There are many different schools of thought when it comes to socialising puppies with dogs - some people think they should play with as many dogs as possible and some think they should be exposed to lots of dogs but engage with none..
In my opinion, both are crazy extremes! Engaging with every dog will likely create a frustrated dog and engaging with none can be socially isolating
The quality of the experience is way more important than the quantity! Letting puppies go for walks with my dogs - who are neutral to dogs - is an excellent way to show them that dogs are a part of daily life but they're fairly boring and really not a big deal!
Once we've got this, more active engagement is allowed - and we continue to proof the behaviours we've been working on. They learn they can play, but they have to come back when they're called etc. They're allowed to be dogs but I help them to learn how to be dogs safely in a human world
We've played lots of recall games in the garden while we've waited for him be fully vaccinated and safe to explore the big wide world - and we're now having great fun proofing it around other dogs, people and interesting sniffs! β¨οΈ
Does Teddy become strawberry π or Bliss' nose ha ha ha
The only thing I could do, right?!
Socialization should be about exposing your puppy to the world you expect then to live in - not just cuddling strangers and playing with other puppies πΎ
Tell me you're s dog mum without telling me you're a dog mum!
Puppy socialization will look different for different dogs; you should take into account breed predispositions, the dogs intended purpose and their individual personalities among other things.
I took my puppy everywhere from the day I brought him home. We played, we trained and we did nothing but sit around in all of these places!
He was given problems to solve, so he could experience mild stress, and more importantly so he could overcome it and grow into a strong, resilient dog.
He was encouraged to explore the world, to jump and crawl under things and we did lots of recall stuff.
He interacted with socially appropriate dogs I know well, but this wasn't a priority for me - the same as with people.
If you have a puppy and this feels overwhelming to you pop me a message - I've never had a puppy before and sharing this time with Ritz has been my favourite π₯°πΎ
Dead, otherwise wasted, time is my absolute favourite time to train - while the kettle boils or you're waiting for your click and collect lol.. 2 mins a day adds up to way more than nothing π€ͺ
The best way to start a Sunday π₯°
Hope you've all had a lovely weekend!
Just tell me I'm cute & feed me dreamies π»
Early days of teaching a hold π
Day 4 #stayhome enrichment ideas