Puppy Socialization And Training Time Line

[Alison]

I was hoping for some advice on the best times for puppy socialization and training. When is the best time to introduce him to this and the best time to train him that etc.....

My Golden Retriever will be 10 weeks old tomorrow and I am trying to socialize him as much as possible without taking silly risks to his health as he isn't fully vaccinated for a few more weeks.

Purely for the ooh ahh factor here are some pics of Byron

EFS

Edited November 15, 2007 by Alison

[kymbo]

Thats a hell of a

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

Factor!!

What a gorgeous puppy! The white on white is stunning!

[Alison]

Yes it is a great picture. I can't take the credit though, that one was taken by Tess32.

[percyk]

OH my my!!

HANDSOME!

I had a great boofhead of a goldie some years ago but he was a gold not that cream ( I love the creamy whites!)

I have always trained my doggies from the word go - not necessarily on day one ( have to let them settle in a bit !)

Keep the training short. I usually feed breakfast to them by hand and do a bit of training ( sit and come and later drop) and I found that with a goldie it's easy work because they are so food motivated and as long as there are no other dogs to distract them, they do very well.

As for socialisation. I'd expose him to puppy school or somewhere that the pups are training/ playing on concrete ( some clubs offer this) because you do want him to experience as much as possible in these early days.

I did read here and it may have been ERNY of TONYmc who advised not to do too much training during there period when they go into the fear phase.

I didnt know about this so it was interesting to know. Asfar as I have experienced, I haven't noted my dogs coming into a 'fear phase' but then I'm no trainer! ( They may have progressed through a shocker of a 'fear phase' without bothering to leave me a post-it note on the fridge lol).

I have taken my littlies to outdoor cafes ( and yes there is some risk even after their 2nd vaccination but my vet said it was only small and that in our area the risk of picking up something was very small). With a big pup like th goldie you may have trouble having him on your lap but some playdates with other vaccinated pups and some interaction with lots of visitors ( not all at once!) might help.

Serious training doesn't really start til much later but within the first year he can certainly learn the basics. Always end a session on a note of success i.e go back to a command that he knows. Work on the basis that he may have to learn by approximation. so you gradually hone his skills. Never give up! If he doesnt do what expect, then coax him into it so that there is success - even if it's aided!

Good luck...I had a wonderful experience training a goldie and he was the most lovable boof - not a mean bone in his body!

[horus]

The 'Critical Period' for a pup's socialisation begins at about 2 weeks and extends through to about 14 weeks. If the pup is not socialised with it's litter mates until at least 8 weeks of age and continually to many different situations and environments during this stage it may lose the potential to learn about these things for life. Many behaviourists may probably recommend that socilisation take precedence over any health concerns (within reason, of course)

The wider and varied encounters that the pup receives within the 'critical period' can extend the ability to learn about those concepts beyond 14 weeks and that learning will stay with the dog for life.

Hence the term 'Critical Period'.

[jillybean]

Now's the time to start ringing around to find a puppy pre school. They usually take them from about 10-12 weeks of age and it's more a socialisation and play session than training.

As far as socialising your pup yourself, you can take your pup with you to as many places as you can so that he gets used to lots of different environments with lots of different people. The puppy preschool where I've been taking my pup gave us a list of things to introduce to our pup, including little kids, older people, the car, a school, lawnmower, umbrella etc.

I've also had friends come over with their dogs, and have been inviting myself over to other peoples places to visit their dogs. Just make sure the other dogs are up to date on their vaccines.

[Cosmolo]

Wereabouts are you located? Perhaps we can recommend a puppy school to go to? Or you can ust bring your spunk of a puppy to our puppy school!!

[WinGus]

Check out the Puppy Development Calendar from K9Force, pinned at the top of this forum. Outlines all the stages your puppy will go through. It's great!

Socialisation is an ongoing thing, although it is important up to about 12-16 weeks. I took Pepper everywhere, but then again, I could carry her around in my arms (mini-foxie). Not sure about the larger breed dogs.

[Stewie_the_Frenchie]

oh wow...what a little cutie! I bet he was freshly shampooed for those pics, I hope so other wise you're doing a hell of a job keeping him clean, and making me jealous! Georgous!!!!

[paulnkat]

I agree Alison, you have a very cute puppy! Byron is just adorable and I'm sure you don't have any problems with human socialization!

I agree with Jillybean, I can't see any problems in making playdates if you can ensure that all dogs that Byron is in contact with have been fully vaccinated.

[peibe]

There is a great post in here done by K9 Force and puppies

I highly recommend having a read

[Alison]

I have read K9's puppy development calender and think it will be very valuable. I was more wondering if there were certain stages where you should introduce certain things, but it seems that what I am doing is right and introducing as many new things as possible. So far we have done the following:

Socializatioin:

We have been to the beach (he even went swimming), been to a cafe (he managed to sweet talk a big rough looking bloke and then fell asleep at my feet), been up a flight of stairs, met some kids, met a few gentle dogs that I know, we have been to puppy school inside a big pavillion with lots of noise and lots of other dogs. We have been through a thunderstorm and fire works. Had visitors come to the door while he sat quietly tonight. He has heard lots of noises incl vaccuum cleaner and lawn mowers etc. He has been in the car a fair bit so is very good in there and just goes to sleep. He is used to wearing a harness and having a lead on. We have booked into another puppy pre-school which starts in just over a week. I had to wait for a place in this course, but I think it will be well and truly worth it.

Training:

Byron has learnt to sit. He has great recall when there is food. Should I start introducing other things or wait until he has these current commands fool proof?

[Erny]

Hi Alison - by the sounds of it, you've made a great start. There are tonnes of other things you can do - the only limitation is your own imagination. For example - what about people in costumes ..... after all, Christmas is coming up - the there's Easter after that. It might not be such an unlikely occurrence that your pup will come across people dressed as Santa or the Easter bunny. Or any other outfit - eg. Clowns, which your pup might come across at some stage through her lifetime at kids parties etc.

We really should have a compilation of ideas "pinned" for puppy people to be able to easily visit. Because the list would be endless, it could always be added to over time.

But for the interim, I thought these threads might be of interest to you ...

Socialising Pups - Favourite places

Socialisation suggestions - places and things

[Alison]

Thanks Erny those threads are fantastic.

We are off to an old peoples home tomorrow to visit, so that should be good for him. We also met quite a few different men of different races last night at the local shops while I was waiting for my dinner to be cooked which was great.

[Erny]

Alison -