Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Socializing Your Puppy: All You Need to Know

By Dirk Gruenberg


What is socialization? Broadly speaking socializing is getting your puppy prepared for new experiences so that they understand how to behave.

If you want your dog to have a fulfilled life, rich of exciting experience than socializing him will bring you one step nearer to the goal. A well socialized dog will be able to be taken everywhere and he will have much more fun as an adult dog.

Just picture him meeting many, many different people and having to deal with numerous different situations - can you imagine how much confidence that will give him? In contrast, a poorly socialized puppy might grow up to be afraid of people and may even become aggressive.

All puppies need to be exposed to noisy children, dishwashers and other household appliances such as lawn mowers and anything aisle that they will be exposed to when they grow up.

However, of course, you will want to make sure the environment is always safe for him to explore. Getting used to appliances is interesting for your dog, but you will want to make sure to be with him when he explores, so that he does not accidentally put himself in a dangerous situation.

If he knows you are with him, he will most likely be a little bit more adventurous and courageous. It will be a good lesson for him to learn that you are always there for him. He will learn that he can approach life with confidence.

Overall, socialization has the goal to let your dog know is rank in the pack. He will need to understand that you are the boss and that he can trust you, but that he also needs to do what you tell him to do.

When dogs are born, they naturally learn the concept of being a pack animal and who is in charge of whom. His mother, specifically, will have showed him what dominance means, and you need to take over that role now.

When to start socializing your puppy? Immediately is the short answer to that question, your puppy is never too young to learn appropriate acceptable behavior. Always keep in mind dog puppies learn from the moment they are born, so you might as well teach them, too.




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