The Super Socialization Period – Understanding Puppy Development and Using it to Your Advantage
If you are reading this, you are probably thinking about getting a puppy or may have recently adopted one and want to know how to properly care for and raise your puppy. Understanding how a puppy grows and develops is essential, so that you can know what to look for and put your time and effort in the right place.
The best time to start creating boundaries, implementing training and socializing your pup is the second you bring your pup home. But knowing the right way to do it and making sure it is done correctly is that much more important. A lot of bad behaviors that become unbearable with older dogs stem from unknowingly encouraging these behaviors in puppy hood. A puppy from the age of 6 to 16 weeks is highly impressionable and goes through many stages of development that can give it good and bad behaviors. Putting your time and energy into your puppy during these weeks will have huge payoff for the rest of your pups’ life. Having and raising a puppy is a huge responsibility and hopefully by the time you finish reading this, you will feel more comfortable and confident in raising your puppy starting with the first 16 weeks.
Before you got your puppy much of its life has been in the hands of its breeder. Now that it is home with you it is your job to make sure we continue positive exposure during this critical learning period. Nine important factors will be covered and broken down in this handout.
- Socialization
- Adaptation
- Exploration
- Puppy Play
- Social Dominance
- Separation
- Fear
- Training
- Imprinting
What you can see in the chart below is a break down of the periods of development between week 6 and 16 and when they typically are in effect. Recognizing when the stages begin and end will help you utilize these different periods in your pups development and get more bang for your buck. Secondary Socialization takes effect around 6 weeks and ends at 16 weeks. This period is started when the puppy is removed from its littermate and begins its new life with its owners.
The process of bonding and conditioning your puppy to its new environment is the secondary socialization period. Now we will begin the process of breaking down all this information into useful bite sizes pieces. Tips will be below the different sections to help you apply what you have read to your new pups life and give you insight into how all of these stages effect and develop your pups life.
Recognizing the part that you play as the owner and leader to your puppy is an important step in raising a well rounded puppy that is not only confident but attentive to your needs and their environment.
Socialization
Socialization is the process of your pup adapting and exploring its new environment. In the beginning the only thing we typically want to achieve is a positive reaction. This gives them the ability to be introduced to the world that they are going to live in. The earlier we can start socializing our puppy to different people, puppies, and situations the better they will be able to handle different environments in the future. Between 6-16 weeks your puppy will gain a lot insight into how they are supposed to behave. A lot of behavioral problems that come up later in a dogs life are normally linked to a coping mechanisms they have developed since puppyhood. Exposing and building up their confidence in the early weeks of their life will make sure that as an adult dog they are confident and capable of making good decisions and handling different situations. We will talk more about how to do this is the Adaption and Exploration areas.
*Expert Tip – Socializing your puppy does not necessarily mean having them play like crazy around other puppies. We want to create an environment where your puppy is okay with other dogs, but not necessarily crazy about being with other dogs. In the beginning have your puppy around other puppies but work on them coming to you for treats and praise during the process. This starts building the picture of enjoying the company of other dogs and being attentive to and listening for your instruction.
Adaptation
Adaptation is the process in how your puppy reacts to different environments and stimuli. This is the reaction we get from socialization. Teaching your puppy how to react and feel in different environments and with different stimuli will help create positive connections for your puppy in their new world.. You will get the best results of positive interaction with your pups environment between 6 and 12 weeks of age.
The difference between socialization and adaptation is showing your puppy how to properly interact with different objects, textures, smells, and structures. The more environments your puppy is exposed to the better they will handle new and changing environments in the future. A puppy must learn to adapt not only to the home environment but to their neighborhood and all the noises, smells and structures.
Having your puppy build positive experiences with vacuums, noisy appliances, cars, bikes and other moving objects can make a big difference in how they cope with their environment in the future. Giving them positive experiences with treats, toys, praise and helping them through challenges can build up their confidence and make they are more rounded as adult dogs. New objects like grates, sidewalks, moving platforms and other things can make pups uneasy but introducing them to these things at this age can make new things less scary and boost their confidence.
*Expert Tip – Use treats to get your puppy smelling and walking over different objects. Whether it is a paper bag, smooth surface of tile or wood floors or over a grate on the side walking. Helping to show them that there is nothing to be nervous about goes a long way.
Exploration
Exploration is when your pup begins to be more confident and want to go out and explore on their own. This is a great stage for your puppy to be at. The exploration stage can happen anywhere between 7 and 12 weeks of age. What you might notice in the fist couple of weeks is how much you puppy wants to be around you! Following you around and not straying to explore out on their own.
During the exploration phase you will start to see you pup stray a bit. This is an important step in their development and a big confidence booster. We want your pup to be comfortable enough to do a little exploring. during this phase we want to make sure that we have these experiences be positive and rewarding. Keeping puppies engaged while exploring can be a big help and bringing toys and treats to redirect is a great way to make sure no matter what the situation is they are prepared to have a positive experience.
During this phase we also want to avoid places that are frequented by other dogs. Your pups may not be up to date on all their shots yet and we want to make sure to keep them safe. If you are going to have your puppy out to explore a new area make sure to work on keeping them calm before hand. Coddling or pampering your pup when they get nervous will only reinforce their fear association and we don’t want them to be fearful of new places. Working them through the situation so they know their is nothing to be afraid of is a big part of getting the most out of this period in their lives. Do not reward the nervous behaviors just redirect and help them to have fun in new environments.
Another part of exploration is oral exploration. You will quickly find that your pup likes to put things in there mouth. It is our job that they learn to differentiate between things they can chew on and things they can’t. In order to aide your pup in this part of the exploration phase make sure to avoid using personal belongings as chew toys. It may be hard to resist the cuteness when your pup brings out an old sock to chew on, but we won’t be happy when they start making in a habit or creating a game of chase with an object they shouldn’t have. Quickly redirect the pup to chew on something that is an acceptable chew toy like a bone, ball or other dog toy. Don’t use old shoes, socks, bottles or other items that may give them the wrong impression on what they can chew on.
*Expert Tip – Engage your puppy during this phase of development. If you start to notice your pup is exploring the house without you, you can have a real problem on your hands. Not only could they be off getting into something they shouldn’t, but the could also be finding a new place to go to the bathroom. Make sure to keep an eye on your pup and reward them for exploring new places without fear and redirect them when they may be getting into an area they shouldn’t be. Always be attentive to your pup!
Puppy Play
What is puppy play? It is exactly how it sounds. This is anytime the pup is up and about. Puppies learn and interact through play. The first weeks of their life is interacting with their environment through play and exploration. It is how they begin to test their limits as well as understand their social standing. It is our job as new owners to help use puppy play to our advantage. Playing with your puppy is a great way to build trust and affection with your pup. This is also how they figure out who is going to be a playmate and who is not.
Being that playmate for your pup is an important part of your relationship and creates leadership opportunities, but it is also a fun way of establishing boundaries and limits with play. Having structured playtime is key to a happy, well mannered and confident puppy. In order to make the play be constructive and beneficial, you as the owner should be the one to initiate play, control the levels of intensity, as well as teaching the puppy to release the object.
Being able to control the level of the play as well as when play time starts and stops will help the puppy to learn good behaviors as well as work on impulse control. Mixing treats with play and toys is a beneficial way to reward the behaviors you want to see like releasing the toy and refocusing the the energy and level of play. Creating structured play time also allows you to have constructive time to play with your puppy and tire them out. This is not only building your relationship but burning their energy. Take the first couple days of bringing your puppy home to build up play time and learn how to direct your puppies energy in the right way.
*Expert Tip – Reward the “drop it” or “leave it” command. Creating reward for dropping an object goes a long way, especially during the exploration phase. If you have played with your puppy with tugs or balls getting them to leave the toy for a treat is fun and rewarding for the puppy but also can control the level of play. Start building consistency with “leave it” early on to eliminate chase games and other annoying behaviors later on.
Social Dominance
Between 10 and 16 weeks our pups start to recognize where they fall in their new social structure. Earlier signs of play with other pups and people has helped them test their limits and now their social hierarchy is starting to form. Dogs fall into 3 categories when in comes to the social hierarchy. There is the Aggressive-Dominant, Sub-Dominant, and Inhibited-Submissive.
Most dogs will fall into the Sub-Dominant category where they are confident, capable, and display both dominant and submissive behavior in different situations. Dogs that fall into the Inhibited-Submissive category are unable to assert themselves and open themselves up to being the target of other more dominant dogs.
Finally, there are the Aggressive-Dominant dogs. These dogs begin to develop dominance behaviors early on while playing with other littermates. When removed from the litter to begin their new lives they continue to practice their behaviors through play. Once they move into weeks 11-16, they begin to become more aware and defensive of their position solidifying in their mindset in week 16 where they stand.
It is important to recognize the signs of a dominant puppy so that they can be worked with early on. Making sure not to encourage behaviors like mouthing, nipping or biting at clothes are important to shape how they behave in their new environment. Redirecting that energy through controlled play can make sure that these puppies learn to respect boundaries and not push their limits.
Before the age of 16 weeks these puppies are much more malleable and easier to redirect. Puppy play is an important part in shaping your pups’ behavior and ensuring that behaviors that are tolerated as puppies don’t become big behavior issues later on. Working to encourage boundaries and replicate good behaviors through reward and praise can make sure that puppies are confident but do not fall on either extreme of the social scale.
*Expert Tip – Just because your puppy is displaying types of play that may be more Aggressive-Dominant does not mean it cannot be adjusted. Typically these behaviors become out of control and are reinforced when not correctly dealt with in the early weeks of bringing them home. As a rule of thumb – puppy mouthing, biting and nipping should never be tolerated and should be shaped through play. Teaching them what is acceptable behavior and what is not acceptable. Starting early will help your pup learn boundaries and correct behaviors before they become out of hand.
Separation
When you first bring your puppy home it may be hard to imagine every leaving it alone, but building separation into your puppies life is a huge part of making sure it is able to cope and adapt to its surrounding without you. A confident puppy is able to sleep when it’s owners are not around. Puppies who are not given practice with separation later develop big behavioral issues like separation anxiety which can lead to destructive behaviors, barking, whining or soiling the house when you are not around.
Introducing your puppy to periods of separation is an important part in developing their ability to cope while you are away. In order to achieve this goal separation needs to be gradually increased over time and started early. If you work on building up time away from your pups between the ages of 7 and 12 weeks they will become increasing more comfortable as they get older.
Things to avoid would be traumatic crate training, excessive confinement, and excessive pampering and coddling. All of these things can cause problems later on. Introducing the pups to short periods of crate time after playing and gradually increasing time in the crate goes a long way. Adding soft things – toys, blankets, or towels to the crate can help them be more comfortable as well as putting their crate in a familiar area. Puppies locked up in unfamiliar areas will whine and bark and we don’t want puppies to whine and bark until exhaustion. Making them comfortable and having their crates in familiar areas will help them to adjust.
*Expert Tip – Create an organized schedule around your day to include structured play, feeding and rest periods. This way we can create positive experiences all day for the puppy. A puppy with a lot of energy put into a crate can easily have a fit and create a negative experience. Make sure to tire your pup out and get them out to go to the bathroom before a short rest period.
Fear
Oh no…the puppy fear stage. This small chunk of time happens roughly between 8 and 10 weeks of age and is normally where many phobias stem from. During this period of time puppies seem to be less out going and more nervous and it is that much more important to really turn up the positive experience. We don’t wont to force them into situations that make them uncomfortable but help lure and persuade them that they are okay. It is also the toughest period for owners because we tend to see our pups be fearful, pick them up and start petting and sweet talking. This is how we start reinforcing some of those fearful behaviors unknowingly. In order to make sure our pups come out of this period with a good head on their shoulders we need to make sure we turn every situation into a positive situation and let the pup know there is nothing to fear.
As an example, you might find your small Havanese starts to get skittish when you are walking up to it. It may scoot around dodging your feet. What we are seeing is a pup in the beginning phase of a fear of shoes – you might have seen a lot of small dogs attack feet – this is where it stems from. In this example you would want to get your pup to come up to the shoe and smell it, get treats and maybe even work to walk beside you with its head up. Working to counteract and stop fearful behaviors and turn them into positive experiences can help stop a future phobia.
*Expert Tip – If you can’t make it positive don’t do it during this period. The last thing that can be beneficial for a puppy is unexpected and uncontrollable situations. During this period we want to make sure that if we see our puppy exhibiting fear behaviors towards objects or noises that we counter-condition the response. Taking them to an uncontrollable situation is just not a good idea.
Training
Training….a puppy? Absolutely! Inside that little head is a brain getting lots and lots of impressions. Why not start getting the right impressions? Not only is starting training a great idea at this age, but studies have found that an 8 week old puppy has the same learning ability as an adult dog. Attention span begins to tapper off pretty quickly as they move into some other phase of development but getting started at this time can have a lot of impact.
The sweet spot falls right at 8 weeks to really get a lot of bang for your buck. Puppy training can all take place around puppy play. As long as you make training fun, take lots of breaks for rewards and treats your pup can learn a lot in the small period of time. the best and most effective time for leash walking, following the leader (you), and retrieve is actually 12 weeks old. Using lots of treats and praise your pup can learn exactly how to properly walk on a leash. Also between 7 and 9 weeks old is the best time for potty training.
A trick to effective potty training is making sure that the second you bring your pup home you take them right out to where you want them to potty making sure not to use potty pads or accept them peeing in the house. That connection to their scent will help get them outside to go to the bathroom every time. Using these early weeks to start creating boundaries and being consistent can leave last impressions on your pup and they are more than capable of learning some basics.
*Expert Tip – Having success with one command with a longer period of play goes a long way. We can get in more repetition as well as make training very fun and enjoyable. Under no circumstances should you get mad at your pup. Everything is new to them and they are very capable of learning, but if you make training a drag, raise your voice, or force them into compliance. It will be that much harder for them to want to listen to what you are asking them to do. Having a stern voice is no way of teaching a puppy.
Imprinting
The definition of imprinting is as follows – Imprinting is a learning phenomenon distinguished by three primary characteristics. It requires a small amount of early exposure, it occurs in a relatively short sensitivity period, and it exhibits long lasting and durable effects. As discussed in the earlier section, your puppy during 6 and 12 weeks has the ability to learn a lot of good and bad habits in a very short period of time.
Working to develop the good habits and remove the bad will have lasting effect on the rest of their lives. During this period things like staying closing on walks, coming when called, fetch, and house training can all have long lasting effects. What can boost these effects is making sure that these exercises are fun and exciting for the pup and incredibly rewarding. Staying calm, being engaging and teaching your pup that you are the bringer of all things fun can create a lasting bond in only a short period of time. Puppies are incredibly malleable and if we use these few short weeks effectively we can create positive lasting impressions on our pup.
Putting it All into Practice
You might be asking yourself…what did I get myself in to? The reality of the situation is that raising a puppy can be tough, but incredibly rewarding as well. If you take any piece from this article I hope you take this much. You will raise a balanced, confident, and capable puppy if you follow these key points.
Never leave your puppy unattended – unattended puppies are not engaged in constructive play or up to any good. Puppies should be watched or somewhere safe and comfortable where they can’t get into trouble.
Create positive and constructive play time that is rewarding and tiring for the puppy – training is mentally exhausting and stimulating. It creates a lasting bond with you being a playmate and leader for you pup.
Take your puppy to new non-dog related places – always carry treats and toys to make an experience positive. Don’t coddle your puppy – we want them to be confident and capable. Reward and praise the behaviors you want to see not those that are fearful or scared.
Finally, if you do feel you are in over your head it is never to early or to late to contact an expert. As dog trainers we have worked with pups of all ages. If you need help always feel free to reach out to us at 503-395-4364 or on our website contact form