Socializing your Puppy

Sit Means Sit of Waukesha is a company of professional dog trainers who are experts in getting your to be a member of your family, demonstrating good behavior, and being obedient immediately. We also offer ongoing advice through our blog. This week’s blog will cover socialization.

It is important for dogs of all ages to be socialized. Just as people do, dogs need to interact with others for mental and social development. This mean they need to interact with other humans as well as other dogs. Dogs that are not properly socialized often end up being aggressive to other dogs and people. They don’t like to be touched and can end up a host of behavior problems. Socialization needs to take place early, as early as is reasonable. By just four months old the window for proper socialization is closing. Much of this time is too early for a puppy to be taken to a dog park or to dog classes because not all the vaccinations have been given, but that doesn’t mean you can’t socialize on a small scale.
Take your puppy for a stroll along your street when you know people will be out. Pick a time when people will be out, but avoid throngs of people that can overwhelm a puppy. Let people stop and pet the puppy. Let children ooh and ahhh, and cuddle the puppy. Expose your puppy to toddlers and strollers and skateboards (still ones to start) since these are all things that tend to frighten dogs who have not been exposed to them. We will continue this topic in our next blog so be sure to check back!
In the meantime call 252.563.6033 and ask about obedience training.