Episode #170 Debunking the Myth: Puppies and Early Socialization

Learn how to provide your pup with a rich, fulfilling life through controlled social experiences and get the inside scoop on observational socialization techniques that can work wonders from the safety of a distance. With expert advice from a seasoned breeder and our actionable tips, you'll be well-equipped to foster positive interactions and prevent potential behavioral issues. Tune in for a fresh perspective on early socialization that promises to enhance your puppy's journey to becoming a happy, sociable, and confident dog.

Erin Bock lives in Florida and operates Delano Doodles. She is an attentive breeder, focusing on quality therapy dog lines and raising the best puppies possible for families. She does therapy work locally with several of her dogs and enjoys giving back to her community in this way. To learn more visit https://www.delanodoodles.com/ and follow her on social media @delanodoodles. 

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

This is the Puppy Training Podcast, episode 170, debunking the myth puppies and early socialization. This podcast is designed to help you on your journey of becoming best friends through love and learning, as you train your own dog from home, and I'm here to help you every step of the way. This is the Puppy Training Podcast and I'm your host, amy Jensen. Hi everybody, welcome to this episode of Fact or a Myth, where we will explore a common puppy belief that I hear a lot, and we're going to set the record straight. Today, we're tackling the notion that puppies should avoid playing with other dogs before they are fully vaccinated. I can ask this a fair amount here at Baxter and Bella, so let's talk about it. What do you guys think? Here's a spoiler alert. It's actually a myth. We're about to bring home our Bella from Delano Doodles in Florida. Erin Bach is our breeder that we are working with, and she had some expert insight into this topic and I thought I would share. For those of you who are also about ready to bring home a new dog or maybe yours is already home there's no time to waste when it comes to socialization. We do want to give our puppies a few days to do nothing other than settle and relax in our home and start to trust us. But then we need to start introducing novel experiences for them, in positive ways. What of other dogs? What's the fact behind this myth?

Speaker 1: 1:26

Contrary to popular belief, puppies benefit greatly from interacting with older, healthy, vaccinated dogs. Here's why. First, behavioral development. Just like humans, puppies go through critical periods of development. During their early weeks and months, they are highly impressionable, exposing them to a variety of things. Experiences, including interactions with other dogs, can help shape their behavior and responses to different stimuli in their environments. Number two is communication skills. Dogs are social creatures by nature. They love to be with their people and other dogs, and interacting with their own kind teaches puppies really important communication skills. Through play and interaction, they learn how to interpret body language, vocalizations given by other dogs and social cues, which are all really important for navigating the dog world. Number three is confidence building. Early socialization boosts a puppy's confidence. Positive experiences with other dogs helps our dogs feel more comfortable and secure in different environments and situations. This confidence lays the groundwork for a well-adjusted and resilient adult dog.

Speaker 1: 2:34

Number four is prevention of behavior issues. This is a big one. We all want this right. Puppies that are not adequately socialized are more likely to develop behavior issues such as fearfulness, aggression and anxiety. But by exposing them early to various people, animals and environments, we can help prevent these problems from even cropping up later in life. Number five is reduced risk of aggression. Proper socialization can also reduce the likelihood of aggressive behavior towards other dogs. Puppies that have positive experiences with other dogs are more likely to grow up to be friendly and sociable companions.

Speaker 1: 3:08

Number six is enrichment and stimulation. Dogs, again, are social creatures and love to be with other dogs. Socialization is not just about preventing problems. It's also about creating the best life possible for your dog. Interacting with other dogs provides mental and physical stimulation which keeps them engaged, happy and fulfilled.

Speaker 1: 3:29

Now there are some important considerations to keep in mind. First, it's essential to ensure that all these dogs are healthy, vaccinated, that they're friendly and that we can trust them. This provides a safe environment for both our puppy and the adult dog to interact. Additionally, we want to make sure that if one of them is not having a good time especially the smaller puppy that they can escape and get away as needed. This will help them to make good choices when they feel overwhelmed, rather than poor choices. Now what if you're not ready for direct interaction? That's okay. Puppies do great with observation, so just observing is super valuable. Take your puppy somewhere where they'll see other dogs, maybe a dog park. We're not going inside, we're just observing from the outside. Maybe our puppy could be in a dog stroller or we're carrying them in a sling or a backpack and we're just feeding them food, rewards while we're watching from a distance. This can help our puppy build confidence in seeing other dogs and knowing what they look like, and they can smell them, but they're not having to confront them.

Speaker 1: 4:33

Now, when it comes to direct interaction, play dates with vaccinated dogs are important. Again, make sure that you know the dog, that the dog is gentle and friendly and that you've seen them play with maybe a smaller dog before, so you know what it will be like when your puppy is introduced to them. But dogs who regularly lay on their backs maybe will mal their paw gently at the puppies. And also dogs who know how to disengage or move away if the situation becomes stressful is important Now. Planning ahead is important. So those of you who are like me and we are planning on bringing a puppy home soon, I'm starting to make a list of friends and family that I know that have friendly dogs or potential play dates for my puppy, and then I'm just making a list, I'm reaching out to them, contacting them, trying to see if we can set up some dates when our dogs can get together.

Speaker 1: 5:22

So when introducing your puppy to a new dog, we want to make sure again that there is an escape route, that if the puppy feels fearful, that they have somewhere to hide or retreat to and then, as they feel confident and brave, they can come out and say hello. We don't want to force any of these interactions. We want it to be on the puppy's terms. I like to set up in my backyard a pen and then that way if the puppy seems a little overwhelmed or stressed, the puppy can be inside the pen, the older dog can be outside the pen and they can meet through the barrier. But there is that safety net of the barrier for the puppy until they become a little more confident. Some puppies will warm up right away. You'll see that they're ready to play within a few minutes. You'll see that other puppies might take a little longer. Maybe it's five or 10 minutes before they feel like, okay, I'm brave enough to go out and venture with this bigger dog.

Speaker 1: 6:09

So, yes, play dates can and should happen before your puppy is fully vaccinated. This is kind of the main question. So puppies aren't going to be fully vaccinated until about 16 to 20 weeks, depending on the protocol that you're following and your veterinarian. So check with them on those things. But we want to make sure that the dogs are getting socialized before that period. So we don't want to wait until 16 to 20 weeks of age for our puppies to be exposed to the world they're going to live in. We want to get started right away.

Speaker 1: 6:37

So again, it's just important that we have healthy, vaccinated dogs, who our puppy's going to meet and that it's in an area that is private where other random dogs are roaming. We don't know those other dogs, so we wanna make sure it's in an area where we know what's coming in and out of the yard and what exposure our puppy's going to come across. But definitely we want our puppy to be able to see, smell, interact and be around other dogs before. We don't wanna wait until they're fully vaccinated. So how can you ensure that your puppy gets the socialization they need? Make sure that we start early, that we make it a priority. Start putting it on your calendars. See if you can schedule some of those play dates that we talked about. Introduce them to a variety of friendly, vaccinated dogs in safe environments. Another tip that comes from Erin at Delano Doodles is make sure after the play date that you provide your puppy with a transitional activity like a frozen food, puzzle or a good chew. This will help them process the experience that they just had and settle afterwards.

Speaker 1: 7:40

Remember, socialization is an ongoing process. This is not going to be a one-time event for your puppy. We want to continue to expose our puppy to new experiences, people, dogs, smells, textures as they grow and develop. With proper socialization we'll be setting our dogs up for a lifetime of happiness, confidence and companionship. So there you have it. The myth has been debunked. Puppies can and should interact with other dogs before they are fully vaccinated, as long as it's done safely and responsibly. If you're getting a dog soon, let me know in the notes. I would love to see pictures. I am super excited for your training adventure. I hope that you'll follow along as we bring this new puppy into our home and follow our training adventure. I'm happy to answer any questions that you may have along the way, have a great week you guys. Happy training. If you have a question about anything you heard on this podcast or any other puppy training question, visit my site, baxterandbellacom to contact me.