Doggy Socialization: What Is It and Why Is It So Important?

Last week I brought home my brand-new Border Collie puppy! His name is Hamish, he is 9 weeks old, and he is perfect (even if he does turn into a bit of a demon from 7 pm-9 pm). A new puppy is wonderful addition with their soft fluffy fur, sweet kisses, and classic puppy breath. Furthermore, having such a young puppy allows me to train—and more importantly—  socialize in a way I never could with my older dogs, who were adopted as adults.

Doggy socialization is crucial to dogs’ mental development in addition to their ability to navigate new environments, people, and other animals with confidence and obedience. Have you ever noticed how nervous dogs act around strangers or new places, either trying to hide or barking? While breed certainly plays a part in the way a dog reacts to distractions or different situations, a well-socialized dog should be able to remain calm instead of being overstimulated.

In this article, we will learn what socialization is, how and when to socialize your pup and my plans with Hamish! 

Socialization: What Is It?

Whether you have a little Chihuahua or a giant Cane Corso, socialization should be an important part of your training program. According to the AKC, socialization is key for dogs to grow up happy, stable, and emotionally confident. Proper socialization is positively exposing your puppy or dog to new places, people, noises, smells, and other dogs. This should be done with lots of treats, praise, and playtime. Car rides, crates, and visits to the vet are all a part of socialization as well. 

One important aspect of socialization to remember is that it is not only about meeting new people and dogs but also learning to happily ignore them. No matter how friendly your dog is, not every dog likes strange dogs running up to them. And no matter how cute they are, not every person wants to say hi! So learning to ignore with a solid “leave it” or “watch me” command around distractions like dogs and people is as important as friendly greetings. 

What Is The Best Time To Begin Socializing Your Dog? 

The best time to begin socializing with your dog is the moment you bring them home! Whether you have a brand new puppy or have rescued an adult shelter dog, you want to begin building positive associations with new environments, distractions, and strangers right away. Just remember to work at your dog’s own pace. It is okay to take socialization baby steps. 

My rescue Border Collie, Egg, came home at 4.5 months old. She was very undersocialized and nervous. Socializing her was simply sitting in the car in the parking lot of a dog-friendly store. Still to this day, she cannot handle being pet by strangers or going into a pet store or hardware store, (even though she has a very successful agility career!). 

On the other hand, Hamish has a very outgoing personality, and at 9 weeks is already greeting new people, enjoying exploring the local hardware store, and has even gone to my favorite brewery for a quick pint.  

Socialization Window

While you can successfully work on socialization at any pups at any age, most trainers agree the most important socialization window is between the ages of 5 weeks and 16 weeks. At this age, puppies can easily bounce back from scary stimuli, and learn to internalize all the positive associations they receive for not being bothered by new things. This might mean getting treats from strangers, playing with toys while the coffee grinder is running, or getting praise for ignoring new dogs. 

Slowly, safely, and positively expose your puppy to new places and things at the rate they can handle it. For the health of your puppy, ensure they are up to date on their vaccines and are not being exposed to unvaccinated dogs. Never push your puppy too hard during the socialization window. Otherwise they might become stressed and shut down. I like to think of socializing as another training game, it should always be fun! 

Fun Ways To Socialize Your Dog

1. Puppy Training: Puppy classes are a great opportunity to socialize your puppy in a safe environment. My local trainer offers an hour-long puppy kindergarten class where puppies play under the supervision of a professional for about 30 minutes, followed by a half-hour of training! Hamish is exhausted afterward.

1. Visits to Dog-Friendly Stores: Pet stores, hardware stores, and feed stores usually welcome dogs to come in and socialize. Your dog can learn to greet or ignore other dogs and people while probably getting some great treats from the staff! 

1. Walks Through Your Favorite Park: Walking around the neighborhood does more than reinforce good leash manners. It provides an opportunity to expose your dog to stimuli like cars, other dogs, kids,  people playing soccer or running, and interesting-looking or dressed people. I like to play the game “look at the that” when socializing my dogs in new situations. They can look at the exciting stimuli, but I reward them for turning their focus back to me. Eventually, they learn to diffuse and ignore triggers on their own!  

1. Car Rides: Car rides can be very overstimulating to some dogs, so it is important to expose your young puppy or newly rescued adult dog. To make it easier, give them a distracting treat like a frozen stuffed bone. Not only will they find it enriching, but licking is self-soothing so it will help relax them! 

Ways Not To Socialize Your Dog

1. Dog Parks: While many dogs enjoy the dog park for playtime or exercise, it is not a good place to socialize your dog. It can be unsafe for a young puppy who has not had all their boosters, plus they could be injured by over-enthusiastic big dogs trying to play with them. Furthermore, most well-socialized dogs like to play with other dogs. My older dogs don’t mind other dogs but do not enjoy the dog park.

1. Forced Interactions: Forced interactions with new people or dogs with a nervous dog can hurt their socialization. Instead, take baby steps and start by giving them positive reinforcement for simply looking at a new person. Let them approach new scary stimuli at their own pace and with plenty of treats and encouragement! 

Final Thoughts 

My new puppy Hamish and I will be spending a lot of time making the most of his brief socialization window. This includes puppy training classes, attending my other dog’s class as a spectator, lots of car rides, and meeting my friends and their dogs in safe, controlled environments. I will be carefully monitoring his behavior, being aware if I need to slow down or pull back on his interactions with certain stimuli. 

The biggest part of socialization is understanding your own dog or puppy, and learning what their socialization pace is. This builds a relationship based on trust with your canine companion. Never push them too hard, but make sure to take advantage of the socialization period to ensure a calm, confident, and well-behaved adult dog!