Socialisation? – Get your puppy used to life experiences
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All owners are told they need to socialise their puppies from a young age. Some owners can get so caught up in socialisation part they omit the training, they omit the bonding between them, and their puppy and they omit the boundaries and manners that need to be installed for owning a well-mannered, well-trained puppy.
Socialisation for me has now come to mean just mixing with other dogs, it does not have the added meaning that what we as owners need to do is get out puppies ready for the real-life experiences.
What are life experiences?
- Visiting places – the vets, family homes, holidays, days out.
- People – a mix of ages, nationalities, people in uniforms, and so on.
- Being able to leave your puppy alone while you pop to the shops or go upstairs.
- Appropriate interaction with people – joggers, cyclists, children, etc.
- Being safe when walking – passing cars, lorries, motorbikes, and so on.
- How to interact with other dogs – no necessarily playing with them, but being able to pass them on lead/off the lead, interaction with dogs the puppy knows or will know on a regular basis, etc.
- Having the confidence that you can let your puppy of safely knowing that he or she will return when you call them; or having the confidence that when you ask your puppy to do something they will respond appropriately.
The above is just a few of the life experiences we will expect our puppies/dogs to behave appropriately in and with. When you get your puppy to remember it’s about the life the puppy will lead not just the interaction you may wish them to join in on.