“Socialize Young Puppies Early” is a series of five articles. Please read all articles starting with this basic article. Be sure to see the bottom of this article for pictures of the oganic gardens where the dogs play. They are award winning gardens.
Waiting until a puppy is 16 weeks old to start teaching the facts of life is waiting too long. Like little thirsty sponges, puppies are rapidly soaking up information even when they are only a few weeks old. The younger the pup receives information into his little computer brain, the better. And the younger they learn, the easier it is to teach them.
One of the biggest and most common mistakes I hear from people bringing in puppies to our boarding, day care and training are the following words: “Well, my little puppy is eight months old, going on nine months now and I guess it’s about time for us to think about socializing him and teaching him the facts of life”. I try not to gasp too loudly. Here are the facts: At only eight months old and depending on the breed, most dogs are no longer puppies but are entering their adolescent or juvenille stage. No, it’s not too late for socializing, but what have you been waiting for anyway? You have already missed the most crucial socializing period of your dog’s young life and you will never know how important that period was now. But yes, yes, start socializing your dog immediately even if he is eight months or older. Here is why:
Very early in life, the puppy starts forming his attitudes and personality. The young pup needs to be taught and he only can be as good as the information he receives. If he’s going to be overly protected, guarded and live in a cocoon, then he will only know about the lackluster joy of a caterpillar. And, here’s the equally important thing about socializing: Your dog will be part of your family for a long time. You will not want your dog scared, fearful, shy or aggressive as the direct result of no socializing. Your dog won’t enjoy these less than positive traits either and will not be able to live his life to the fullest if he hasn’t had the opportunity to learn about the world around him.
Dogs absolutely love other dogs. Yes, dogs love their humans too. But you only have two feet while other dogs have four feet. No matter how much you walk or play with your dog, there will never be anything better than your dog joying racing, zooming and exercising with other dogs. Socializing means many things. But one big thing that it includes is for a young pup to learn how to get along with other dogs. Although they are born with great instincts, they learn dog to dog etiquette only by being around other dogs.
Read Article Two of Five
Enjoy pictures of the gardens where the dogs play at Doggie Care Resort. To the left is Gary stringing up some organic blueberries. Everything is organic here. To the right is an extra sweet Hippo named Tulip who is buried in Scotch Moss.