Proactively socialising your puppy is very important. Puppies have what is called a 'critical socialisation period' From 8 to 14 weeks of age, puppies go through a fear imprinting stage. During this time, it is crucial to carefully introduce a pup to a variety of stimuli every day, and to ensure that the experiences are positive. This is also a good time to start training the pup in basic behaviours. These socialisation efforts make the difference in the dog's outlook on life. Instead of reacting fearfully to new experiences, the dog is comfortable when encountering new things, animals and people. This helps the dog and everyone else, since the most common cause of unprovoked dog aggression is lack of proper socialisation.
A Dogs Life provides you with practical advice to help socialise your puppy including: bringing your puppy home, meeting new people and dogs and introducing new environments. A step by step plan from 8 - 14 weeks of positive training and behaviour, laying the foundation to create a well balanced and happy puppy for everyone to enjoy.
