Importance of puppy socialisation at 6-12 weeks

Puppies are most accepting of situations from the age of 6 to 12 weeks.  If you use inappropriate techniques or restrict your puppy from a wide range of environmental experiences at this crucial age, this may result in varying levels of behaviour problems later in their life.

What is puppy socialisation?

Puppy socialisation can be described as the process whereby an animal learns how to recognise and interact with the species that it co-habits.

What is puppy habituation?

Puppy habituation can be described as the process whereby an animal becomes accustomed to non-threatening environmental stimuli by repeated exposure and learns to ignore it.
It is most important to socialise / habituate puppies and we only have a short window in which to do it.

There are thousands of dogs destroyed in the UK because of behaviour problems resulting from poor socialisation / habituation at an early age.

When you take on a puppy you take on the responsibility to get it socialised, when you get your puppy it is a relatively blank canvas in terms of behaviour and life experiences. The way your puppy behaves later in life will reflect how much you have managed to write on that canvas from 6/7 weeks up to maturity (about 18 months depending on breed).

Is it safe for my puppy to socialise before they’ve finished their vaccinations?

This is a question I get asked a lot and so I’ve written a whole article about it: Can my puppy socialise before they’re ‘allowed’ out?

My dogs: Wiz & Rio

Are you concerned about the best way to socialise your puppy?

Get in touch and we can talk about the best way to socialise your puppy with the outside world and other dogs.