As you know if you’ve been reading my blog for a while – or know me – I came to dog ownership kind of late in life. I didn’t get my first dog, Maizy, until I was in my 30s. It was a fast learning curve for me, because I quickly became fascinated with dog behavior and training. Turns out, dogs changed my life.
No matter how much I have learned about dogs, though, I learn more every day. I hope that sharing my experiences helps you – maybe even more than reading a somewhat dry training book could. At least, that’s my hope.
Today I am going to tell you some of the mistakes I made raising the two puppies I have brought into my life, Max and Faedra. Hopefully a little humble pie on my part will give you some insights as you raise your own puppy.
Remember the Purpose
Socialization is all about creating a resilient dog who can handle new environments and situations with little to no stress. When we got Max, I was pretty new to the whole dog ownership thing, and I was completely off the mark about what he needed. I thought he needed to see a bunch of people. Period. We had Maizy and fostered other dogs, so he didn’t need to meet a bunch of dogs.
Since I didn’t really have a clue that creating positive experiences and resiliency was the point of “puppy socialization,” I thought we were good. He met a lot of people. He was nice to them. He got along with dogs in our house. Check, check.
Unfortunately, what I didn’t realize at the time is that Max is a nervous, anxious dude by nature. Oh, how I wish I could go back in time. I would have spent so much more time with him helping him to enjoy new experiences and find joy in the big, wide world. I would have done everything I could to help him build confidence that would have helped him his whole life.
Start Establishing Proper Behavior
When we got Faedra, I was much more prepared for the whole puppy thing. By then, I was working as a dog trainer and understood the purpose of socialization: resiliency, the magic word. Since Faedra is an Australian Cattle Dog (aka Heeler), I was super worried about how she would be with strange people. Her breed can often become attached to one person or family and be very skeptical (and maybe not nice) to every other person.
Since Faedra happily met every person, I just went with it. She said hi, she got love from others, and she was wiggly happy. So where did I go wrong? Well, I probably should have set some ground rules… like “you need to sit before you get to say hi,” but no. I created a jumping, licking monster because I was SO EXCITED that she loved people and didn’t want to get in the way of that.
Now, because I’m a realistic person who does not expect perfection from my dogs, I’m trying to decide if I want to make the effort to teach those missing manners now that she is two years old. Maybe. Maybe not. I’m still deciding…
Happy Associations Can Be Undone
So, now I’ve got two puppies that I’ve raised that love people, have had some good experiences with other dogs, and are generally well-adjusted to their lives.
Too bad the story doesn’t end there. My poor Max, who was already anxious and lacking in that resiliency stuff, got really hurt when he was a few years old. He was so badly hurt that he was at the vet sometimes three times a day for bandage changes and adjustments to his treatment plan. No joke – it was awful!
The cute little puppy that loved to go on rides more than life itself was having a hard time. He was naturally nervous and unsure, he hadn’t been socialized in such a way that he learned to “go with the flow,” and now we were shoving him into the car several times a day to go to the vet. Guess what happened? He became terrified of the car, and before I realized it, the negative association was so strong that the days of fun rides just for the heck of it were over.
When I look back at that, I want to kick myself. Why didn’t I realize that was happening? Why didn’t I do everything I could to keep the joy in car rides for him? To this day, I am still trying to give myself a break. We were in for thousands of dollars and stressed to the max (ha, ha, get it?), so my attention was all over the place. But if I had it to do all over again, we sure would have done a lot more to make sure those car rides stayed fun!
The Moral of the Story
So, what’s the moral of this story? Honestly, it’s probably different for every one. Here’s what I think are the things I’ll keep in mind next time I have a puppy… if I ever get a puppy again. (They are so much work!)
- Socialization isn’t as much about exposing your puppy to lots of specific things as it is about teaching them to go with the flow and adapt to new experiences. That should be the focus.
- The act of socialization does not eliminate the need for manners training and expectations. I think with puppies the most important thing is socialization, but there’s no need to create behavior habits that you’ll have to undo later while you are socializing your puppy.
- Socialization experiences don’t end in puppyhood. Experiences have to stay positive for the dog’s whole life, or you can end up with an adult dog with fears they never had as puppies.
- And because it just can’t be said enough: socialization is about your puppy enjoying lots of experiences. Enjoying, not just being exposed to.
- Have fun. Puppies are babies for such a short time. Make sure that socializing your puppy is fun for both of you. Take lots of pictures. Don’t just meet goals, make memories.
I wish you the best of luck with your own puppy. You will make mistakes, but you will also do the very best you can. Now, go raise the best puppy you can – and enjoy yourself while you do!