For the first 14 to 16 weeks of life, pups are at their most impressionable as they are going through their ‘critical learning period’. Their brains are like sponges, soaking up all of the information and experiences they have.
During this time, it’s important to introduce pups to as many different situations, objects and living beings as possible to prepare them for the elements they will face over their lifetime and to build a solid foundation of experiences.
𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒚?
Did you know, a lack of habituation and socialisation during a pup’s early development can lead to fearful responses towards unfamiliar situations, objects or living beings in the future once they become teenagers/adults?
Have you ever known a dog to be frightened of loud sounds like thunder or fireworks?
Or maybe a dog who has a frightened or aggressive response towards people wearing Hi-Viz or people wearing hats?
More often than not, these responses are created through a lack of socialisation and habituation during the first few months of the dog’s life. Socialisation is about learning to appropriately interact around other living beings like people, handling and animals, whilst habituation is about learning neutrality to the non-living elements of life like sounds, locations, experiences and surfaces.
Negative responses can certainly be created through a bad experience, but in our work, it is more common to connect minimal habituation and socialisation work during puppy hood when we deal with dogs with fear and reactivity issues.
Introductions to new elements should always be conducted hygienically, safely and at the pup’s pace. It is also important to recognise the difference in the pup’s behaviour for when they are feeling comfortable versus uncomfortable. Experiences should always be positive for the puppy.
If you are getting a puppy and feeling uncertain or overwhelmed on what to focus on first, enroll in a reputable puppy school which includes habituation and socialisation work or contact trainers like ourselves who also offer in-home puppy packages to help get your pup off on the right paw.
We are big advocates for building resilience and confidence in pups and for being proactive in their development, as it is much easier to prevent behaviour problems by starting off prepared from the start.
For adult dogs struggling with fear or aggressive responses towards certain situations, people, animals etc, it is very possible to improve this and it’s likely not too late, but it is always important to seek the expertise of a dog trainer as each case is individual.
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