Socialization Tips For Your Puppy

Many people forget that dogs were domesticated from wolves. Wolves are pack animals that are led by a lead wolf pair, a male and a female. They are carnivores, meaning they hunt other animals for their prey, and they work together to do so. When dogs are not cared for by humans and are left to fend for themselves, their instincts kick in, and they become much like their wolf relatives.

All this means that, while dogs are domesticated animals, they have natural wolf and survival instincts that control their behavior and their interactions with humans. In order to better communicate with dogs, you need to be able to speak dog.

Speak Dog!™ was founded with this core principle in mind. We believe that every dog uses this instinctual drive it was born with to follow, interact with, and protect their leader, which, in this case, is you. Dogs need leaders, and leaders teach them what dog behavior is acceptable and what isn’t. This is what happens in wolf packs, and what needs to happen in human packs. When dogs lack this leadership or this inability to communicate on their level, then dog behavior and obedience issues crop up. Below, we’ll examine some tips on how to socialize your puppy, which is, in essence, teaching your puppy which behaviors are acceptable in its human world and which aren’t. Then, we invite you to begin to build your relationship with your dog through our dog training curriculum videos and join our dog park where you can learn from other dog owners. Visit us online today to learn more!

Don’t Overwhelm Your Puppy

In your quest to expose your puppies to anything and everything under the sun, such as rush-hour traffic, honking horns, other dogs and humans, loud noises, trips to the vet, and car rides, you can end up doing too much too quickly. For instance, if you take your puppy to an outdoor concert where there are a lot of people (who, naturally, want to pet your adorable fluff ball), a lot of noises, and a lot of activities, your puppy could end up hiding between your legs and effectively not learning anything and negating this dog training session completely. Like humans, a dog’s senses can be overwhelmed (even more so since their senses are so much more heightened than ours). 

Speak Dog!™ recommends that you start off slowly, inviting only a few friends over to meet your new puppy and not the whole neighborhood. Keep park visits brief in the beginning, and choose one or two new things to expose your puppy to each day. Be sure to follow up each socialization time with lots of love, affection, and treats to reinforce the idea in your puppy’s brain that this is a great time.

Take Cues From Your Puppy

Dogs have a body language that they communicate with. Stemming from their wolf ancestors (who exhibit most of the same body language signs), dogs and puppies will communicate with their bodies. Thus, learning what your dog is trying to tell you through its body is important as a dog owner (Speak Dog!™ offers an amazing dog training curriculum on dog body language for help and reinforcement). 

For example, if your puppy is cowering between your legs, flattens its ears, and its tail is between its legs, this is a sign of fear (not abuse as many people believe). This indicates that your puppy is trying to flee the situation, so it’s best that you help it do so. For example, if a much bigger dog approaches and your puppy hides, it’s best to move away. You don’t want to force an interaction, especially if that interaction turns negative. Trembling is another sign of fear, in which case, you should remove your puppy as well from the situation and try again another day for dog training.

Change It Up

If you only expose your puppy to one scenario, then your puppy will only be comfortable in that situation, meaning when the puppy is out of their element, they will not know proper dog behavior. In essence, you need to expose your puppy to as many different situations and environments as possible. For example, if your puppy primarily stays home, and they meet new people and even dogs at their home, they will most definitely learn proper dog behavior at home. However, once you take your puppy out of its element, territory, and comfort zone, much like humans, they may not know how to behave.

Speak Dog!™ recommends that in order to promote the dog behavior you desire, you need to take your puppy everywhere to as many new situations as you can in their first few months. For example, take your puppy with you to the park, to your kid’s football game, on walks, to the hardware store, to the pet store, and anywhere else you are going. You’ll want to expose them to as many people as possible of all ages, types, and sizes. Many puppies are inherently afraid of men or people with hats on. Thus, take your puppy to trade shows or to a fair so they can experience these people and learn they are not harmful. A well-socialized puppy that has a lot of dog training is a happy puppy, indeed.

Invest in Puppy Time

In the wild, wolves learn about being a wolf from their pack. They learn their place in their pack and proper etiquette. They learn how to interact with one another by — wait for it — interacting with one another.

It’s crucial that you expose your puppy to other puppies and dogs during the first few weeks and months of their life. Let’s face it, there are dog things that you, as a human, just can’t teach them. Puppy classes are a great way for puppies to interact with other puppies and learn how to interact and socialize. Dogs, like humans, have their own methods of communicating with each other. You see this when they nip at each other or whine and bark. While we might not know what they are saying, they know exactly what they are saying. Some puppy training classes also expose your puppy to unique sights and sounds, and they get to experience other puppy owners as well.

By investing in puppy time for your puppy, not only will your puppy have fun, get to play, and get their energy out, they will learn how to approach new dogs and how to behave around them. Speak Dog!™ has many useful dog behavior tips, training, and techniques for puppy socialization.

Don’t Stop Socializing

No one said owning a puppy was easy, and many people spend a lot of time training and socializing their puppies, but once the puppy gets older and enters the adult phase, the training and socialization go by the wayside. Experts agree that the best time to socialize puppies is when they are still puppies before set behaviors kick in. However, stopping socialization can be just as harmful. For example, your now-adult dog could pick up some bad habits even some you aren’t aware of that now must be re-trained. And as most of us know who have tried to kick a habit, it’s a lot harder to give up a habit then to learn a new skill.

Speak Dog!™ recommends that you never stop socialization. It’s an on-going process that has to be perpetually reinforced in order to have a healthy and happy puppy that continues through its adult life. Get in the habit of taking your dog with you on short trips to the grocery store, to your kids’ soccer games, to hardware stores, and to the dog park. Go on walks, even when you don’t want to. Invite other dogs and their owners over. Keeping your puppy’s socialization skills sharp is the key. Just like socialization never stops, neither does dog behavior training.

Decide to Do It

You don’t have a choice whether to feed your crying baby, educate your children, or promote interactions with your kids and others. In fact, you couldn’t imagine not doing them for your children whom you love to death.

We need to have the same attitude with our “fur babies.” Dogs need a leader, and if you don’t lead, they are just as happy laying on the floor than meeting new people. As a responsible puppy owner, it’s your job to feed them, ensure they have their vaccinations, and educate them about the world we live in. Yet, so many dog owners find it easier to come home after a long day at work and sit on the couch rather than go for a long walk to the park to interact with kids and other dogs. If you invest in your puppy, they will invest in you. Speak Dog!™ has many dog training techniques to do just that!

Why Choose Speak Dog! Over Other Methods

Socializing your puppy is crucial to its health and happiness in the human world. It can also be life-saving. Imagine if your puppy turned into an adult dog and bit someone due to improper socialization. Depending on where you live, the local and state government can get involved, take your dog, and possibly euthanize it. Socializing your puppy will create a dog that is more relaxed and a pleasure for you to own. You can take them with you where you go, and let them experience life outside of your four walls.

Speak Dog!™ realizes that there are a lot of other dog training methods out there. However, our dog training techniques focus on training in the language that dogs understand. Our Seven Sacred Ways are the foundation for our dog training techniques. We’ve developed these over years of studying and learning what works best for dog training. We believe that once you establish yourself as the dog’s leader and get on their neurological level, the best friend part comes naturally. Our goal is for you to have 100% obedience from your dog 100% of the time.

In today’s world where “fur babies” are emphasized, Speak Dog!™ recommends that your fur baby needs to learn about being a puppy first. When you adopt a puppy, it’s similar to having a child; you are committing to raising it up to be a good member of human society, to learn proper dog behavior, and to be a devoted member of your family. Your dog is entrusting you with its life — to provide everything they need to live a long, happy, and healthy life. Socialization is one part of this, as is dog behavior training. Speak Dog!™ is dedicated to helping you learn how to Speak Dog. Contact us today to learn so much more about building a relationship with your dog, and sign up for our dog training techniques today!