other animals, such as cats, horses, chickens, and furry or feathered pets. If the goats are scary, let him sit in your lap. Pick fresh fruit and let him savor the sweet taste of berries. Make the clapping of hands, the jingling of keys, and the clatter of dog bowls no big deal. Teach him to walk and play on different surfaces, such as gravel, grass, sandy beaches, vinyl and tile floors, and so forth. Don‘t forget bridges with varying planks of wood or metal.
Take him on elevators and escalators, and expose him to open stairs, closed stairs, steep stairs, narrow stairs, wood stairs, and grated stairs (watch his toes and be careful he doesn‘t fall). Expose him to paper bags blowing in the wind, honking horns, garden hoses, sprinklers, wind chimes, and everything else he might come in contact with as an adult dog. Let him play in and around empty boxes, tunnels, and buckets. Allow him to investigate trees, rocks, bushes, branches, leaves, and fallen fruit. Take him to the beach and let him climb on driftwood and dig in the sand. Go for a hike in the woods and let him climb on and over fallen trees. Take him someplace new every day.
Give him a ride in a wheelbarrow or bundle him up in your jacket and take him for a bicycle ride. Buy him a lifejacket and take him boating or kayaking. Let him go swimming with a slow, fun introduction to lakes, rivers, and pools. Push him around pet-friendly stores in a shopping cart. Sit him in your lap while you gently swing on a swing or stretch out in a hammock.
Teach him the art of walking past people without always having to say hello. Teach him to potty on different surfaces—grass, gravel, dirt, asphalt, as well as on and off leash. (You‘ll appreciate this one when traveling and stopping for potty breaks.) Challenge his mind by teaching him to problem solve, such as how to find and retrieve his ball from under a chair, how to dig the marrow out of a bone, how to balance and walk on a plank or log, how to climb over a downed tree that‘s bigger than he thinks he can climb.
Attend a small puppy class—preferably with not more than three or four puppies—or invite friends and neighborhood kids over (after they have washed their hands and left their shoes at the door) for kisses and supervised play. Take him walking with one friend and her dog. Handle him multiple times a day cuddling, kissing, and whispering sweet nothings in his ear.
You want your puppy’s encounters with the outside world to be safe and positive.
Balancing Act
Socializing your dog is a balancing act. You must expose him to the world around him while simultaneously protecting him from potentially harmful or fearful situations, yet being careful about encouraging or rewarding fearful behaviors. You want to find a balance between the right amount of exposure and stimulation, while still providing a safe, stress-free environment. Try really hard to avoid exposing him to a barrage of constant noise and stimulation every waking moment. Puppies have short attention spans, and they need plenty of down time to sleep and recover from their busy day of being a puppy. When they are awake, however, they need enough physical and mental stimulation and socialization to grow into healthy, happy adult dogs.
Finding that balance will depend on your dog. Understanding the innate characteristics of your dog‘s breed is especially handy during this time. You will need to read his body language by observing his reactions to different situations. Watch his ears and tail and body posture. Is he happy? Fearful? Apprehensive? Courageous? Inquisitive? Submissive? By understanding and reading your dog’s body language, you will be able to assess his comfort level and evaluate or adjust the situation accordingly. Here are a few examples:
•If your dog is afraid of vacuum cleaners, leave it in the corner of the room and let him adjust to its presence on his own terms. Leave a few tasty treats next to it and let him figure out how to get them on his own. Another option is to turn it on in another room. If possible, have someone turn it on in another room while your praise and reward your dog with plenty of yummy cookies. (Don‘t confuse a dog‘s innate or quirky behaviors, such as attacking a vacuum, with fear. These are two different situations that require different approaches.)
•If your dog is afraid of a particular person, do not force him to engage. Simply allow him to sort it out on his terms. Have the person sit on the floor, which is less intimidating than standing over a puppy, and reward him with treats when he approaches on his own.
•If your dog is not used to children, a room full of rambunctious children may be overwhelming or downright scary. Ideally, you should modify or restrict the exposure to one quiet, well-behaved child in the beginning until your dog is confident enough to handle more.
If your dog is afraid of a particular person, do not force him to engage.
Comforting or Coddling?
A good deal of controversy surrounds the topic of comforting or soothing fearful dogs. Certainly, it‘s human nature to want to comfort a fearful dog, but does coddling or otherwise rewarding a dog who shows fear reinforce that fear? For years, the accepted theory has been that if a dog is fearful and you attempt to comfort him by saying, “It’s ok honey. Don’t be afraid. Mommy won’t let anything happen to you,“ then you are rewarding his fearful actions, which inadvertently compounds the situation by reinforcing his fear.
Fear is designed to be aversive, and many behaviorist believe that comforting a noise-sensitive dog who goes into freak-out mode at the sound of thunder or fireworks is not going to reinforce his fear. Calmly stroking his ears, scratching his belly, or talking in a soothing voice probably won‘t make him worse. According to certified applied animal behaviorist Patricia McConnell, PhD, “Fear is an emotion, and ‘reinforcement‘ refers to something than increases a behavior. You can‘t, technically, reinforce an emotion, but you can increase the frequency of a particular behavior.“
It’s no surprise that studies support both sides of the issue. However, McConnell goes on to explain that if stroking and petting a dog who is fearful of thunder has a positive effect, and the dog is no longer pacing, panting, and whining, then maybe rubbing his belly isn‘t such a bad thing.
That said, scolding or correcting a fearful or apprehensive dog will definitely exacerbate the situation.
On the other hand, if your dog yelps because you accidently stepped on his foot, coddling him may reinforce some fearful or wimpy behavior. Instead, in these instances, immediately play with him and talk to him in a happy voice. This takes his mind off the situation and puts his focus on your happy, positive energy.
Did you Know?
Socialization and Vaccinations
Although vaccinations are important to your puppy, so too is socialization.A hotly debated topic is the perceived risk of exposing puppies (or insufficiently vaccinated adult dogs) to other dogs prior to completing their full complement of vaccinations at around sixteen weeks.Some veterinarians adamantly oppose socialization before sixteen weeks of age because of the risk of contracting an infectious disease, such as parvovirus.The decision is a personal one and should always be made in consultation with your veterinarian.Plenty of opportunities exist to safely socialize your puppy, but until he is fully vaccinated, avoid those public places where the risk of encountering infected dogs is high, such as dog parks, pet-supply stores, and large puppy or obedience classes.
Temperament and its Limitations
Puppies and adult dogs are unique individuals and must be treated as such. By understanding as much as possible about the breed you have chosen, you will have an easier time understanding why he does what he does and, subsequently, how best to manage his behavior during the socialization process. For example,
