Chapter 2
IN THIS LESSON
Socializing a puppy is an EXTREMELY important part of raising a well rounded pup. It’s not necessarily hard — it simply takes forethought and planning.
When bringing home your baby pup around 7-8 weeks of age, they are not fully vaccinated for PARVO. They are up to date on all shots/de-wormings required by their age though. This means that real, hard-core socializing cannot begin until full clearance at (16) sixteen weeks of age, after their last round of puppy vaccinations. This does not mean puppies can’t be around your other adult dogs in your home! I’m only discussing the aspect of taking your puppy out into the world — field trips to Tractor Supply, Home Depot, Lowe’s, dog parks, hiking trails…. You name it! More Below…
Before 16 Weeks of Age:
I allow puppies around safe environments like clean homes, my personal home, kids of any age that understand gentle puppy handling (ie. how to pet soft and not hurt the new baby) and other fully vaccinated dogs in these homes. A lot of our adoptive families already own other dogs and this is completely fine! If anything, it’s a wonderful thing. Other dogs in the house usually provide comfort to the newest puppy who is away from littermates and mama for the first time. Typically, if you, have a sweet, easy going, “good dog” in your home, the new puppy can crawl all over said older dog and there are no problems. This adjustment period for older dogs at home can take up to two weeks though! So give them time to adjust to each other. Give them grace.
Before newfypoo or goldendoodle puppies go to their forever homes, we try our very hardest on all of these things. They are well bred — we do not breed parent dogs with anxiety. We also do ENS (Early Neurological Stimulation) and Loud Noise Exposure, every single day they are in our home.
Moose, our handsome stud muffin for our newfypoo breeding program, on a field trip to hike and eat lunch in Downtown Clayton, GA. Any “U-Joint” fans out there?
After 16 Weeks of Age/Full Vaccinations:
Real socialization begins. I take my pups that I train for personal reasons everywhere with me: Lowe’s, Home Depot, Tractor Supply, other family’s homes, friend’s houses… you get the idea! If a puppy is allowed to be there, I take them. I’m cautious with dog parks as sometimes there are aggressive older dogs that can gang up on little guys. As long as this time is under supervision, I would think it’s fairly safe to visit dog parks and it won’t hurt to get puppies around other dogs! The key with socializing a dog is to expose them to ANYTHING and everything: young kids, older kids, small dogs, big dogs, cats, farm animals (if supervised and in a clean area). I expose them to elderly people and to friends of all colors, shapes, sizes, female, male… anyone. People who wear glasses, people who do not. It’s important to expose puppies to new places, new things, loud sounds (ie. vacuums, pots banging in the kitchen, babies screaming, kids laughing, TV playing!)