Proactive Puppy Socialization Tips for a Confident Dog

New dog guardians are constantly told how important it is to socialize their puppy, but it can be so hard to decipher what that actually means. Most people hear the world "socialize" and assume it must mean approximately what it means for people - to hang out with a bunch of other dogs and have a good time. And while dog-dog interactions are definitely a part of socialization, the term encompasses so much more.

When it comes to dogs, "socialization" is actually the process of exposing puppies and dogs to new people, animals, objects, places, and situations in a positive, fun, and fulfilling way. Socialization is a process that occurs over a dog's entire life, but is most critical in the early weeks. Between about six weeks old and sixteen weeks old, puppies are learning to play, interact, and engage with the world around them. It is the most influential period in a dog's life; the learning that happens during this timeframe will form lasting cognitive and emotional impressions. They are also extremely sensitive to traumatic or negative events, so it is important to avoid situations or incidents that cause fear.

Socializing your puppy during this timeframe is one of the single most important things you can do to enjoy a confident, calm adult dog. It is critical for raising puppies into emotionally healthy adult dogs. Ensuring your pup has positive experiences with the wide variety of situations, people, places, and objects they're likely to encounter lowers the risk of anxiety, reactivity, or aggression later down the line. These puppy socialization tips can help make sure your dog is as well-adjusted as she can be.

1. Combine New Stuff with Good Stuff

As positive trainers and dog guardians, we focus on proactive socialization. This means that our goal is to empower dogs to confidently approach new stuff without fear. During your puppy's socialization window, it is very important that all new people, places, and experiences be accompanied by something good. This can be food, a toy, playtime, petting, or anything else your puppy really likes. For example, the first time your pup meets a man wearing a hat, you might give your pup a whole pile of treats or kibble. This will help build the association in your puppy's mind that men in hats make good things happen! If your puppy has good stuff happen every time something new happens, they will learn that new things happening are not scary. By making all new experiences positive, we can avoid fear-based reactivity in the future.

2. Go Slowly

It is tempting to treat socialization like a one-and-done checklist, but in reality this can be a long process. The first time your pup meets a man in a hat, she might be nervous. You might have to slow down and work on active counter-conditioning to men in hats. The second time your pup sees someone in a hat, it would have to be from farther away. You would give your pup positive experiences with the far away hat-man until she felt secure, then slowly and steadily have the hat-man move closer. At any point your puppy shows discomfort, you would once again move further away. Eventually you could build up to having the man in the hat interact with or feed your pup, but only after she feels confident and secure in that situation.

In the past, the conventional wisdom was to socialize via what is called "flooding." Flooding is exposing an animal to a scary situation abruptly or intensely, rather than gradually. The idea is is that you expose them to the situation for so long or at such high intensity that they no longer feel afraid. This falls apart in practice and is generally not recommended by the current science of animal behavior. Flooding is great at reducing the reaction to scary things, but not the actual feeling of fear. Imagine if you were terrified of spiders. You hired a professional to help you, and they locked you in a closet with several hundred tarantulas. It would be highly unlikely that you would walk out of that closet unafraid of spiders; in all likelihood you would just feel even more traumatized. In order to avoid flooding, it is very important to take socialization slowly and pay attention to your puppy's body language to monitor for any signs of stress or fear.

3. Learn Your Puppy's Body Language Cues

A vital part of proactive socialization is recognizing when your puppy is scared, anxious, or stressed. If your pup is showing these signs the situation is too intense and needs to be revisited. Dog body language can be very nuanced so it is important to watch your dog closely and intervene if any of the following signals are present:

• Tail tucked between legs

• Head lowered

• Body turning or leaning away

• Paw raised

• Trembling

• Lip-licking

• Yawning

• Drooling

• Panting (especially a wide "stress pant")

• Cowering or hiding

• Clinginess to owner

• "Whale eye" where the whites of the eyes are showing

• Very rounded, tense eyes

• Dilated pupils

• Tense, closed mouth

• Ears flattened back or down

• Hackles (hair along spine) raised

• Pacing

• Refusing food

• Growling/snarling/barking

It's important to know that dog body language needs to be read as a whole. A raised paw paired with a wagging tail and soft, squinty eyes is very different then a raised paw with tail tucked and ears flattened. Observe your pup closely in new situations and when encountering new things to make sure that he is not showing any overt signs of stress or fear. If your pup does seem fearful, immediately remove him from the situation and reassess.

4. Include People, Places, Experiences, Sounds, Smells, and Handling in Your Socialization

Socialization is not just about your dog meeting other dogs and people - it is critical to expose your puppy to all the experiences she is likely to have throughout her life. This includes all places, people, objects, sights, sounds, and sensations you can think of. The process of proactive socialization involves gradually and slowly giving your pup positive experiences with as many things as possible in order to build a resilient, calm adult dog. A full list of socializing goals is beyond the scope of this blog post, but you can download the Wondrous Tails Dog Training Socialization Checklist here!

5. Proactive socialization is a life-long process

No matter how hard you try, it is not possible to encounter every single thing your puppy will ever see in it's life within the first sixteen weeks. You and your pup will be exposed to new experiences throughout your dog's entire life. While proactive socialization during the sensitive puppy stage will dramatically increase the chance that your adult dog will react calmly in new situations, it is always important to treat every new experience as an opportunity to socialize. The good news is that a dog that has been well-socialized as a puppy will be much more accepting of change and novelty as an adult.

Socialization is a critical and sometimes poorly-understood process. The world we live in is a strange and scary one for your dog, and it is our job as dog guardians to teach them how to navigate through it. It is definitely a process that benefits from the oversight of a qualified professional. Poorly socialized dogs are much more likely to suffer from anxiety, reactivity, and aggression. Puppies that are raised in a kennel or barn setting, that are taken from their littermates too early, or who spend their critical socialization period in a pet shop window have a much more difficult start. The good news is that with patience, time, and understanding most dogs can learn to cope with novelty.

Got a new puppy and feeling overwhelmed by socialization? Contact us today!