Things to think about before you get a puppy (Socialization and Imprinting)
A new puppy!! It’s such an exciting time and it can be difficult to be sure you think of everything. Well, I’m here to help. Something that is often overlooked in the new puppy excitement is a plan for socialization and handling puppy imprinting, also known as critical socialization periods.
Understanding Puppy Imprinting
Puppy imprinting, or critical socialization periods, are periods of time where the brain is creating more neural pathways than usual. The primary critical socialization period is approximately from 4 weeks to 16 weeks of age. This means that a puppy is taking in and remembering more quickly and easily. It can also mean that a puppy seems more fearful than usual which can cause some worry if you don’t know what’s going on. Rest assured, this period of time is amazing for a puppy to learn and be socialized to as many new things and experiences in a positive way and I’m here to help you decide what and how to socialize your new puppy. The number one thing to remember: the quality of the socialization experiences is much more important than the quantity of experiences. In other words, it’s not about how much you introduce to your puppy, it’s about how well you introduce it.
A happy, comfortable, calm puppy is your goal in any new socialization experience. But how do you make sure of that??
1. Have something fun that your puppy enjoys with you when you work on socialization.
This can be treats, a toy, whatever your puppy likes. You will use this to give your puppy a break from whatever is “new” to engage with you. Little brain breaks help with the learning process so walk away from it and play a little game with your pup before looking at that new thing/experience again. You want to practice with your puppy paying attention to you in all situations and around as many new things as possible so this fun stuff you bring is how you’re going to do it!
Bonus Tip: have your puppy on a leash so that it is easy to redirect their attention and move away from something if necessary.
2. Watch body language!
You need to pay attention to how your puppy is feeling so you know what you need to do to make the experience a positive one. The big reactions you should look for are worry/fear (crouching, trying to run or hide, excessive barking with tail tucked) and over excitement (yipping, jumping, lots of mouthing/biting). If you see these you should change the situation as soon as you can. These are not mindsets that you want to prolong or encourage in your puppy because you don’t want them to become the primary way your puppy behaves around new things so it is important to watch your pups body language and know what it means. Bonus Tip: body language is best seen and analyzed when a puppy is on the ground versus being held BUT there will be situations where you need to hold your puppy for safety so be sure to pay attention to your pups body language when being held as well.
3. Be ready to add distance.
If you see your puppy is overwhelmed, like with body language described in 2, one of the best things to do is to add distance between your puppy and the new thing. You can slowly move closer as your puppy settles back into a calmer state and you can use the fun stuff you brought with you from 1 to help settle your pup when you move away initially.
4. Be ready to leave or lower the amount of time you work on something.
Sometimes an experience is just a bit too much. If adding distance doesn’t help your puppy calm down then it may be time to leave and try again another day. Remember we want quality experiences so if you stay somewhere while your puppy is so overly excited they can’t pay any attention to you and it doesn’t get any better then that wasn’t a quality experience. It’s ok to try again later. Remembering these points will help you to socialize your puppy well. Now trying to go over everything you could socialize your puppy to would take a long time but if you’re like me and enjoy lists, check out this socialization checklist for some ideas! Print it out and use as a checklist is that’s your thing, or just scan through it to see if any of the checklist items make sense for your lifestyle.
