EARLY SOCIALISATION FOR YOUR PUPPY
All puppies need to be shown how to behave in social situations with humans and other dogs. If early socialisation and training is neglected, your precious little fur baby may become a spoiled, undisciplined brat!
Here at Ridgy Didge Australian Cobberdogs we start Early Neural Training from three days old. and this gives our puppies a great head start, but they need far more once they come home.
Puppies learn bad habits just as quickly as they learn good habits. If you want your puppy to have a sound temperament you must put regular, consistent time in to train and socialise him properly.
All dogs are born with natural fear responses, which may show up as timidity, aggression or barking for example. Training and socialisation beginning as soon as puppy comes home around 8 weeks is essential to overcome these natural fear responses.
Get your Puppy Out and About
It is so important to get your puppy out and about as soon as pup comes home. This time in a puppy’s life is a very special window for learning and imprinting. You must expose your pup to as many varied environments and experiences as possible before sixteen weeks of age. Do this in a positive way, in safe and controlled environments where your pup will meet other dogs and people. Even if your puppy has another dog for company it doesn’t mean pup will be good with all dogs when going out, so supervise closely.
Remember that puppy vaccination schedules are not complete before 16 weeks, but you can still be careful where you take your puppy. For example, puppy school or friends’ places where your puppy can be supervised are safe places to visit. However a dog park would NOT be a safe or hygienic place at this young age.
Expose Your Pup to Varied Experiences
When introducing your puppy to new stimulus, you need to let them have a look around and explore for themselves. Always start with softer noises so puppy gets confident and gradually increase the intensity. For example, let him observe a mower from a distance till he relaxes then take him closer. Play a game with him near the object to take his mind off being scared. The below list includes opportunities for experiences.
- Lawn Mowers and whipper snippers
- Small children in prams, shopping trolleys
- Little children playing and running
- Television and vacuum cleaners
- Large crowds, umbrellas, people with hats or strange clothing.
- Bikes, skateboards, scooters
- Other dogs, cows, horses, kangaroos
- Cars, motor, bikes trains
- Beach trips, swimming, car trips.
We also strongly recommend a good training school that has ongoing support and training regimes. Here in South East Queensland we have very good opportunity for puppy school with Canine Classroom puppy . In our next blog we will feature some training tips for your new puppy. Stay tuned!
If you would like to adopt a Ridgy Didge Australian Cobberdog, please read our Adopting a Puppy information, before you continue the adoption process. For more information, pm us on Facebook, or contact us at our website. Like and follow us on Facebook to keep up to date with ongoing puppy news and announcements.