Let’s have a serious conversation about puppies.
I completely understand that sometimes the sky is grey, the weather is miserable, you’ve had a long day, or you simply don’t feel like leaving the house.
I really do understand.
But your puppy doesn’t know that.
Your puppy is still developing.
Every week your puppy is growing, learning and experiencing the world. Their brain and behaviour are developing, and every experience contributes to the picture they are building of what is safe, what is normal and how they should respond to the world around them.
There is no pause button on puppy development.
This is why I can sometimes be quite insistent about attending puppy training, completing your homework and getting your puppy out into the world.
It isn’t because I want to make your life difficult.
It is because development doesn’t wait for convenient weather, convenient schedules or when we feel like it.
The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB) has a specific Position Statement on Puppy Socialization.
AVSAB identifies the first three months of a puppy’s life as the primary and most important period for socialisation. During this time, puppies should safely experience a variety of people, animals, stimuli and environments, while avoiding experiences that cause excessive fear, withdrawal or avoidance.
AVSAB also states that incomplete or improper socialisation during this important period can increase the risk of behavioural problems later in life, including fear, avoidance and aggression.
That is a very important message for puppy owners.
Socialisation isn’t something we start when the puppy is “a bit older.”
It is something we should be actively working on while the puppy is young.
And importantly, AVSAB does not recommend waiting until a puppy has completed its entire vaccination programme before beginning appropriate socialisation. Their position statement explains that puppies can generally begin puppy socialisation classes from around 7–8 weeks, provided appropriate veterinary vaccination and deworming requirements are met.
Obviously, your puppy’s individual vaccination status and health should always be discussed with your veterinarian.
This is where I think there is a lot of confusion.
Socialisation does not mean:
“Let my puppy meet as many dogs and people as possible.”
It doesn’t mean taking your puppy to the busiest dog park you can find.
It doesn’t mean allowing every stranger to touch your puppy.
And it certainly doesn’t mean overwhelming your puppy in the name of “getting them used to things.”
Good socialisation is much more thoughtful than that.
We want puppies to learn that the world is predictable, safe and manageable.
That means gradually introducing them to things such as:
The goal isn’t to create a dog who thinks:
“I LOVE EVERYTHING!”
The goal is to create a dog who can think:
“That’s different. That’s okay. I can cope.”
This is the part I really want puppy owners to understand.
Your puppy doesn’t stop developing while you are waiting for next week.
If you miss one training session because it is raining, that doesn’t mean you have ruined your puppy.
That is not what I am saying.
Life happens.
Your puppy may be sick.
You may be sick.
The weather may genuinely make something impossible.
That’s okay.
The concern is when “we’ll do it next week” becomes a pattern.
Because while we keep postponing experiences, our puppy is continuing to mature.
And the longer we wait, the more opportunities we potentially miss to build a broad history of positive, successful experiences.
Perhaps your puppy is doing beautifully at home.
They are confident with the family.
They know the house.
They know the garden.
Everything feels easy.
So it can be tempting to think:
“They’re fine. We have plenty of time.”
But your puppy is already learning.
They are learning what is familiar.
They are learning what is predictable.
They are learning what deserves their attention.
And they are learning how to respond when something changes.
If their world remains very small, their experience of what is “normal” remains small too.
Another week passes.
Your puppy is a little older.
Their experiences have continued, but perhaps mostly in the same environment.
Then you take them somewhere unfamiliar and discover that something they have never encountered before produces a much bigger reaction than expected.
A strange person.
A noisy vehicle.
A new surface.
A busy environment.
Another dog.
A novel sound.
This doesn’t necessarily mean your puppy is “bad.”
They may simply be saying:
“I don’t know what to do with this.”
That is precisely why we want to provide these experiences gradually and appropriately while they are young.
Your puppy is continuing to mature.
Their body is changing.
Their brain is changing.
Their confidence is changing.
Their emotional responses are developing.
And their behavioural repertoire is expanding.
This is why we don’t simply wait for unwanted behaviour to appear before we start teaching.
Every behaviour a puppy rehearses is behaviour that can become more established.
If a puppy repeatedly practises calmly observing another dog, we are giving them opportunities to learn that skill.
If they repeatedly practise barking, lunging, jumping or becoming frantic when they see something exciting, those behaviours can also become increasingly rehearsed.
We don’t want to wait for the problem before we teach the skill.
There is another extremely important point.
More exposure does not automatically mean better socialisation.
AVSAB-associated guidance emphasises that socialisation should be appropriate to the individual puppy, with attention paid to the puppy’s body language and emotional response. Overwhelming or frightening experiences can actually work against what we are trying to achieve.
So taking a nervous puppy into a chaotic dog park and allowing ten unfamiliar dogs to rush over them is not good socialisation.
Forcing a puppy to be handled by strangers when they are frightened isn’t good socialisation.
Putting a puppy into an environment where they are completely overwhelmed isn’t good socialisation.
Socialisation should build confidence, not test how much stress your puppy can tolerate.
We work within the puppy’s ability to cope and gradually build from there.
One of the most valuable things you can teach a puppy is that seeing something does not mean they have to interact with it.
Your puppy can see another dog and remain with you.
They can watch children playing without running towards them.
They can see a person approaching without jumping on them.
They can hear a strange noise and look to you.
They can sit beside you in a busy environment.
They can learn to settle.
These are all incredibly valuable life skills.
And this is why puppy training isn’t simply about teaching:
Sit. Down. Stay.
We are teaching your puppy how to function in the real world.
There is no single outcome for every puppy.
Genetics, breed, temperament, maternal environment, early experiences and ongoing learning all influence behaviour.
But insufficient or inappropriate socialisation can contribute to an increased risk of problems such as:
This is one of the reasons AVSAB considers early socialisation so important.
And this is also why I don’t want to wait until your puppy is six months old and suddenly say:
“We have a reactivity problem.”
I would rather we spent those early months building the foundations that make coping with the world easier.
When I give you homework, it isn’t an optional extra.
The lesson gives us the opportunity to teach the behaviour.
Your week gives your puppy the opportunity to learn it.
Your puppy needs repetition.
They need reinforcement.
They need experiences in different environments.
They need the difficulty gradually increased.
They need opportunities to succeed.
Think about recall.
We don’t teach a puppy to come when called once and then expect them to abandon another dog, leave an exciting environment and race back to us when they are highly aroused.
We build it.
We practise it.
We reinforce it.
We gradually increase distractions.
Then we build towards reliability.
Socialisation works in much the same way.
Yes.
Sometimes it is raining.
Sometimes it is cold.
Sometimes you are tired.
Sometimes life is busy.
I understand.
But I want you to ask yourself an important question:
Because socialisation doesn’t necessarily require a two-hour outing.
You can do meaningful work in small doses.
You might:
Socialisation doesn’t have to be a big adventure.
It needs to be thoughtful.
Please don’t read this and panic because you missed a week.
You haven’t ruined your puppy.
There is no such thing as a perfectly socialised dog.
Dogs are individuals.
Genetics matter.
Temperament matters.
Life experiences matter.
And sometimes things happen that we cannot control.
The goal is not perfection.
The goal is to stack the odds in your puppy’s favour.
Every successful experience gives your puppy another piece of information:
“I can cope with this.”
And the more appropriate experiences we can provide, the more opportunities your puppy has to develop the skills they will need as an adult.
One of the biggest mistakes we can make is waiting until our puppy is older before taking development seriously.
The puppy who eventually becomes fearful of dogs may have been uncomfortable around dogs for months.
The puppy who eventually becomes reactive may have been repeatedly rehearsing barking and lunging.
The puppy who cannot settle in public may simply never have been taught how.
The puppy who hates being groomed may never have been systematically taught that handling is safe.
Behaviour rarely appears out of nowhere.
There is often a history behind it.
That is why we work proactively.
We don’t wait for the fire before we install the smoke alarm.
You will never get these exact weeks back.
Your puppy will never again be this age, with this particular combination of developmental stage, curiosity, learning history and experience.
So yes…
I understand when the weather isn’t perfect.
I understand when you are tired.
I understand when life gets busy.
But I also want you to understand why I keep encouraging you to do the work.
Because while you are thinking:
“We’ll do it next week…”
your puppy is still learning.
Week by week.
Day by day.
Experience by experience.
Let’s make sure the lessons they are learning are the ones we actually want them to learn.
Your puppy does not need you to be perfect.
They need you to be consistent, thoughtful and involved.
You are not simply teaching a puppy to sit.
You are helping a developing animal learn how to navigate the world.
And that responsibility begins from the moment your puppy comes home.
So when I encourage you to get out there, practise your exercises, attend your sessions and expose your puppy to new experiences appropriately, please understand that there is a reason behind it.
I am not trying to make your life harder.
I am trying to make your dog’s future easier.
Because the work we put in now can become the confidence, resilience, emotional regulation and life skills that your dog carries into adulthood.
Don’t wait for next week if you can safely do something today.
Your puppy is developing.
Every.
Single.
Week.
The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior’s Position Statement on Puppy Socialization is an excellent resource for puppy owners and veterinary professionals. AVSAB recommends taking advantage of safe opportunities for early socialisation and identifies the first three months as the primary period for puppy socialisation.
Read the AVSAB Puppy Socialization Position Statement
AVSAB also provides further information explaining why socialisation is more than simply exposing a puppy to lots of things, and why experiences need to be appropriate to the individual puppy.
Then you’re going to love what we can do for you and your fur baby…
