It is very important to socialise your puppy with as many good experiences as much as possible.

These may include:

• Social gatherings, events, loud noises.
• Cars, motorbikes.
• Home appliances such as hair dryer, vacuum, lawn mower, washing machine etc.
• Different kinds of people that you may not have in your household, like children, old people in wheelchairs or have walking sticks, tall men with deep voices etc.

While around these experiences practise your basic obedience skills with your puppy and reward with treats, making it a good experience for your puppy. This helps to prevent anxiety and unacceptable behaviour that could possibly occur in the future. Remember never force a puppy into a situation it is not comfortable with.

The following page is a great tick list of different experiences for your puppy to see.

Also ensure your puppy is getting lots of play time with other puppies and dogs, especially in the socialisation period which is between 3-12 weeks. This period is a critical time of a puppy’s development for the formation of social relationships. Again, making sure it’s all a good experience!

Puppy Pre-School Socialisation

May 2014 LM/DH/ML