Puppy Socialization at Dog Daycare

Thanks to greater awareness about the way dogs learn, many people are beginning to understand the value of socializing their dog.  We have all heard that dogs who are better socialized usually live happier, less stressful lives. But what, exactly, does socialization mean and is a dog daycare really good for socializing a puppy?

For puppies 3-6 months of age, socialization is very important.  Socialization involves gradually exposing a puppy to things in a way that allows the puppy to learn what is normal in the world. Generally speaking, what a puppy is exposed to when he is 4 months and younger tends to have a long lasting impression. It frames a dog’s view of the world for the rest of the dog’s life. In the perfect scenario, a puppy is exposed to a wide range of people (children of all ages, men, women, different ethnicities, etc.) and different environments (sidewalks, busy streets, other dogs, shopping centers, etc.) so that these people and environments become a part of every day worldview.

But it’s important to keep in mind that both positive and negative experiences are going to stick with the puppy.  A puppy that is scared when a large bus drives by, may always be scared of busses, while the puppy that happily eats treats at the shopping center, may always find the shopping center to be an enjoyable place. So the key to socialization is making sure the puppy has positive experiences.

So how does this translate to your dog daycare?  Puppies from 3-6 months of age can definitely benefit from off-leash play, but they can also be easily traumatized if not put with the proper playmates.

Proper dog-to-dog socialization for a puppy involves controlling the environment in a way that ensures the puppy has fun and isn’t overwhelmed by other dogs. Before allowing puppies into your dog daycare, do your homework and set up an experience just for puppies. Here are a few tips to get your started.

• Puppies should be introduced only to other puppies of a similar age.  If that is not possible, and you will introduce your puppy to adult dogs, then make sure you know those adult dogs get along well with puppies (not all adult dogs enjoy the antics of young dogs). If you don’t know the dogs, don’t experiment with a puppy!
• Avoid groups larger than 5 dogs when a puppy first starts in a playgroup so that the new puppy has time to adjust to the other dogs.
• Puppies should meet dogs that are an appropriate size.  Avoid putting a small puppy in with dogs that are twice as large as him.

For more information on creating a puppy program at your daycare, be sure to check out Resource Library.