The Secret to Successful Socialisation

If you have added a puppy to your family at any point in the last few years, the chances are that you have seen something like a ‘socialisation checklist’. A whole collection of different objects and long lists of types of people guardians must introduce puppies to as soon as possible, beginning immediately on getting them home. However, does sticking to these types of lists guarantee that a puppy will grow up to be a well-adjusted and well ‘socialised’ adult dog? To consider this question we must start by asking another.

What is ‘Socialisation’?

The common perception of socialisation is of a puppy meeting as many people as possible, as many other dogs as possible, going as many places and seeing as many things as possible. If encountering many things is good then surely more must be better? The socialisation period ends just a few short weeks after a puppy joins his new home. A further complication is the need to consider safety while the initial puppy course of vaccines is completed. This means there is very little time to work through these lists, which can lead to the puppy guardian feeling they need to rush.

There is also a misunderstanding about what socialisation actually entails, with many new puppy guardians cajoling and encouraging their puppies to interact with people, both familiar and unfamiliar, and dogs of all ages, shapes, and sizes, because this is what many websites or books tell them that they should be doing.

The thing is that this drive to expose puppies so closely to as many stimuli as possible in those first few weeks can all too easily backfire, leaving a puppy sensitised, more worried about the thing that they have just met, because they got closer than they were comfortable with.

Safely Socialising Puppies

The idea behind socialisation is to let puppies see the things that they will encounter through their lifetimes at a time in their lives before they start to be extremely cautious around unfamiliar things. They don’t actually need to be up close and interact to get the benefit of the experience.

Watching people, vehicles, other animals, all quietly from a distance will help the puppy learn about their world in a positive way without them feeling worried by being too close or risking a scary experience for them. 

Let the puppy interact with people that you know, but without forcing the puppy to say hi or play. It’s important to let them feel safe and not try to encourage a reluctant or worried puppy to say hello or play.

If the initial course of puppy vaccinations isn't yet complete then exercise caution to keep your puppy safe from infectious diseases. Playdates with other socially competent and friendly dogs with current vaccinations are fine, but in places where unknown dogs have been it is safest not to let the puppy run around. There are ways to go to these places safely, either by carrying the puppy or by pushing them in a buggy. This lets them experience the sights, sounds, and smells but without risking illness.

The really important thing to remember about socialisation is that it’s about positive experiences. A puppy who encounters everything new during that early period in a positive fashion will grow into a dog generally accepting of new and unusual experiences. That is what they have always known, so that is what they expect.

Many years ago now on the farm, before I knew a fraction of what I know now, one of our dogs didn’t leave the farm except for routine things like vet visits until he was 8 months old. He came out with us around the farm and encountered all the animals, all the people that came onto the farm, and we went for lots of walks around the farm, but we never deliberately took him to other places. Every experience he’d had on the farm meeting anything for the first time was positive. And he grew into the easiest dog to take anywhere. We would take him with us when we went showing sheep at agricultural shows and he was so laid back he’d snooze contentedly in the livestock buildings until we were done with classes and could go to explore the showground. Because everything he’d encountered was positive, that was what he expected. (This is definitely not something I’d recommend – and it’s not a way I would ever choose to raise a puppy again – but it illustrates the point nicely.)

The single most important thing we can ever show puppies during that sensitive time, those first few weeks when they leave behind everything they have ever known to join their new families, is that we are safe. That we will keep the puppy safe and never force them to do something that worries or scares them. That if they are unsure they can come to us for comfort and reassurance, and we will offer them security and not let anything happen to them.

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I have mentioned before Good Guardianship, the site which I was collaborating on with the lovely Sally Gutteridge of Canine Principles. I'm very excited to reveal that I have now taken over the site and am going solo! Working hard on a new course for the site which will hopefully be ready very soon, and there is more planned to follow.