Socialization, the cornerstone of effective puppy training
By petsourc in Dogs on August 1st, 2009
One of the most important tasks you have as an owner of a new puppy is to socialize him or her. The term socialization means “the act of making social”. In other words to train your puppy to become a confident, well behaved and balanced pet. The socialization process begins when the puppies are born. Their mother creates a bond with her puppies through feeding them, keeping them close to her and licking them to keep them clean and helping them relieve themselves, as very young puppies are not able to do this for themselves for the first couple of weeks. As the puppies begin to play and interact with each other, they will each learn and practice to some degree or another socially acceptable behaviours which they can take to the outside world. Conscientious breeders can also play a major role in helping to socialize their puppy’s, by gently introducing them to new experiences within their environment. Between eight and twelve weeks of age all puppies enter a critical or sensitive period in their development, when reactions to things new and unfamiliar can cause them to become frightened or nervous. During this period, puppies can be helped to overcome their fears through safe and gentle exposure to the fearful situation, along with plenty of kind and consistent training. The important thing to remember here is that as a puppy goes beyond the threshold of twelve weeks of age, he or she will become increasingly difficult to socialize effectively. In the case of a puppy who has passed this twelve week window of opportunity, and has developed a particular fear towards a certain thing or situation, then even a professional behaviourist may only be able to assist in helping to managing the problem at best. Prevention is much, much better than a cure here, therefore, it is vitally you put plenty of work into socializing your new puppy, especially around this critical time in his or her development. Well how do you actually go about socializing your puppy? Basically, you will need to expose your new puppy to as many new experiences as possible. New experiences can both be naturally occurring and organised by you yourself. The key is to be as inventive as possible when training your dog, as the more experiences you include, the more prepared he or she will be when faced with each new and more demanding situation and above all, your dog will become more confident, sociable and better behaved in the long run. Who could ask for more. Take a pen and paper and make a list of possible experiences you would like to work on with your puppy. If you’re not sure what to include, here are a few examples to get you started. Adults both young and old and of different ethnic backgrounds. Children, but only those children that will not stress your puppy, over stimulate him or treat him with disrespect. The refuse collector, news paper delivery person and the mail delivery person If you live in a city, regularly take your dog to the country and visa versa. If you drive a car, take your puppy on short drives. If you use public transport a lot, take your puppy for short trips on the train or bus. Take your puppy in elevators and moving stairs. Expose your puppy to household noise such as the vacuum cleaner and washing machine etc. Groom your dog regularly, examine his ears, paws and tail etc. This practice not only deepens the bond between you and your dog, but will also prepare him for when he gets handled by the vet, or grooming professional if he or she will need to visit one. Take your puppy on an introduction visit to your vets surgery, many vets now encourage this practice. Once there your puppy can meet the people who work at the surgery, and get used to the new sights and smells. Doing this you will help make subsequent visits to the vet a stress free experience for your puppy. Introduce your puppy gently and gradually to each new experience, have patience and be guided by your puppy’s responses. If he or she reacts negatively to a new experience, abandon the exercise and try it again at a later stage. When your puppy responds positively to a new experience however, praise him profusely. Be consistent in training your puppy in the area of socialization, and you will see him or her mature into a confident, friendly, curious and balanced dog.
Hummer Parts
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