Socialising Your Puppy | Blue Cross

Puppy socialisation checklist

Socialising your puppy involves them meeting and having good encounters with:

• people you know
• strangers
• children
• dogs
• other animals
• different events, both in the home and outside
• lots of environments
• different sounds
• vet surgeries

By introducing them to lots of new things at a young age, you're building up their bank of experiences which will better prepare them for unknown situations in the future. This helps them become a healthier, happier dog.

Sometimes shy dogs may need a little extra help. See below for more information on how to help shy puppies with socialisation.

Why is socialisation important?

Experiences during the first year of a dog’s life can really help to influence how a puppy feels about people, dogs, other animals and a variety of situations.

A puppy who lacks experience with the world will find many things that we take for granted scary and is very likely to grow up to be a worried dog. A frightened and anxious dog is more likely to develop behaviour problems than a dog who has had a rich, varied and positive puppyhood.

It helps to know the signs of stress in your dog so that you can help them in more stressful situations.

When does socialisation need to start?

The socialisation 'window' is between three and 12 weeks. As you won't be able to get your puppy until they are at least eight weeks old, a good breeder will have already started this important process.

They should have introduced them to a variety of people and brought them up inside their house, where they will get to experience all the homely sounds, smells and sights. This will help prepare them for their new life with you.

How much socialisation is carried out at this early stage will influence how confident your puppy is later in life.

What can affect socialisation?

Different puppies have different sensitivities – some are easy to socialise and some take a little more effort.

• Genetics: what the puppy has inherited from their parents plays a large part (nervous mums are more likely to have nervous puppies)
• Breed: puppies from herding breeds, such as collies and German shepherd dogs, tend to be more prone to fearfulness and need more and earlier socialisation than other breeds
• Missed out on early experiences: you may also have an older puppy that missed out on a lot of early experiences

Remember:

• young puppies tire easily, so keep encounters short with enough time in between for resting
• try to create encounters that will be successful and rewarding – if all early life is pleasant and positive, your puppy will grow up to feel safe and confident enough to deal with whatever life may have in store

Socialising puppies before vaccinations

The good news is that socialisation can begin even before your pup has been vaccinated, you just need to be safe and sensible about it.

Puppies usually go to new homes at the minimum age of eight weeks old when they're not fully vaccinated, so can't get fully out and about just yet.

Until your puppy is fully protected by vaccination:

• don’t allow them to mix with dogs of unknown vaccination status
• keep to the limits of your home and garden when letting your puppy explore the world on their own four paws
• take them out as much as possible by carrying them. This allows them to experience the outside world without coming into contact with other dogs or contaminated areas.

Can my puppy socialise with vaccinated dogs?

As long as you know for sure that the dogs your puppy is interacting with are up to date on their vaccinations, then there is less risk involved in letting them play together.

This should be done in a private garden which will allow you to control the dogs they come into contact with.

If you would like to understand more about this, then it's best to discuss this with your vet.