As a responsible pet owner, it is vital to give your puppy the best start in life possible. Dog training is an important part of that process. As soon as you bring your new family member home, you will want them to become accustomed to your home and their new family life. They must learn how to get along in your home and in the world at large. This process is called socialization and exposure. and it is very important for your puppy to become well socialized in order to enjoy a good quality of life.
Dog training is fun and an essential activity to carry out with your new puppy. This enables your new friend to experience less anxiety in all types of settings from dog daycare to travel and when out and about. If you begin socializing your puppy safely to everything by the time he is 3 months old, you will both find the process easy and fun.
Here are some general puppy socialization tips:
- Expose your puppy to a wide range of sights and sounds both inside and outside of the home. Try to find as broad a selection of experiences as possible including the sounds of traffic, other people, children playing as well as other animals, even cats!
- As soon as your pup is able, take him to a wide variety of places. Start with places where he will not necessarily be exposed to other unknown dogs (before his second set of shots) but allow interaction with different people.
- Let your puppy experience traveling in the car and experience being safely restrained in the vehicle. I generally discourage front seat travel for most dogs and definitely just because the dog is small does not mean it is a good idea to sit on the drivers lap! Just like small children, the airbags can be fatal if anything should happen. Also you could be ticketed with “distracting or crowding the driver” by police. A little fresh air with a crack of a window is always good. Best not to let them hang out the window as it is hard on their eyes and ears, especially when traveling at faster speeds!
- Allow your puppy to meet a broad selection of people of all ages. Your puppy needs to meet all types of people including those in wheelchairs, wearing hats and glasses, and young children. Absolutely dog social interaction is crucial to make a priority daily.
- Encourage your puppy to enjoy being handled in preparation for vet appointments. Playing with their paws and touching their nails gently, prepares then for nail clipping. The first time you get them clipped make sure it’s someone who knows what to do and makes it a positive experience.
- The more consistent you are in your daily routine to include exposure to all kinds of people, situations, play, crate time, alone time and making sure they are kept safe from getting into things that can be harmful is a must. Rule of thumb is if you cannot watch what the puppy is doing, then put them in their crate or a pen. Electrical wires, poisonous plants and a variety of hazards can be detrimental. Puppies are notorious for finding things that we did not realize was accessible to them.
For more information on how to properly train your dog, contact Awesome K9 today. 613-797-4454.