Socializing a puppy

corbinam

corbinam

Moderator
I know how important it is to socialize a puppy, and I plan on focusing on that as soon as Lexi has all of her shots (in about a week). I did take her to the agility field last week to let her meet some of our friends, but I didn't put her down on the ground.

My question is this...she was shaking the entire time. At first I thought it was because it was cold, but I had a jacket on her and had her wrapped in a big blanket.

I don't want to traumatize her, but she's normally such an adventurous little girl, that I also don't want to coddle her when she shows any fear.

She has no problem being picked up by strangers at home, but at the agility field she shook when others held her. I imagine the smells were overwhelming? Anyways, is something like this pushing her too hard? As I said, I don't want to scar her. Or should I keep this up and treat any positive interaction or sign of curiosity?
 
Personally I wouldnt push it. I found with Tully's timidity that not all socialising was good for her. When she was really scared or overwhelmed she just shut down. I found when she could interact without being confronted (sniff and watch in her own time) she got much better. And allowing things to go slow gave me the opportunity learn more about her reactions and warning signs. I look back now and realise I was doing more damage by taking around a lot of other dogs when she wasn't ready. Small, unthreatening exposure was better (meeting one or two small dogs at a time) and for short periods of time.
 
Maybe start with puppy playdates? Also consider starter puppy classes. They help give a safe environment to meet other puppies her age.
 
Bailey was very timid around dogs when I first started taking her out. I didn't push her, but I truly believe if I didn't socialize her, she would be terrified of dogs.

I took her to the park every weekend and she slowly came out of her shell. She now loves to run and play with smaller dogs. She will hang around and sniff larger dogs, but will not play with them.
 
She's 12 weeks. She was totally fine when she met people at the house, and didn't shake when she met Bentley at home or the cat.

And we do have her scheduled for a puppy class starting in February.
 
Ginny was funny when she was young. She was very outgoing with people and dogs, but any time I brought her somewhere new she's shake like a leaf. It would only last for a few minutes and then she was fine. I usually just let her deal with it, as I wasn't bringing her into any overly stressful situations at the time. If there was a situation that was particularly scary for her, I took her away from it.

This was something she grew out of eventually.

Puppy class is a wonderful way of socializing her. I'm a fan of going to places like Petsmart for short visits, as there are lots of people, sounds smells and dogs there. Its a great place to learn socialization. Just watch which dogs approach her, you don't want her to have any bad experiences
 
corbinam said:
She has no problem being picked up by strangers at home, but at the agility field she shook when others held her. I imagine the smells were overwhelming? Anyways, is something like this pushing her too hard? As I said, I don't want to scar her. Or should I keep this up and treat any positive interaction or sign of curiosity?
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I am a firm believer that puppies need to be exposed to whatever they will be ask to see or do as adults before 14 weeks which is when the major socialization window closes. If they don't experience these things it will be harder as an adult. Now I'm not saying let dogs harass her or strange people overwhelm her. What I do is carry them around and let my puppy meet people in my arms. Ask people to treat her and pet her while you hold her. If she seems calm then other people can hold her. If she shakes ignore it, make sure your not pettting her. Reward bravery.:smile2: I also had a small little kennel that I carried the new puppy around to training classes with the older dog. I set it on the table off to the side so the puppy would get use to the sights and sounds of the training building without being overly exposed to the other dogs. Some great sound tapes are Puppy racket and Show racket. I think you can get them at J and J. I play them for my puppies at home when they are eating(start very low and guadually turn them up). My shelties love the show scene and Ember my most sensitive dog can power nap though anything.:smile2:
 
I had such a hard time finding balance between what to expose Megan to AND still keep her healthy before she was fully vaccinated. We took on walks near the Elementary school, walks around our neighborhood, let her meet people and their HEALTHY pets, etc. I have been very blessed so far that she's not very fearful of people or animals even though she hasnt been exposed a lot.

Thankfully she starts obedience school next Monday :yes:
 
I socialized my pups gradually.

It started with simple walks. If we encountered anyone, I would advise them that I'm socializing my pup, and would appreciate it if they would come over, but slowly. If they had a pup with them (which was rare), I would ask them to sit their pup and allow Bacca to come investigate.

The first time we went to puppy school at 16 weeks, he was overwhelmed. But I held him in check and controlled the encounters. I gradually let him reach out, but as soon as it became too much, I removed him and played with him instead. Then let him back into the group once he had settled down.

He's quite well socialized now - better than Indy, who I got at 10 months. He shows not signs of aggression or fear. Mostly curiosity. Indy, who I got later, can be aggressive sometimes, and we are working on that.
 
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