By Helen Prinold, M.Sc. Animal Behaviour, CPDT-KA, Certified Dog Behavior Consultant – IAABC
Puppy Socialization During Coronavirus Self-isolation/Shelter in Place
How excited you were to bring your new puppy home. Maybe you had seen pictures from the breeder, perhaps you had purchased toys and a new crate, even researched good puppy socialization classes (if you need one, check out our three free online classes) and socialization methods. You found out how important good puppy socialization is and how the critical period (8 – 14 weeks, perhaps up to 16 weeks) can have a lifelong impact on your puppy.
And it is true that typical recommendations for socializing puppies state that pups should meet 100 new people, go to puppy playgroups, see new things and be exposed to all kinds of environments.
And yet one word – coronavirus – is throwing your plans into turmoil!
The good news is that you can do a great deal of effective socialization despite closures, self-isolation or shelter-in-place requirements - including taking in-person small classes with social distancing at our training hall.
The good news for new owners is that dog trainers picked a poor word (socialization) for what needs to happen when your pup is young. You see, when humans hear ‘let’s socialize’ we think of parties and going out on the town with friends. What dog trainers meant by socialization is closer to Puppy Exposure and Engagement (yes, the acronym is PEE)!
3 key PEE Steps:
In fact, in my own puppy classes we teach new puppy owners how to support your puppy during human greetings and create appropriate personal space for the pup! I teach how to manage and create social distancing, so puppies don’t get overwhelmed.
You see, puppies tend to have a bigger personal space bubble than humans and having a strange human looming over them and petting them roughly can do the opposite of positive socializing! Negative interactions can create fear of certain sets of people for much of a puppy’s life. The current need to create and maintain social distance can work in your favour.
Social distancing can also work in your favour when puppies get given pleasurable cuddles and treats by strangers.This can sometimes lead to overly enthusiastic greeting responses.In our classes, we teach people that treats always come from the person on the loopy end of the leash.This keeps pups happy about greetings but still connected to you as the sources of goodness.
Here are some five key tips for socializing despite COVID19 (as well as attending our classes online or in person):
1. Car Drives = Fun
Sometimes a pup’s inner ears haven’t finished growing and they may get nauseous in the car. Taking them for brief car rides (before dinner, with the windows cracked slightly open) can help them learn to enjoy the ride. An exploratory walk mid-way through the drive can also provide new and fun experiences. Try to avoid areas heavily used by other dogs – but don’t wait until your pup has had all three sets of shots. (For a more detailed explanation of this, check out the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behaviour’s position statement on the topic).
2. Touching, Seeing and Hearing Stuff Makes Good Things Happen
You can still get out in your neighbourhood – seeing people walking, biking, hiking, roller-skating (or snow shovelling depending on the weather). Make sure that you stay at a distance from people doing these activities. Then help your puppy learn that the sight of one of these new things means something good is about to happen. Dog trainers call this desensitization and counterconditioning. For example, a noisy skateboard rolling by equals a good treat or a fun game of tug. At home, let your pup see your hairdryer or vacuum and reward them. Then turn it on at a distance, ignore it and focus on helping your puppy have some fun. Don’t push your pup too hard though (see below). Dress yourself up – wear a winter coat, a summer hat, take out an umbrella and open it (if you’re superstitious, do so out of the house lol). Do some of the other things people do that your pup might never have seen! Talk loudly, sing and dance around the house, do some jumping jacks or some gentle yoga. While people greetings are limited due to coronavirus, it’s important your pup learns that many surfaces are safe to walk on. Take your pup on carpet, tile, wood floors, pavement, street grates and more.
3. Afraid Isn’t Forever
You want to make sure your pup is calm, happy and enjoying themselves as best you can. But sometimes your puppy might be startled by something new. If your puppy gets afraid about something they haven’t seen before – it’s perfectly normal. Don’t push your pup to explore things when they are scared or try to tempt them with food to sniff or explore something. Instead, move a little distance away and make fun happen, slowly moving closer when your pup’s body language shows they aren’t worried. This great resource on Canine Body Language can help you tell when they are too afraid to learn. You can’t make your puppy more afraid of something by soothing them! You can, however, convey to your puppy with a soothing and happy tone that the scary thing is nothing to worry about.
4. Being Handled is Awesome!
Professionals call the process of getting your dog comfortable with being handled desensitization. The basic process is TTR (touch, treat and repeat). Touch your pup’s shoulder lightly, then give a treat. Wait a moment or two and then repeat the process. When your pup is not reacting at all to the touch and is not moving away from the contact, move forward (but just a bit). Go slowly and be patient. Over a couple of weeks you can work through introducing grooming tools like brushes. Soon you’ll be able to trim one of your pup’s nails before dinner each night. This ensures you never have to pay for trimming and your pup’s reaction to having a nail clipped is “whoo hooo, this means dinner is on its way”…
5. Having People Around Their Stuff is Rewarding!
Speaking of dinner, there’s no truth to the rumour that running your hand through your pup’s bowl shows them “you own their food”. For wolves and dogs, holding something in their mouth means it is theirs. And if you repeatedly try to force your pup to open their mouth and give you things, they learn you’re a threat to ‘their stuff’. In Puppy Exposure and Engagement work, you want to make sure that pup learns that when they have something…you have something better that is more fun. Walk by your pup’s bowl when they are eating and drop in a special treat. When they get something you’ve not realized is vulnerable to puppy teething (like Kleenex, pens or your remote control) don’t chase them. Instead, go to the cupboard where you store a bag of “special treats”. Walk near them and drop the special treat about 8 inches away from their nose. Puppies are very easily distracted, and they will tend to drop what they’re exploring to see what the new treat is. When they leave what they have – it’s fair game for you to pick it up. If you’re having trouble with this quick and easy method, connect with your dog trainer for ways to convince your pup that sharing is rewarding.
Overall, there are lots of things you can do to socialize your puppy during the coronavirus outbreak. For even more fun stuff, check out our three free online puppy kindergarten classes. You’ll learn about puppy nipping, puppy housebreaking, attention, puppy sits and more! We can even teach you to use a clicker to teach your puppy!
Stay well and safe!
Puppy Socialization During Coronavirus Self-isolation/Shelter in Place
How excited you were to bring your new puppy home. Maybe you had seen pictures from the breeder, perhaps you had purchased toys and a new crate, even researched good puppy socialization classes (if you need one, check out our three free online classes) and socialization methods. You found out how important good puppy socialization is and how the critical period (8 – 14 weeks, perhaps up to 16 weeks) can have a lifelong impact on your puppy.
And it is true that typical recommendations for socializing puppies state that pups should meet 100 new people, go to puppy playgroups, see new things and be exposed to all kinds of environments.
And yet one word – coronavirus – is throwing your plans into turmoil!
The good news is that you can do a great deal of effective socialization despite closures, self-isolation or shelter-in-place requirements - including taking in-person small classes with social distancing at our training hall.
The good news for new owners is that dog trainers picked a poor word (socialization) for what needs to happen when your pup is young. You see, when humans hear ‘let’s socialize’ we think of parties and going out on the town with friends. What dog trainers meant by socialization is closer to Puppy Exposure and Engagement (yes, the acronym is PEE)!
3 key PEE Steps:
- Puppies get exposed to what they’ll typically see in the real world
- Experience teaches puppies that these things are fun (or at least, not awful and scary!)
- Engaging your puppy while they learn creates a great long-term bond between you and them
In fact, in my own puppy classes we teach new puppy owners how to support your puppy during human greetings and create appropriate personal space for the pup! I teach how to manage and create social distancing, so puppies don’t get overwhelmed.
You see, puppies tend to have a bigger personal space bubble than humans and having a strange human looming over them and petting them roughly can do the opposite of positive socializing! Negative interactions can create fear of certain sets of people for much of a puppy’s life. The current need to create and maintain social distance can work in your favour.
Social distancing can also work in your favour when puppies get given pleasurable cuddles and treats by strangers.This can sometimes lead to overly enthusiastic greeting responses.In our classes, we teach people that treats always come from the person on the loopy end of the leash.This keeps pups happy about greetings but still connected to you as the sources of goodness.
Here are some five key tips for socializing despite COVID19 (as well as attending our classes online or in person):
1. Car Drives = Fun
Sometimes a pup’s inner ears haven’t finished growing and they may get nauseous in the car. Taking them for brief car rides (before dinner, with the windows cracked slightly open) can help them learn to enjoy the ride. An exploratory walk mid-way through the drive can also provide new and fun experiences. Try to avoid areas heavily used by other dogs – but don’t wait until your pup has had all three sets of shots. (For a more detailed explanation of this, check out the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behaviour’s position statement on the topic).
2. Touching, Seeing and Hearing Stuff Makes Good Things Happen
You can still get out in your neighbourhood – seeing people walking, biking, hiking, roller-skating (or snow shovelling depending on the weather). Make sure that you stay at a distance from people doing these activities. Then help your puppy learn that the sight of one of these new things means something good is about to happen. Dog trainers call this desensitization and counterconditioning. For example, a noisy skateboard rolling by equals a good treat or a fun game of tug. At home, let your pup see your hairdryer or vacuum and reward them. Then turn it on at a distance, ignore it and focus on helping your puppy have some fun. Don’t push your pup too hard though (see below). Dress yourself up – wear a winter coat, a summer hat, take out an umbrella and open it (if you’re superstitious, do so out of the house lol). Do some of the other things people do that your pup might never have seen! Talk loudly, sing and dance around the house, do some jumping jacks or some gentle yoga. While people greetings are limited due to coronavirus, it’s important your pup learns that many surfaces are safe to walk on. Take your pup on carpet, tile, wood floors, pavement, street grates and more.
3. Afraid Isn’t Forever
You want to make sure your pup is calm, happy and enjoying themselves as best you can. But sometimes your puppy might be startled by something new. If your puppy gets afraid about something they haven’t seen before – it’s perfectly normal. Don’t push your pup to explore things when they are scared or try to tempt them with food to sniff or explore something. Instead, move a little distance away and make fun happen, slowly moving closer when your pup’s body language shows they aren’t worried. This great resource on Canine Body Language can help you tell when they are too afraid to learn. You can’t make your puppy more afraid of something by soothing them! You can, however, convey to your puppy with a soothing and happy tone that the scary thing is nothing to worry about.
4. Being Handled is Awesome!
Professionals call the process of getting your dog comfortable with being handled desensitization. The basic process is TTR (touch, treat and repeat). Touch your pup’s shoulder lightly, then give a treat. Wait a moment or two and then repeat the process. When your pup is not reacting at all to the touch and is not moving away from the contact, move forward (but just a bit). Go slowly and be patient. Over a couple of weeks you can work through introducing grooming tools like brushes. Soon you’ll be able to trim one of your pup’s nails before dinner each night. This ensures you never have to pay for trimming and your pup’s reaction to having a nail clipped is “whoo hooo, this means dinner is on its way”…
5. Having People Around Their Stuff is Rewarding!
Speaking of dinner, there’s no truth to the rumour that running your hand through your pup’s bowl shows them “you own their food”. For wolves and dogs, holding something in their mouth means it is theirs. And if you repeatedly try to force your pup to open their mouth and give you things, they learn you’re a threat to ‘their stuff’. In Puppy Exposure and Engagement work, you want to make sure that pup learns that when they have something…you have something better that is more fun. Walk by your pup’s bowl when they are eating and drop in a special treat. When they get something you’ve not realized is vulnerable to puppy teething (like Kleenex, pens or your remote control) don’t chase them. Instead, go to the cupboard where you store a bag of “special treats”. Walk near them and drop the special treat about 8 inches away from their nose. Puppies are very easily distracted, and they will tend to drop what they’re exploring to see what the new treat is. When they leave what they have – it’s fair game for you to pick it up. If you’re having trouble with this quick and easy method, connect with your dog trainer for ways to convince your pup that sharing is rewarding.
Overall, there are lots of things you can do to socialize your puppy during the coronavirus outbreak. For even more fun stuff, check out our three free online puppy kindergarten classes. You’ll learn about puppy nipping, puppy housebreaking, attention, puppy sits and more! We can even teach you to use a clicker to teach your puppy!
Stay well and safe!
