What is the best way to socialize your puppy? It’s not what most people think! A popular misconception is that a good dog socialization plan means as much playtime with other dogs as possible.
And while dog-to-dog play (when done correctly) can have its benefits, there is so much more to properly socializing your puppy.
The best socialization plan for your puppy includes creating positive associations with a wide range of environments, sights, sounds, surfaces, people, and situations. The goal of all of these exposures is to build confidence and resilience. That means going slowly and never pushing if your dog seems worried.
Is there a standardized puppy socialization checklist? There are lists of suggestions, but proceed with caution. Each puppy is an individual. Some may need more (and slower) socialization with certain things. Some may be overwhelmed by too much exposure to things. While a checklist can be a good reference point, we want to generate a customized socialization plan for each puppy.
What Is Puppy Socialization?
Most people think that puppy socialization is the exposure of a puppy to other people and dogs. This task is critical to complete in the first 14 weeks of life.
However, this is incredibly oversimplified.
We should also be concerned with exposing our puppies to new sights, sounds, smells, and surfaces.
However, the most critical aspect of socialization is that it is done properly. To help build our young pup’s confidence, we must focus on making each interaction positive and fun. Exposure alone is not socialization. We must make those great associations with each new experience.
Socialization will most benefit our puppies when we plan. What new environments or experiences will be exposing our puppies to each session? How will we help make positive associations with it? And if your puppy is worried, how will you respond?
Common Misconception: Dog-to-Dog Play is Socialization
Don’t get me wrong, it certainly can be part of socialization. But it can also be traumatic. And play alone is not a complete socialization plan.
So often, well-intentioned puppy parents focus on dog playgroups. Not only is this short-sighted, but we have to make plans to ensure each exposure to other dogs is actually not doing more harm than good. Quality interactions are far more important than quantity of interactions.
The goal of socialization is not just mass exposure to other dogs. The goal of socialization is to build your dog’s confidence in the world they live in. This means exposure to different locations, around different distractions, and even with a variety of sounds.
Creating a Puppy Socialization Plan
Every dog is different. This is the most important fact to embrace when developing a socialization plan for your puppy. What worked for your past dogs may not be appropriate for your current puppy.
How bold is your puppy? Do you know what your puppy looks like when they are stressed or worried? A key component of a socialization plan is not to push a puppy through fear. Many well-intentioned friends may advise letting your puppy “work through fear.”
This is taking a huge gamble. This type of exposure is called flooding. To put it in perspective, if you are afraid of snakes and I dropped you in a pit of snakes to fix you, how do you think you would feel better? Probably not!
I know this can be confusing because you may see some TV trainers use flooding techniques that appear to be magic. But before you follow these trainers, look at this great video that dives deeper into what is really happening.
Before moving forward, you want to learn more about your dog’s body language. This will help you in many ways throughout your dog’s life! K9 Turbo Training (where I teach classes) has a comprehensive playlist on this subject and one specific video covering fear.
Decoding Your Dog's Body Language
Here’s a short playlist on how to read your dog’s body language. You can also view them on YouTube, or watch them directly here.
Dog Body Language
Dog Body Language Focus: How Dogs Communicate Fear
Here’s a video that talks about how dogs communicate fear through a variety of signals.
You may be surprised that a confident puppy in your house may show signs of fear in novel areas. If your dog exhibits fear, don’t worry. Puppyhood is the best time to develop a plan to build confidence. You can connect with a positive reinforcement trainer in your area to help you develop a customized plan targeting your dog’s sensitivities.
Socialization Plan For Success!
So often, people want to jump into the deep end of the pool. But I advise slowing down to ensure your dog is enjoying the process.
For instance, many puppies get taken to schools or kids’ sports games where they are surrounded by kids who want to hug and pet the puppy (who can blame them? Puppies are cute!). Here are a few of the side effects of this type of interaction:
- Your puppy is overwhelmed, and the crowd offers no way out. If your puppy is worried, you always want to give them the option to get away so they don’t feel trapped.
- Your puppy loves this type of attention. This can condition a dog that gets excited whenever they see others. Then they drag you over to them because people=fun.
I start a puppy during sporting events ( or similar environments) about 30-40 feet away. I want them to see people in the distance and hear the noise. I watch my puppy for any signs of fear. I have lots of food with me. When they look at the target, I scatter a handful of food on the ground. This is helping to make a great association with the presence of people and noise. Scattering the food gives the added bonus of getting your puppy sniffing, which is calming and fun.
If your dog won’t eat, they are probably too excited or stressed. Increase the distance and switch to higher-value treats.
If your dog plays this game well, repeat a few times, then move a few feet closer to the action.
Not only is this making a great association with this type of environment, but it also conditions a calmer emotional response when they see something that excites them.
Daily and Weekly Puppy Socialization Ideas
You want your puppy to have fun weekly socialization activities and simple daily exposures. How you proceed will depend on your puppy.
When you start with the intro socialization game described above, only close the distance between your puppy and the “socialization target” if they are happy, bouncy, eating, and having fun.
If they show signs of fear or stress, increase the distance.
Weekly
Take your puppy to different locations 2-3 times a week and scatter their dinner so they can have a great association with varied locations. I like to call this Dining Al Fresco. If your puppy has a hard time finding food in the grass, you can hand them the food, or even bring a slow feeder.
As Often As Possible
If you have a porch, this is the perfect place to hang out with your puppy. If you don’t have one available, find a location where you are 20-30 feet away from any streets or sidewalks.
- Sit on your porch playing with your puppy and armed with really good treats (something better than kibble)
- Any time any distraction goes by (think person, dog, car, bike, skateboard), start treating.
- Once the distraction is out of sight, the treats go away.
Note: If your dog is too distracted or stressed by something they see to eat, they need more distance. Take notes so you can adjust your socialization plan for success.
This creates a positive association with all of the things your dog might see in your neighborhood. Your dog will also start checking in with you when they see a potential distraction.
Daily
If your puppy loves meal time, you can use this to help them feel comfortable with a variety of noises too. Here are the simple steps you can take:
- Using your phone or television, lower the sound to the minimum volume.
- Find a unique sound on YouTube, such as this playlist.
- Building exposure should look boring! So if you’re saying, “But my dog doesn’t even seem to notice the sound, ” you are at the right volume. .
- Feed them their meal.
- If they don’t eat, they’re worried. You will want to increase the distance between the speaker and the dog.
- If they eat without a care, you can increase the volume by the minimum amount.
Best Places for Puppy Socialization: Practical Tips for Raising a Well-Adjusted Pup
Since we want to ease into your socialization plan, I will not recommend taking your young puppy to loud events like fairs, parades, or even the pet store. If those are your goals, you will want to build up to that, ensuring your dog enjoys the lower excitement environments first.
But you still have plenty of options to choose from.
To start, consider the parking lots of business complexes on the weekends (when staff is off) and church parking lots on the weekdays.
The next step would be to pick a dog-friendly business. Home Depot and many Lowe’s are (call first to confirm, though). Don’t start at pet stores yet; the addition of animals makes them more distracting, so you will need to work up to that. Park in the back of the parking lot, once again treating them when they see cars and people in the parking lot closer to the store.
Like the exercise at the park, you will move your dog closer to the action as they show interest and confidence.
You can eventually work up to bringing them into the store. Have treats ready because the distractions in the store might surprise you (like a forklift beeping loudly as it backs up). Pair with food. People will want to pet your dog. Decide if your puppy is comfortable with that, and if you feel they are, throw a few treats on the ground to keep their paws on the floor while the person is interacting with them.
Socializing Your Puppy With People
It may not seem like it, but all of the above games are also socialization exercises with people. They are pairing the food and games you offer with their surroundings, often including people.
So, as they see and interact with people, we want to continue building that confidence. As they start to approach people, we want to be aware of two things:
- Excited puppies will likely jump up on people. From a puppy’s perspective, it makes sense to get closer to the face that is talking to them. Your instinct might be to pull them back or reprimand them. But remember, it is imperative that they don’t associate the pain or frustration of being pulled back with people.
- Worried puppies may not want to approach or may even do things like submissively urinate or roll on their back. If you see this happen, give your dog space. It should always be the puppy’s choice to interact. Otherwise, we are flooding them.
Socializing Your Puppy With Other Dogs
As I mentioned earlier, this needs to be done carefully. Dog parks are NOT an appropriate place for puppy socialization.
If you have friends with a laid-back older dog, this might be a great first intro. You want to start the intro on a leash in a neutral area. In fact, I would start with the dogs on leash sniffing a rock or a fire hydrant. This will reduce the intensity as they approach each other. Then, as they start sniffing each other, take them for a little walk.
When you get back to your yard or house and feel comfortable with what you have seen so far, you can let them interact. There are a few rules:
- If either dog seems overwhelmed, give them space. If one puppy wants to play harder, I might take them to play with a toy to take the focus off of the other dog.
- No one gets cornered. Each dog should always have a way out.
- We want to see dogs that can play and then hang out. If one dog wants to play constantly, encourage them to walk away from each other to opposite areas for a breather.
Dog play is complex. It can spiral quickly. And sometimes, two dogs with different play styles may not be a match, and that’s okay. This is another case for getting your puppy into a puppy class where you can have a dog professional narrate what you see as the puppies interact and guide you through the best way to handle things when your puppy needs a breather (but still wants to play!).
Other Important Socialization Experiences
Veterinarians and groomers are two environments that are key to our dog’s long-term well-being and are often overlooked when creating our socialization plan.
If we don’t set up intentional conditioning sessions with these environments, then your puppy’s only experiences will be when they have to be poked, prodded, and restrained. So help them start off on the right paw by calling your vet office and groomer to see if they allow “Happy Visits.”
What are Happy Visits?
It is a planned visit where you take your dog to the vet office and groomer, pairing it with lots of treats. They may even receive treats from staff! Here is one vet clinic’s video about their Happy Visit service!
Be sure to call your vet or groomer first to ask if they can accommodate a Happy Visit. They may prefer you come in during a slower business time.
If you have not decided on a vet or groomer, those who are Fear Free Certified® Professionals are educated to make your pet’s experience as stress-free as possible, which can really help make life for you and your dog easier.
In Conclusion
Socialization may seem overwhelming because you introduce your puppy to their world. Break it into small steps to not overwhelm your young puppy or yourself. Remember, it is okay if some of your planned exposures are just a few minutes. At first, short exposures are best as your dog gets used to exploring.
When introducing any new sound, sight, smell, or sound, you have one goal: Making great associations. Neutral is not enough! As you learn your dog’s body language, you will learn when they need distance and more treats and when they can handle getting closer to the thing you are introducing.
This is a special time in your puppy’s life. Working on these socialization games will teach you so much about your new dog. And it will also help develop your bond for a lifetime of fun.
