"rendered":"Socializing Your Puppy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Socializing<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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In the past few years, puppy socialization has become a hot topic among dog owners and breeders.\u00a0 <\/span>This is a very good thing because socialization can significantly improve the life of any dog. Numerous studies have been performed on various species, and the results are consistent\u2014actively socialized animals have greater brain mass and dendritic branching, have far superior problem solving tendencies, are friendlier and more playful, and are more confident and less stressed in new situations.\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Unfortunately,\u00a0 <\/span>many people have recognized that socialization is important and so they are doing more of it, but have not spent much time contemplating or researching \u201chow\u201d to socialize and so they are actually decreasing their dogs\u2019 confidence through hours and hours of negative or incorrect exposure to new stimuli.\u00a0 If you are doing it well, you pretty much cannot do too much socializing, but if you are causing stress or fear it takes very little to overload your dog.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This post is going to address the general principle of how to socialize a puppy from around four weeks to fifteen years old.\u00a0 <\/span>While earlier socialization is also very important, different principles apply. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Your goal in socializing is to show your animal that the world is not a frightening place\u2014that it is a fun place full of delight and joy and that new sights and sounds mean good things are coming. Socializing is not a discrete activity\u2014it is a never-ending process.\u00a0 Sure, some days you will set out to socialize and others you will not, but ever moment your animal is with you he is learning how to react to the world and it is up to you to always see the people and things that might be scary and take the time to introduce him to them in a manner such that he comes to relish novelty. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

There are many, many different techniques for socializing, and you should utilize them all at different times.\u00a0 In fact, how I work through each socializing opportunity is slightly different depending on the stimulus, the animal, my mood, his mood, etc. The real art lies in deciding which technique to use when, and while I can offer a few suggestions on that, the truth is that it requires a great deal of intuition and empathy on your part\u2014 sometimes he is going to need your gentle understanding, other times he is going to need your strong almost forceful leadership, and you need to feel and read what your animal needs at each moment and that can be challenging. But it is a skill that can be developed!\u00a0 If you are not sure about it, consider having an experienced trainer or behaviorist or even an observant friend come watch and offer a second opinion.\u00a0 Or video tape yourself working with him and go home and watch in slow motion and try to see what your animal\u2019s body language was saying in the moment\u2026<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Before I outline some useful methods, here are some general principles to keep in mind:\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n