Puppy Training and Socialization

New puppies are so exciting! Not only are they adorable, but early puppyhood is an important time for socialization and also a great time to get started with puppy training. If you dream of a dog that you can take hiking at Great Falls, for leisurely walks in suburban Fairfax, and will lie politely by your side while you enjoy lunch outdoors in Reston, you need to prepare your puppy for these very different environments early in life. A reward based puppy trainer uses treats, toys and other "fun stuff" to get desired behaviors so even young pups can get started learning basics like sit, down, and coming when called. Check out videos of our trainers' newest addition, Firefly, learning basics as early as 8 weeks of age (scroll to puppy training).

It has been our experience that most suburban dog owners under-socialize their puppies. Did you know that most veterinarians, trainers, behavior consultants and certified behaviorists emphasize the importance of socialization before the pup is just 3 months old? Adequate socialization can help prevent many behavior problems such as shyness, aggression, fears and phobias. However appropriate socialization is more complex than simply exposing your puppy to many different people, dogs and situations. Puppies need to learn from the start how to behave calmly and appropriately when interacting with new people and when they see other animals.

If you schedule private lessons with our trainer, we can provide controlled opportunities for socialization with our own dogs where your puppy will learn to listen to you when our trained dogs are nearby and we can provide recommendations for additional opportunities.

Please remember, you can overwhelm a puppy and create the very behavior problems you hoped to prevent. An appropriate socialization opportunity for a confident puppy, is very different from what is appropriate for a more timid pup. Socialization is not "one size fits all." Do not force a puppy to "face" its fears.

An Important Word on Vaccinations

The notion that a puppy must have all or most of his vaccinations before starting a class is outdated! Inadequate early socialization is a common cause of serious behavioral problems.

Please be aware that there are numerous publications written by veterinarians and other qualified experts supporting the benefits of puppy classes before the puppy has had all his vaccinations. Refer to the links below. We follow AVSAB guidelines regarding vaccinations:

American Veterinary Society for Animal Behavior Position Statement: http://www.avsabonline.org/avsabonline/images/stories/Position_Statements/puppy%20socialization.pdf

Purdue University Animal Behavior Clinic Statement:
http://www.vet.purdue.edu/animalbehavior/forms/pc_letter_vacc.pdf

Veterinary Behaviorist Dr. RK Anderson’s Open Letter on Vaccinations and Socialization:
http://abrionline.org/article.php?id=75

A detailed article on this topic by a Veterinarian for The Association of Pet Dog Trainers' Newsletter:
http://www.4pawsu.com/Messer_Socialization.pdf

The importance of preventing behavior problems by appropriate socialization and reward based training cannot be overstated. Contact us to schedule a consultation so our puppy trainer can help get you and your pup off to a great start!

Read our puppy house training tips!

© 2012 Cooperative Paws Training and Behavior Consulting

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