Puppy Socialisation Myths
Socialisation has become a bit of a buzz word over the last few years - you'd be hard-pushed to find a puppy owner who hasn't heard about the importance of socialising their new pup.
Your dog-owning friends, your breeder, your trainer, your vet (and the good old internet, of course!) will all tell you how essential it is to socialise your puppy well before the end of the ‘sensitive period’ at around 14 weeks of age (but also continue after that!). You’re told that if you follow the advice of getting your puppy to meet lots of other dogs and people, you’ll end up with a confident, well-balanced dog. Sounds good, doesn’t it?
If only it was that simple! Yes, there is good evidence that getting your puppy used to things they will encounter in their daily lives (known as ‘habituation’) and helping them learn how to behave appropriately with others – generally dogs and people - (known as ‘socialisation’), can help to prevent the development of certain behavioural problems and it is, without doubt, a really important part of responsible puppy ownership. However, it's almost as if the true message of 'socialisation' has been lost somewhere along the line. What may have started off as very sound advice has somehow been distorted to the point that what many people are doing with their puppies in the name of 'socialisation' (and habituation) is now more likely causing a whole raft of behaviour problem in dogs, rather than preventing them.
Let me give you an example of a dog I worked with not so long ago. For the sake of anonymity, I’ll call him Barney.
Well Barney’s lovely owners had heard how important it was to socialise him. So, they took him everywhere with them, handing him over for cuddles with everyone who took their time to coo over him (which was a lot of people… because he was gorgeous!). They made a bee-line for every dog they saw when out and about so that they could introduce him to lots of dogs. When he seemed a bit ‘shy’ of bigger dogs, they encouraged him to approach and then hang around to get to know them, in order to help him over his fears. They had loads of visitors to the house who all enjoyed petting Barney and making a big fuss over him. They took him to puppy parties and doggy day care so that he had the opportunity to have fun and play with other dogs. They tried so hard.
Fast forward six months or so and what did they have? The happy-go-lucky, confident dog that they were promised? Sadly not. Barney was scared, stressed and miserable. He would consistently bark, snarl and snap at any dogs or people that he met, which made life incredibly difficult for his owners. If they went out to a café, he would shake and try to hide but then growl and lunge at anyone who approached (which they did, because he was still super cute… until he snapped at them). On walks, he was constantly on high alert - looking out for potential threats – and would then enter into an aggressive display of snarling, barking and lunging at any dog which passed. If friends came over to the house, he would bark continuously at them and, if they tried to touch him, he would snap at their hands.
The problem was not a lack of effort on Barney’s owners’ part. It was that they had been sold a myth about socialisation – not intentionally, I’m sure, but good intentions don’t provide much comfort when you’re faced with such a devastating situation. Of course, another dog might have had the same experiences and turned out just fine (don’t be fooled into thinking that puppies are ‘clean slates’ - genes and early experiences in the litter both play an important part in how your puppy turns out). Regardless, Barney’s socialisation experiences were – despite his well-meaning owners’ efforts – a key factor in this sorry tale.
So, what went wrong?
Well Barney’s owners were following two key bits of advice that are commonly shared and very much misunderstood.
Myth #1
You should just socialise your puppy at group puppy classes/ puppy parties/ day care
This is interesting because, like most good myths, it’s based on a grain of truth… sadly, it’s become rather confused. Puppy classes/ parties were initially developed as a way to help owners to mitigate against the issues associated with a lack of socialisation. However, if these sorts of interactions are not carefully handled by a skilled and competent professional (remember: anyone can call themselves a ‘dog trainer’ or offer day care!) it risks becoming a free-for-all where puppies are left to practise whatever behaviours they like, while their owners are instructed to ‘leave them to it’ and are reassured that they must learn to ‘sort things out for themselves’. Well, there’s a whole lot of evidence that this is simply not good advice. Sure, you don’t want to be stepping in and getting in the way of normal, positive canine interactions but, equally, you can’t expect that young puppies left to their own devices will do a great job of teaching each other how to interact appropriately with other members of their species. Always consider: ‘What are they actually learning from this experience? I mean, have you seen how puppies play together?! It’s pretty full on. Is that how they should expect to interact with every dog they come across in life? Well, they’ll sure get a shock if they try it on some dogs once their ‘puppy licence’ expires!
As well as being unhelpful preparation for normal dog-to-dog interactions (which is surely the whole point of socialisation!), at these poorly managed free-for-alls there’s nearly always at least one puppy in the group that’s certainly not having the time of their life! They try to get away but the other puppies chase them. They ask their owners for help but are told off for jumping up or the instructor tells the owners to ignore their puppy. They try to hide but there’s no where safe to go. They might even try to play but it’s all just a bit much - they’re overwhelmed and bombarded. Honestly, it makes me want to cry. What are they learning? Probably that other dogs are pretty intimidating and no-one listens to their requests for it all to stop: neither the other pups or their owners. Time and time again, I’ve seen lovely pups very quickly learn that the only way to be heard in these situations is to snap or growl or bite. It works! The other pup backs off (momentarily at least) or the owner is instructed to take their puppy off for a ‘time out’ (when, of course, they should never have been put in this situation in the first place). From the puppy’s point of view, this is a really successful strategy. It’s no wonder that this sort of defensive-aggressive behaviour quickly becomes their go-to response whenever they’re feeling uncomfortable. Now the owners have a big problem on their hands, through no real fault of their own.
I honestly don't want to be a fun-spoiler. I know how lovely it is to watch happy puppies playing with each other. It can certainly play one small part in the process of proper socialisation, if managed carefully… it's just that ‘puppy play’ does not equal socialisation (and it’s far too often handled pretty badly!).
Myth #2
You should introduce your puppy to as many people and dogs as possible
Again, this advice is founded on solid principles but it’s just way off the full message that needs to be shared! Yes, you should make the most of the sensitive period of development to allow your puppy to meet different people and dogs, so that they learn how to interact appropriately with them and don’t become overly fearful of new people and dogs when they come across them.
The problem is, like poor Barney’s owners, we can become so fixated on this that we forget to consider how the puppy is feeling about these interactions. Is it a positive experience from the puppy’s point of view? How do you know? Did they have a choice about whether to approach or interact with that person/ dog? Were they ‘listened to’ so that they could communicate what they were/ weren’t comfortable with? Were they free to move around (and move away) throughout? Did they have a choice to opt out/ end the interaction when they wanted to? Have they had enough rest and time to relax or is life one long string of new experiences that they’re expected to cope with?
So often, I see puppies that are: handed over to new people, approached and petted without any choice, hugged/ cuddled/ carried around (restricting any option to move away), bombarded with attention and new ‘stuff’, ‘encouraged’ (often lured, sometimes even dragged) over to meet another dog or person, stuck hanging around on a lead near a dog that they’re worried by while the owners chat, overwhelmed by another dog’s attempts at play (often because the other dog’s owner says they should leave them to it because they’re ‘only playing’), not listened to by other dogs or their own owners when they want to end an interaction or are uncomfortable with the way they are being handled. It’s sad to see but I totally understand how it happens. Maybe it’s embarrassing to have to step in to help your puppy? Maybe the other dog’s owner is more experienced and you feel you should follow their advice? Maybe you don’t want to be rude or offend anyone by saying ‘no’ or asking them to stop petting your pup? Maybe you think that you should encourage your puppy to ‘face their fears’? Maybe you worry that by stepping in, you’ll make things worse? Maybe you just didn’t notice that your puppy was struggling?
Whatever the reason, your good intentions of introducing your puppy to lots of people and dogs can really backfire if these situations are not handled well.
So, what are the key messages about puppy socialisation that you can take away from all of this?
Always consider your puppy’s emotional state – you’re aiming for quality over quantity – try to ensure that interactions are positive and choice-based. Listen to your puppy.
Learn to read your puppy so that you understand what they’re saying and how they’re feeling (or you won’t be able to do the above!). The Dog Decoder app and the cute book ‘Doggie Language’ by Lili Chin are both great resources.
Be your puppy’s advocate at all times. If they need help, give it to them. If someone tells you not to, ignore that person! They won’t be the ones to live with the consequences of you not listening to your puppy and helping them when they need you.
If your puppy is struggling, simply move away with them and you can try again at another time, setting things up to be a bit easier if you can.
Ensure that your pup’s social experiences are not just with other puppies – they need to learn how to behave appropriately around adult dogs, to keep themselves out of trouble as they get older.
Minimise opportunities to allow your puppy to rehearse behaviours that won’t be acceptable when they’re older (e.g. grabbing other dogs’ ears/ jumping up at everyone).
Don’t allow your puppy to greet/ interact with every person or dog that you come across, as this can lead to frustration issues when it doesn’t happen as an adolescent/ adult.
Avoid luring (or simply putting) your puppy into situations in which they are uncomfortable and never punish them for showing fearful behaviour.
So, if you have a young puppy - or can share this with someone who does - please take a moment to re-think what is meant by 'socialisation' with the above in mind so that you can ensure that all your efforts are actually helping to create the dog that you want to live with for the next 15 years, rather than setting them (and you) up to having much bigger issues in the future.
Let’s not allow the very valuable message to ‘socialise your puppy’ to actually do more harm than good, simply because it’s been misunderstood!
Lovely to meet you!
I have seen the power of a truly proactive and personalised approach to puppy raising and training and want to share this with the people that need me most: new puppy owners and those planning to bring a puppy into their family. I’d love for you to be one of them.