01/23/2023
This nformation is so critical for anyone who owns or is getting a puppy.
Long post alert: Vaccination vs Socialization.
We have had a run of posts from folks who did not begin outside socialization with their puppies until after the close of the critical socialization period. These folks felt or were advised that they needed a full series of vaccinations on board before beginning outside socialization and classes. And, unfortunately, now these folks are writing in because their puppies are displaying fear when brought out in public.
These breeders and owners felt the risk of disease outweighed the benefit of socialization. I am in NO WAY here to argue that decision. We encourage breeders and owners to weigh the risks and benefits and make their own choices based on their circumstances.
But you must understand that the decision to withhold early socialization carries a heavy risk of puppies who are frightened of novelty. You don’t get a pass on needing to socialize your puppies because you do the rest of the protocols in Puppy Culture. Early outside socialization is a huge part of the program and we devote an entire chapter to “Vaccination vs Socialization” http://bit.ly/PUPPYCULTUREVOD.
The point of the socializing in the early part of the puppies’ lives is that they are wired to imprint experiences with one, maybe two, exposures. You’re getting in there before they have a high level of fear of the novel and getting a huge bang for your buck in terms of imprinting positive experiences. Literally, you can accomplish in 15 minutes what might take months to accomplish with an adult dog.
And it’s easier and less technical to work with young puppies. You don’t have to understand much learning theory or have a lot of dog training knowledge. Pretty much pairing food and attention with novelty is going to be enough for most puppies (assuming you are sensible about the encounters you set up). Most dog breeders can learn to do this well.
But you are into a whole different space when you have a 12-14-16 week old puppy. Now you are into standard counterconditioning and desensitization, and the fear response is strong. Just pairing food and affection with strangers is not going to do it. You need to understand learning theory and how to apply it. Which means you will probably need the services of a dog trainer with chops to help you navigate this.
If you find yourself the position of having a puppy or puppies that is or are past the critical socialization period and now afraid of novelty, I recommend you find help through this group – they are a super solid group of dog trainers who, as far as I can tell, moderate as tightly as we do here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/pandemicpuppy/
Again, I am not quarreling with anyone’s individual decision based on circumstances, but this is the exact reason we made Puppy Culture. There is no substitute for early socialization and unfortunately most people are just in over their heads with trying to counter condition an animal that missed this socialization window. That’s what I saw in my practice as a dog trainer and that’s what we sought to avoid by making the film.
Will doing the rest of the protocols in Puppy Culture help at all if you don’t do early socialization? Sure. You at least will have a puppy with foundation behaviors and has a sense of trust. But there is no substitute for early socialization.
I will wade a little further into this and say that our official line in Puppy Culture (that Drs. Herron and Leal discuss), based on the UC Davis study, is a “do no harm” start point and the most we officially feel comfortable recommending. But, even though we cannot recommend it in general, we ourselves have adopted even earlier off premises socialization based on the circumstances of our lines and the relative safety of where we live. Listen to our podcast on this topic here: https://www.podbean.com/pu/pbblog-s6x3m-e0ce4b
We cover the relative risks and benefits early socialization in Puppy Culture. We go into vaccine technology, interview two prominent veterinarians and review the (still) current studies on the risk vs the benefit of early socialization. It’s a big chapter with lots of information so I’m not going to rehash it all here. If you need a refresher go to the “Vaccination vs Socialization” chapter of Puppy Culture
So, determining the risk-benefit of early socialization is up to you, but know that there is a risk to waiting, and it’s pretty predictable. http://bit.ly/PUPPYCULTUREVOD.
I will delete any comments that criticize people for making this decision. It’s a risk benefit analysis that takes a lot of factors into account, and you don’t know the circumstances of any particular breeder or owner. Yes, the overwhelming preponderance of the evidence is that early socialization is safe if you take the correct biosafety precautions, but that does NOT mean it’s the right choice in every case.
