Getting a puppy is an exciting and rewarding experience that can bring joy to both you and your new canine companion. The early stages of a dog’s life are incredibly important in shaping the health and happiness of the rest of its life. Socialising your puppy is a key part of this, a process that consists of introducing them to a variety of people, places, and other dogs, all in an effort to build experiences that can help them in future situations.
Why Socialise Your Puppy?
Socialising your puppy prevents them from being antisocial in its later life. Many badly-socialised puppies can potentially hold a range of fears, such as children, other dogs, or car journeys. A puppy’s most crucial period of socialisation takes place between the age of around three to fourteen weeks old, as they form social bonds, begin to explore and learn how to understand fear.
Gently ease your puppy into new and varying experiences. Allow it some time to adapt, being both patient and firm in its discovery of what will be, for them, overwhelmingly new scents and sights.
Your Puppy At Home
Teaching your puppy good discipline is part of the socialisation process, and can be done by establishing rules for it in your household. Certain actions such as chewing, play biting and mounting can lead them to be anti-social adult dogs and should be discouraged.
This is not to say that you should be incredibly script towards your new puppy; if you praise them for good manners and distract them from bad actions, they will naturally reinforce behaviour that will help your pooch be best prepared for their adult life.
It is also very important to remember that before you walk your puppy out and about it must be vaccinated, and needs to have undergone the microchipping procedure.
Puppy Parties
Beyond regular puppy checkups, an excellent opportunity for a puppy’s socialisation are puppy parties. Often taking place at veterinary surgeries and small animal clinics, puppies will get the opportunity to meet and play with other puppies. This will expand their experiences and allow them to be comfortable with different people and dogs.
Party puppies can also be a great thing for you, the owner, as you get the opportunity to talk to veterinary professionals and discuss the socialisation process. If you are not entirely confident training a puppy at home, these events immerse you in an environment with other dogs and their owners, allowing you to gain confidence with dogs and a strong sense of community with other owners.
Bay Vets
We are a veterinary surgery that offers a range of services for dogs and other pets. As community vets, we perform microchipping, neutering, and other procedures with confidence and care.
Puppy checkups are available, and whilst we moved our puppy parties online during lockdown, we are looking to bring them back in person, and you can find further information available here. Otherwise, you can contact us today by calling 0152432696 or emailing info@bayvets.co.uk.
