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SOCIALIZING YOUR PUPPY:
Your puppy should learn to handle all situations as a young dog. Expose him to absolutely
everything you can think of. Elevators, steps (teach him to go up and down on his own!!) , noisy
traffic, construction zones, the neighborʼs dogs, cats, hamsters, birds in cages, the list is
endless.
One caution should be brought up, if you puppy has not had all of his shots, DONʼT take risks.
He should not go where there are lots of dogs until he has had his immunizations. It is safer, if
you are traveling, to get him out to potty in areas that are NOT areas where lots of dogs
elminate, such as rest areas or gas stations. You should not be taking him to dog shows or
obedience classes until the 8th to the 12th week, when he has competed his parvo virus
vaccinations and distemper shots.
When you take him out, if he acts fearful or uncertain, you should not be picking him up and
carrying him. Oftentimes this is a big temptaion. But it is better for your puppy to face things on
the ground, as a dog. Putting him into a safe harness with a leash and allowing him to explore
on his own is the best way to introduce him to new things in his world.
You should follow the rule of “no coddling”. In other words, simply put, if you praise your dog
and pet your dog and tell your puppy “oh itʼs all right” in a cuddly soft cooing tone, you are not
doing him any favors because in effect you are praising him for his fear. Accept fearfulness by
basically ignoring it and do one of two things, either let the puppy come to terms with his fear by
allowing him to investigate the matter, or teach him not to fear by being matter of fact and giving
him praise and reward for approaching his fear.
(an excerpt from YOUR PUPPY'S FIRST YEAR)