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How to Safely Socialize a Puppy Before Vaccinations

 

How to Safely Socialize a Puppy Before Vaccinations

We often get asked how to safely socialize a puppy before they are fully vaccinated. 

It’s really important to get your puppy out experiencing new sights, smells and environments as soon as possible after they’ve settled in at home BEFORE they receive their last set of vaccinations. A puppy’s critical socialization window closes around 14-16 weeks of age. This is the time of your pup’s life when they are forming their opinions about the world and most open to new experiences. Puppies typically receive their final round of vaccines around 16 weeks of age.

This means that if you wait to take them anywhere until their vaccines are completed, you’re totally missing out on this huge window of opportunity with your puppy! The veterinarians at the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior say that the risk that your puppy contracts an infection is much less than the risk of negative behavioral fallout from keeping your puppy stuck at home for their first few months of life. You can read their full position statement here: 

Now, this DOESN’T mean you should take your puppy to areas with a ton of unknown dogs like a dog park. That’s way too unsafe. But you can take your puppy to plenty of other places without having them interact with dogs (or even people) at all. If your puppy is timid, you want to be extra careful to make sure they aren’t overwhelmed on your socialization field trips. 

How to Socialize a Timid Puppy

A 5 month old goldendoodle puppy, King, came to us for Sleepaway Camp. He didn’t have a lot of experiences outside of the home before. We could tell he was a little nervous in new situations and unsure about new people. We made a plan to start socializing him in a way that kept him feeling safe so he didn’t feel the need to bark. 

We started by simply parking in a store parking lot and letting King observe the parking lot from the back of our vehicle. Whenever he’d stare at a person or other distraction, we’d say “yes” and give him a treat. 

Then we tried having him chill out on a bench outside of a grocery store.

Then when he was feeling more comfortable, we took our practice on the move and walked down the sidewalk at a busy plaza and rewarded him for checking in with us and walking nicely. 

For more information on how to socialise your puppy visit Goldstar Puppy Academy where Gerry-Anna, the leading dog trainer on the Treasure Coast, has a vast blog area with everything you need to know about training your puppy. 

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