Ask Dr. Caryn: What is Puppy Socialization?

What is Socialization?

Socialization is the process through which your puppy becomes comfortable with his or her environment. Every situation that you want your dog to enjoy as an adult—such as interacting with people, animals, places, surfaces, sights, sounds, and things—must be introduced to her frequently and positively before she reaches four months of age. Otherwise, you may need to spend hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars to desensitize your adult dog to each individual stressor that he encounters later in life!  

Why? Puppies are curious and pretty much love everything until the early stage of their development starts to close:  at 12-16 weeks of age.  Up until that point, your puppy's brain is open and accepting of almost everything she comes across. These first 3-4 months provide new puppy owners with a critical socialization window.  After that, puppies are genetically programmed to be more wary of unfamiliar people, places, animals, and things. This developmental phenomenon makes it more difficult to modify an anxious, fearful, or aggressive adult dog into an easygoing, friendly companion animal.

Why Early Socialization Is So Important?

In today's modern world, dogs are exposed to new things all the time:  crowded sidewalks, children playing, lawnmowers, buses, mail delivery people, cyclists, etc. Dogs who have been positively exposed to a lot of people, places, and things as young puppies are much less likely to come across something completely foreign to them as adults. And, they are better able to handle encounters with novelty when they do.  Early socialization serves as a behavioral vaccination for your dog. Dogs lacking positive early socialization experiences are ill equipped to live in our ever-changing world.

As a professional member of Operation Socialization™, I am dedicated to helping all puppies grow up into behaviorally healthy dogs that are easier to train, more adaptable to changes in their environments, and overall better lifetime companions for their humans!  

Want to learn more?  

Join me on Saturday, September 8th at 9:00 AM for a FREE Puppy Socialization Class.  Pre-registration is REQUIRED.  Details here: https://www.facebook.com/events/451214251568844/

About the Author:  Caryn Self-Sullivan teaches people to train pets and people using Clicker Training & TAGteach.  She is a Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner, a Certified TAGteacher, an Operation Socialization Certified Trainer, and a member of APDT and other professional organizations related to her expertise.  Dr. Caryn holds a PhD in animal behavior from Texas A&M University. In addition to working with pet owners, she conducts research on manatees & dolphins in Belize and teaches university level courses in Environmental Education, Animal Behavior, Marine Mammalogy, and Conservation Behavior.  Contact her at 540.287.8207 or AskDrCaryn@gmail.com.