Socialisation

Socialisation is a broad term used to describe interactions between 2 different beings. Though it can be applied to situations, places and objects as well. With dogs, socialisation is basically introducing your dog to the world in a way that is healthy and successful for them.

There are many aspects to socialisation that you will be dealing with throughout your dog’s life and experiences that your dog has during those periods will help shape their personality as they grow.

Socialisation can mean many different things to different people, the common denominator should always be: does my dog feel confident with this interaction. From puppy to adulthood you will be asking this question and even if your dog has experienced similar things in the past successfully it does not mean that every situation isn’t a little different so the reaction may be a little different.

When to start: Early socialisation is a key factor in puppy development. However, throwing your puppy into situations without knowing what the possible outcome could potentially be, or not having a clear idea of what is successful for your puppy, can actually be detrimental to their development.

Ideally, you want to expose your puppy to as many different people, environments, animals, textures places etc as possible during the key developmental time frame (7-20 weeks of age). Exposure is not the goal, successful interaction with that exposure is the goal. In order to achieve this you must be aware of certain things; your puppy’s age, past experiences, personality and breed type. All of these factors will determine what types of social interactions are appropriate. For example, if you have a Border Collie puppy that has been shy and timid since you got him at 7 weeks of age, putting him into a daycare situation with small children may not be the way to go about introducing them to kids. You need a plan.

Also, what may be successful socialisation for 1 dog may not be appropriate for another. In one case you may be able to bring your dog to the dog park and they make some friends and play for an hour and that has been a successful socialising experience. In another case allowing a dog to carefully approach someone who is crouched down and not making eye contact, sniffing their hand and walking away can also be a successful social experience. Not every success ends with your dog being happy and wanting to continue to interact. Success is determined by how confident your dog feels after the experience is over. If you have forced your dog to endure being handled by someone they don’t know and their body language is saying they are uncomfortable and that is ignored, the next experience will be met with trepidation and, possibly, elevated language from your dog. You could, potentially, be making your dog less social even if your intentions were good.

When someone asks if they can approach your dog do not be afraid to advocate for your dog. Let the person know that if they want to pet your dog it is, first, up to the dog, and second only allowed if they follow the rules.

Rule 1. Social interaction is ALWAYS left to the discretion of the dog (there are exceptions to this rule as there are times when taking your dog somewhere they don’t feel comfortable is unavoidable.

Rule 2. Social interactions are timed by the dog, listen to your dog, when they are done end the interaction.

Rule 3. Never force your dog into a situation where you cannot or are unwilling to advocate for your dog. If you have a new puppy at Christmas and 20 family members coming over to meet him, be prepared to allow your puppy a safe place away from the action and do not force them to play, be held, snuggled, picked up, disciplined etc by anyone other than you or someone you trust to not overwhelm your puppy.

Rule 4. Success is determined by the dog, not you. Always be aware of how comfortable and confident your dog is feeling, if they are able to walk away from a situation while still feeling comfortable then your interaction was successful.

Rule 5. Discomfort is determined by the dog, not you. You do not get to decided to when enough is enough for your puppy, the puppy decides and you listen and advocate for them, whether it is removing them from the situation and giving them a safe secure place to relax or you remove the “stressor” from the situation and allow your puppy to remain and feel safe and secure.

Rule 6. Know your puppy’s personality. You will be able to determine if an experience is successful if you have a good knowledge and understanding of your dog’s personal language and stress signs. If you need help interpreting dog language there are many good graphics online to reference or seek the advice of a veterinarian or a positive reinforcement trainer.

When is it enough?

Socialisation if going to occur throughout your dog’s life. There is no enough when it comes to experiences. There are some guidelines you can use with your puppy to determine if you are on the right track.

The Rule of 7:

Between 7 and 17 weeks of age if you can introduce your puppy to 7 different men, 7 different women, 7 different children, 7 different locations (vet clinic, pet store, farm yard, friends home etc), 7 different animals (dogs, cats, birds etc), 7 different rides in a vehicle (get in, go somewhere, get out, get back in and return home is 1 ride), and 7 different tactile environments (grates, grass, water, snow, cement, carpet etc) you will have a good start. Keep in mind that true socialisation occurs outside of their comfort zone (your home or property) with people, places and things that they will not come into contact with on a regular basis. If you can SUCCESSFULLY complete these you may end up with a puppy that looks at new situations and goes OOH that’s exciting, rather than WOAH that’s scary.

The biggest difference with socialising a puppy vs an adult dog is that puppies tend to imprint on their environment more easily than an older dog, they have less past experiences to colour their perception and their natural curiosity is still at work. An older dog may be dealing with traumatic experiences, failed social interactions, poorly translated body language, a lack of experience during that critical puppy development or other issues that may be hindering their confidence and security. A dog inherently looks at their world as safe or unsafe. If they have determined something to be unsafe it can take a lot of work, dedication, and time to convince them otherwise. Setting up a plan can help navigate past unsuccessful interactions.

Plan – make sure you are aware of your surroundings and that you can be in control of them for your dog’s sake

Co-operation – make sure that you have the co-operation of everyone involved in a socialisation experience so that you can stop and start as needed to protect your dog

Commitment – make sure that you have the time to commit to proper socialization. If you are on your way to work and you are already late, it may not be the best time to let your dog meet another dog. If you cannot guarantee the time and commitment to make the interaction successful, let if go and plan better for the next time.

If you have a dog that has already had fear issues or reactivity issues and you would like to start a socialisation program to help with those fears make sure you are discussing it with your Veterinarian and/or a qualified trainer that can help you with desensitisation and counter-conditioning your dog safely without the use of aversives or force training. (these methods raise anxiety levels and can cause an elevation of fear behaviours or a shut down of emotional control which will cause the dog to not interact with the environment at all)

There is a never a guarantee that socialisation will always be successful as there are many factors at play, however, the goal of having a dog that can handle new situations with confidence should be at the forefront for any dog owner, and NOT socialising them isn’t an option as every experience you have with your dog teaches them something. It is better to be aware and in control of what those somethings are.